Venice Grand Canal

On our second day in Venice, we opted to go for an early morning walk and have breakfast at the Mercato Rialto. This photo of the Grand Canal is taken southwards from the famous Rialto Bridge.

The Venice Grand Canal forms a huge S-shape and is one of the major water-traffic corridors in the city. It is 3,800 m long, and 30-90 m wide with an average depth of five meters. Public transport is provided by water buses  and private water taxis, and many tourists explore the canal by gondola.

A gondolier gearing up for another day's work.

Another sight that stands out the from the Grand Canal is the "fondaco" houses - they are buildings combining warehouse and merchants residence. This is the Fondaco dei Turchi built in the 13th century.

The magnificent Santa Maria della Salute built in 1631 is an example of Venetian Baroque architecture. It can also be found along the Grand Canal.

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Villa Borghese

This is an 80-hectare public park in the city of Rome. It features wide shady lanes, beautiful fountains, several temples, and many statues. Our hotel was very near to Villa Borghese so this is the first tourist attraction we visited.

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Sleigh Bells Ring...What Do you want For Christmas?

Yess!! Hubby gave me a green light to start my holiday shopping. We got a huge balikbayan box to fill up for friends and family back home so the weekend was spent at Deira City Center and The Dubai Mall.

The boys wandered off the mall while I went around doing what I do best hihihih. I visited plenty of stores but decided to make purchases on Kinokuniya Bookstore, Aeropostale, and H&M. 

Do you still give books as gifts to children and adults? These two hard-bound Christmas books are for our new family friends. The kids are half-Filipino and half-British so I really don't know what to give (they pretty much have everything waaah!). I think books, (though boring) are always a safer choice =)

I bought two collared shirts for Hubby's nephews who are now attending the university. I especially love stores who give complimentary gift boxes. The H&M teal is for my son's winter gear.

Well, we got a long list to check off and I hope we don't miss on anybody hihihih! Share us, what do you want for Christmas?

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Ginisang Tahong (Sauteed Asian Green Mussels)

Hubby cooked these mussels over the weekend.Thank you, darling. mwah! Saraaap!

Ginisang Tahong

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You've Got Mail: Sorry About That

This week's Couple's Corner asks how do you do it when simple sorry is not enough.

Disagreements are hugely part of a healthy marriage. How you handle is the tricky part. Remember when they say never go to bed angry? Well I break that rule. I go to bed fuming. There are times when I just sleep on my sama ng loob and wake up feeling better after a good night's rest. Yes I pick our fights. There are issues that are best solved when the opportunity presents itself. 

At times when my seething cannot calm down,  I write to him. As in e-mail sa office hahahaa. I feel guilty sometimes when I do that because I know Hubby is very busy at work. But writing to each other has been a huge part of our relationship. Hubby and I are both not confrontational. We are both quick to say sorry to each other though. But when that simple sorry is not enough, we exchange e-mails first explaining how we feel.

Somehow when he arrives back from the office, he comes home to a happier wife with a steaming dinner, offering fragrant massage, with a prepared lavender bubble bath......and a bottle of champagne for nightcap. ((^_^))

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Public Drinking Fountains of Italy

My take for this week's letter F is for Fountain.

If one can save up on anything while on a holiday to Italy, it is by not buying bottled drinking water. From Rome to Milan, we relied on their famous public drinking fountains (and no ill effects if you're worried about safety).

A typical drinking fountain in Rome.

The public drinking fountain in Pisa, Tuscany.

A closer look

A public drinking water fountain in Milan

A closer look: even our toddler wanted to try drinking.

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ABC Wednesday

Jumeirah Open Beach

The public beach in Jumeirah is a personal favorite. Free amenities include play area for kids, picnic huts, bathrooms, shower area, jogging track, and bicycle track. The Dubai government seems to improve it every time we come visit.

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Ramadan Tent

During the holy month of Ramadan, you will see this structure common in every shopping mall. At Iftar time, or when the fast is broken, people are welcome to have a warm cup of tea and dates for free to indulge inside the tent.

Ramadan Tent at Festival Centre

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Chocolate Sculptures

The following all-edible creations were entries for the 2010 Middle East Junior Chef Competition. Which one is the winner for you?

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Stucco

Suddenly, hubby had the urge to go shopping yesterday. Office hours on Ramadan month are shortened so we have extra time to go out and about on weekdays. The word shopping is music to my ear so I happily scooped our toddler and went out not bothering to ask Hubby what he had in mind to buy. We drove towards Deira and onto ACE Hardware's car park. Okay, I thought.

I left Hubby on his own to explore the enormous hardware shop and went to entertain myself with the latest baking utensils. Ever heard of egg separator? It looks funny so i grabbed one to try next time I make chiffon cake. After an hour, Hubby came back with cart loaded with tools such as nailer, electric drill, chainsaw, and all those handy man stuff. When he gave his bill, it went more than a thousand dirham. He was so happy with his purchases that I decided not to faint.

Driving home, I asked what are those stuff for. He replied very satisfied with himself, "For the planned farm house."

Hmmmnn maybe I should get him an extra gift come Christmas. I read about Stucco, a durable exterior coating (made up of sand,  lime, and cement  then mixed with water) for walls and fences. We should definitely have that Stucco Sprayer for easier application to build our dream farm house.

Stucco Sprayer

The Gods Must Be Crazy

I don't think there is a funnier movie I remember watching with my brother. We were laughing so hard that tears rolled down on my face. I am looking forward to watching this again with him and reminisce the good 'ol days =)

The Gods Must Be Crazy was released in 1980. It was about a Bushman in the Kalahari desert who encounters technology for the first time--in the shape of a Coke bottle. He takes it back to his people, and they use it for many tasks. The people start to fight over it, so he decides to return it to the God--where he thinks it came from. Meanwhile, we are introduced to a school teacher assigned to a small village, a despotic revolutionary, and a clumsy biologist.

For those who have seen the movie, the mere still images from the scenes brings a roaring laughter =)

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