Happy Steps travel blog

Will the recently concluded 1st Chicken Inasal Festival make it to Guinness?

Mmmmm…!!! Something’s cooking at the parking lot!

We were inside the North Wing of SM City-Bacolod last Tuesday and the smoke wafting in as people came through the doors was enough to awaken our curiosity (and appetite) to see what the buzz was all about. It was the highlight of the 1st Chicken Inasal Festival in Bacolod City as almost 4-kilometers length of barbecue grill was set up at the parking lot area. The event was an organized effort by the local government and some private entities to break the current Guinness world record for the longest grill at 3.8 kilometers held by Sto. Tomas in Pangasinan.
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Travel promo for car racing enthusiasts

The 2009 Formula One season has already kicked off last month with its first round at the Australian Grand Prix. This racing event is the 60th FIA Formula One World Championship season which consists of 17 rounds of races to be held in series in different countries. So far, Jenson Button from England has the most wins. With the upcoming Spanish Grand Prix (Gran Premio de España) to be held in Barcelona on May 10 and the Monaco Grand Prix (Grand Prix de Monaco) on May 24 at Monte Carlo, many car racing fanatics are looking forward to watching their favorite racing drivers on TV again.

Incidentally, there’s an ongoing online travel promo, the Sleep Inn racing promo where car racing enthusiasts are given a chance to treat themselves to a real hands-on racing course. The winners will undergo an “Introduction to Racing” program by the prestigious Skip Barber Racing School, the world’s largest school for those who aim to seriously pursue a career in auto racing.
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A virtual Visita Iglesia (church pilgrimage during the Holy Week)

The season of Lent is here again, and this means a week of reflection and meditation which starts from Holy Monday to Holy Tuesday, Holy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Black Saturday and finally Easter Sunday. Whew.

There’s been a lot of traveling going on in the Philippines this Holy Week since most offices are closed on Thursday and Friday, a chance for the employed to travel to their hometowns and celebrate the Lenten Season with families, while some consider the free days as an opportunity to spend some quite and relaxing holiday in their favorite beaches or resorts. Thus, you can just imagine airports to be busy this week with fully-booked flights and jam-packed bus trips to provinces including inter island vessels and barges loaded with vehicles and passengers.

In relation to Maundy Thursday, most Filipinos observe the Visita Iglesia or church pilgrimage as part of the Holy Week celebration, where the Catholic faithful visit at least seven churches usually in the evening. In this entry, I will be sharing to you dear readers a virtual tour of some of the local and foreign churches and cathedrals I’ve been to from places in Europe and the Philippines. There are still lots of church photos in my archives, especially the St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague Castle, but I lack extra time to search for them.

Let’s start the virtual tour…

San Diego Pro-cathedral, Silay

Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, Cebu (photo from flickr by coolmars)

Basilica Minore del Santo Niño, Cebu (photo from Wikipedia)

The shrine of the Infant Jesus at a side altar inside the Church of Our Lady Victorious, Prague

St. Nicholas Church at Old Town Square, Prague

Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul at Vysehrad Castle, Prague

Interior of the Cemetery Church of All Saints with an Ossuary also known as Church of Bones, Kutna Hora

Tyn Cathedral at the Old Town Square, Prague

St. Albert the Great Church (St. Albertus Magnus Kirche), our first stop during our Berlin day tour

St. Mary’s Church (Marienkirche), Berlin

St. Hedwig’s Cathedral, Berlin

Visita Iglesia is actually based on the ancient practice, possibly of Roman origins, of visiting seven pilgrim churches. In the Philippines, this tradition is not limited to only seven churches. I remember we used to practice Visita Iglesia in Cebu on foot since the churches are just within walking distance.

Here’s our usual route which I highly recommend if you’re planning to do Visita Iglesia in Cebu:
1. Start at San Nicolas Parish along Tupas St.
2. Santo Niño Parish in Pasil district
3. Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish (USJ-R), Magallanes St. (Carbon market district)
4. Basilica del Sto. Niño, Osmena Blvd.
5. Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, P. Burgos St.
6. University of San Carlos chapel, P. del Rosario St.
7. and finally at Sto. Rosario Parish, P. del Rosario St.

The sidewalks of downtown Cebu are usually busy with people on the evening of Maundy Thursday. You would see parish-organized prayer communities, small groups, families or individuals walking along while singing religious songs, praying the Holy Rosary or the Stations of the Cross as they hike from one church to another. Here in Negros Occidental, the parishes are not so near each other, thus one has to commute or drive from one church to the next. Our usual Visita Iglesia route starts from the San Nicolas Parish in Talisay, then to Bata Subdivision, and other parishes in Bacolod.

Unique holiday gifts with free ground shipping

Aside from planning for vacations, getaway weekends or out-of-town trips, holidays are opportunities for us to connect with others.

Special occasions and holidays are the best time to show our appreciation and gratefulness to the persons that matter most to us. Thinking of what to give can be a dilemma though, especially if you want that gift to be unique. And what if that special someone is miles away from you?
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Australian Open 2010 at Melbourne Park

Every year, tennis enthusiasts get to watch their favorite players at Melbourne Park for the Australian Open tennis tournament. This event draws a lot of tourists and fans and is usually held every January. The recently concluded 2009 Australian Open drew an estimated crowd of 66,000 with champions Rafael Nadal for the men’s singles and Serena Williams for the women’s singles.

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Holiday greetings from happysteps.net

To my dear readers, wishing you a blessed merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year 2009!

At Jomabo island, off the coast of Escalante, Negros Occidental

Here’s to more exciting and happy travels ahead of us!

My happy feet at Punta Bulata beach resort in Cauayan, Negros Occidental

Music festivals

While visiting my big sis and her family in Pori, Finland, it so happened that the Pori Jazz Festival was also within the dates of my stay. This musical event is one of the biggest in Europe and many tourists and travel bugs who are into music have made Pori a bit busier than the usual. I enjoyed walking through the streets of Pori near the Kirjurinluoto River during the festival days since the sidewalks were filled with stalls selling all sorts of souvenirs. There were also many venues for the festival’s events and even free concerts held by the riverside. Too bad I missed the children’s concert. My bro-in-law and nephew watched the main concert which featured Carlos Santana and other noteworthy jazz artists.
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Planning for the coming holidays

Few more weeks to go and it will be Christmas! Are you counting the days excitedly until the big day? With the holidays almost here, I bet most people are starting to get busy with their holiday planning and making their lists for food, shopping and gifts. My sister and I have some ideas for our family reunion for the coming Christmas and New Year breaks, but we still need do some brainstorming to make it more fun. A simple yet meaningful get together with a short program perhaps. What about the food? With both my parents conscious about their diets, it’s just important to include healthy dishes in our menu such as fresh vegetable salad and fruits.
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On local concerts and theater shows

One way for travel bugs to get a taste of a place’s art and culture is to watch the local concerts and musical events in town. I was not able to do so during my Prague vacation, but at least we were treated to a beautiful concert by the choir at the Strahovsky Monastery when we attended their 10am Sunday Mass. Well I still have some brochures here about upcoming concerts and shows in Prague, they’re just my souvenirs for now…maybe next time I’ll treat myself to a real Prague show.
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Home improvement ideas from travel

Our family had a nice day tour at the Royal Flora Festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand two years ago where we saw lots of great flower arrangement ideas for our home. Colorful plants and flowers were stacked on different levels of iron bars making a nice ‘flower column’ which is great for gardens with little space. Flowers were not planted directly on soil but on thin black plastic pots and grouped together to complement the other varieties. This makes it easier to replace with a new variety and planting these flowers on the pots gives more flexibility and creativity in your garden arrangement. The trip to the flower festival inspired us to spruce up our garden with the ideas we got from their presentation.
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Looking forward to the holidays

October is here again, another great month for us to enjoy! After our recent family vacation, I’m looking forward to working full blast and keeping up with some pending projects. My happy steps would probably just be here at home, but who knows, there might be some surprise trip coming up. We might squeeze some time though for an ongoing celebration just nearby – October is an exciting month for Bacolod City which is currently celebrating its 29th Masskara Festival from October 1-19.

I am not usually a big fan of this event though. Last Sunday we were at the public plaza and the crowd was just too much! The streets along the Cathedral and downtown were closed to vehicles and all sorts of vendors are lined up selling food, toys, clothes, footwear, and of course masks! Let’s see if we can visit Bacolod within this week and maybe I can take some photos as well. Anyway, we’re looking forward to my siblings coming home for the holidays. Yey!

Pori Jazz 43rd Festival 2008

“If you have to ask what jazz is, you’ll never know.”
Louis Armstrong

One thing that Pori is famous for is its annual international jazz festival which started in the year 1966 and since then is known throughout Europe as a prestigious music festival. This year is the 43rd festival which kicked off last July 12 and will end until the 20th. Various concerts are held simultaneously in different locations within Pori, with the main stage and arena at Kirjurinluoto Park, and more concerts held daily at the JazzStreet along the Kokemäenjoki river, the Radio Nova stage, Klubi, Theatre, Otava Factory and other venues.

Being an international music festival, it has drawn many notable performers such as Miles Davis, Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Sting and lots more. This year’s event highlights performances by Santana, Bob Geldof, Shaggy and Mary J Blige and tickets are already sold out.
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Radio Disney Summer Concert Series at Wildwood New Jersey

This sunshiny summer month of July is a great time for vacation and entertainment. At Wildwood New Jersey, an exciting series of concerts will be held at Morey’s Piers amusement park. Aside from being New Jersey’s largest, with many rides, concessions and having two beachfront waterparks, Morey’s Piers is a good place for Wildwood events, beach parties, educational class trips, musical shows, school affairs and more.
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Flower Power at the Rauma Art Museum

The Rauma Biennale Balticum 2008 art festival is currently ongoing at the Rauma Art Museum in Old Rauma, Finland. The exhibition, which started last June 14 and will end on September 21, features prominent Biennale artists such as Aija Zarina, Krista Leesi, Lutz Mommartz, Malgorzata Markiewicz and many others with this year’s theme ‘Flower Power’ which showcases a blend of contemporary art and tropical inspiration.
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Wimbledon Championship tournaments 2008

The upcoming championships for the Wimbledon tennis tournaments will be starting soon on June 23 next week with the top three seeds for the Gentlemen’s Singles being Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic and the Ladies’ Singles top seeds are Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic and Maria Sharapova. So who among them are your favorite tennis stars?

Tennis enthusiasts and fans of these top seeds would surely not want to miss this series of exciting events and travel all the way to England to see the action live on the courts. I bet they have already bought some Wimbledon tournament tickets months ahead before they would be sold out.
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Grand Prix Du Canada 2008

What’s up in Canada next month? My cousin who’s based in this country famous for its Niagara Falls told me that it is gearing up for the Canadian Grand Prix 2008. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the event to be held at the legendary circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal on June 6-8, 2008. The open house will be on Thursday June 5th from 9 in the morning till 1 in the afternoon. Lots of grand prix fans from all over the country and even abroad are expected to watch the show. It would be great to watch this exciting show but I’ve already made my own travel plans to Europe.

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Jewelry, cakes, hugs and kisses for Moms on Mother’s Day

“Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible.”
Marion C. Garretty

Throughout the world, Mother’s Day is celebrated on different days. In Thailand it coincides with Queen Sirikit’s birthday on August 12, while it’s December 8 in Panama, second Sunday of June in Luxembourg and December 22 in Indonesia. Most countries such as the US, Australia, Canada, Finland, Czech Republic and the Philippines celebrate it every second Sunday of May, thus it’s going to be May 11 for 2008.

This lunch time, while my sis was feeding her baby, I commented to her that a baby’s life is uncomplicated - just eat, sleep, play, cry, giggle and do her usual heartwarming antics. It made me think of how our Mom cared for us when we were still kids – from changing diapers, to giving baths and feeding us. Being a mother truly entails a lot of patience and understanding. It is just fitting that they are being honored and given recognition on a special day every year.

I’m sure the malls will be busy with shoppers looking for gifts for their mothers and anticipating some clothing or jewelry sale, and the restaurants will be filled up on that day as well. For those who want to give something special and lasting, without leaving the comforts of their homes, they can browse online for Mothers Day jewelry at MyJewelryBox.com where they have a Mother’s Day jewelry gift guide with items categorized into diamond flowers, pearls collection, birthstones collection and more. Those who are on limited budget can shop by price range.

Mother’s Day gifts such as jewelry are long-lasting and should be handled well. Aside from their wide range of products (emerald pendants, diamond rings, gold earrings, gemstone bracelets, bangles and more), MyJewelryBox.com also provides an educational page about diamonds, gemstones, gold and silver and how to properly care for your jewelry collection. Mothers would surely love receiving gifts such as this, though it’s really the thoughtfulness of the giver that counts, whether you bake her favorite chocolate cake or simply give her lots of hugs and kisses.

Panaad Festival in Negros 2008

What’s up in Negros Occidental? It’s a week-long event that’s not to be missed by the Negrosanons, the Panaad Festival which is dubbed as the “mother of all festivals”. This annual event showcases the arts and culture, tourist attractions and local products of the different towns and municipalities in the province of Negros Occidental, from faraway places such as Kabankalan, Himamaylan, Toboso and Calatrava to nearby cities Talisay and Bacolod.

Held at the Panaad Park and Stadium, this festival just started last Saturday April 26 and will end on May 3. This year’s highlight is the special tribute to the late Gov. Joseph Maranon and the SMART PBA All-Star games held at the West Negros College.

Note: Above images were taken April 2006 and featured in my other blog ideasnpink’s Tatak Negros (Proudly Negros Made). This year’s Panaad Festival photo from happysteps? Not yet…I will be posting soon after our visit there within this week. Stay tuned.

Update: We haven’t gone to the Panaad Festival as expected because of our hectic schedule. sigh.

World Series of Rodeo 2008 50th anniversary

Aside from boxing events, another entertaining show to watch in Las Vegas is the National Finals Rodeo (NFR). Mainly sponsored by Wrangler, this is a big event to look forward to every December. Organized by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), this year’s Golden Anniversary event on December 4 to 13 will be even bigger. To be held at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, this Super Bowl of Rodeo is a must-see for rodeo fans. I bet they will be buying ahead those Wrangler National Finals Rodeo tickets before they will be sold out.
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Big sports events as travel attractions

Some of the reasons for travel and going places are not only for sightseeing but for attending important events as well – concerts by your favorite artists and stars and must-see shows such as boxing matches are big tourism attractions too.

This year, another big sports event to watch out for by boxing fans is the upcoming rematch of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Oscar De La Hoya who did one of the richest boxing fights last May 5, 2007 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Arena in Nevada. Where will the September rematch be this year? According to Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, the site could be at the 27,000-seat Home Depot Center or the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, though other venues are interested to host this big event. The fight would also be on HBO pay-per-view for those who can’t travel all the way to see it live.

For those who are big fans and plan on watching the rematch live where the action is, just remember that those Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs Oscar De La Hoya tickets are selling hot, so it’s best to buy them before they will be sold out. Being a boxing fan, I bet this would be another show Dad would be looking forward to watch on TV.

E-Services Global Sourcing conference and exhibition

I have been reading in the news about this year’s business process outsourcing (BPO)trade show. It’s the 2008 E-Services Global Sourcing Conference and Exhibition recently held at SMX Convention Center, Philippines last Feb. 11-12 participated by over 100 exhibitors. During this e-Services conference, fifteen regional information and communications technology hubs were being promoted as potential areas for offshore outsourcing services giving offshore outsourcers a wider choice of location, not just Metro Manila. These 15 regional hubs will have their own trade show displays, the cost of which is said to be subsidized by Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

I haven’t visited this E-services exhibition. But I’m assuming that some of the trade show booths were built using the portable collapsible or compact modular truss that can be easily set up without tools. Or they have one of those telescoping banner stands that can be used as a single or double sided unit, and with the horizontal and vertical telescopic poles that allows the exhibitor to present banner graphics from specified width and height. I hope the exhibition was able to showcase the investment readiness of cities outside Metro Manila and outsourcers have now chosen where to invest.

Spectacular fireworks to welcome the New Year

It’s another year for us, another page in our lives. 2008 brings much hope, and I say it with a lot of positivity, especially with regards to my travel plans. *winks*

The first evening of January was the schedule for Talisay city’s annual fireworks display. Everybody was in anticipation of this great event which was held at the old municipal building grounds. The skies didn’t cooperate though when it rained heavily and the event didn’t start as scheduled. Oh well, we also planned that evening to go the city to witness the affair and I even thought of bringing my camera. The rains took away our enthusiasm as we content ourselves with watching it later in the evening at our backyard. The next day, one of our friends told us there were still many people who watched despite getting soaked in the rain.

Anyway, let’s just have some reminiscing. I’m sharing with you these photos taken from the same event last New Year 2006.

The skies were clear that time and lots of cars and people were on the streets. We joined the other residents watching the spectacular display while exclaiming our ‘wows’.

Photo credits: Bytes of Cookie