Happy Steps travel blog

Travel during the holidays: presence is more important than presents

Nothing compares to being with our loved ones during holidays and important occasions, right? Thus, most of us would really take time to plan ahead for vacation by delegating tasks or completing projects before due date, and of course making sure to have enough financial resources, such as getting cash advance loans, for travel during the holidays. A trip or a visit to family and close friends during special events is worth more than just sending over some electronic greetings or material gifts. I couldn’t agree more with the saying that presence is more important and meaningful than presents. Continue reading… »

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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After the holidays

What a whirlwind of activities our family had during the holidays. We had a simple reunion for Christmas with my siblings and their families who traveled all the way from Cebu, Finland, Thailand and Prague. The opening of gifts was a memorable and fun event not just for the kids, but for the grownups as well. Aside from my brothers and sisters being here with their families for vacation, we also had some guests from Iligan, my uncle and his family who stayed with us for few days until New Year. You can just imagine how our house looked like with all rooms filled up and kids running around.

With all our guests gone now (except for the Prague bunch), it’s getting quieter with just few of us left. Sigh. I miss seeing the kids playing around, the usual family chitchats and the busy look of the kitchen (imagine having three cooks at once). I wonder when the family would be complete for Christmas again. Now it’s time for cleaning up the holiday storm that hit our house, and especially for taking off those extra pounds gained.

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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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!

French summer holidays

This Sunday morning while looking out the window, I noticed that the streets are deserted and there was just one guy walking his dog. It’s the usual scene here in Pori during weekends when most families spend it somewhere away from the city such as a vacation in a summer house. Weekends are great for relaxation and family get-together.

I’ve been browsing over some sunny French holidays in Western Loire and it would be nice to stay at the La Pergola, a four-bedroom barn conversion in Vendee, France which is just perfect for families and small groups with outdoor heated swimming pool, daily maid service, a garden and it’s just near the beach.

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