Travel

For my birthday, I was researching on a getaway near Metro Manila that was baby-friendly. One of the searches recommend this family-run farm called “Hulo Leisure Farm” so I decided to take my family to a weekend getaway. Located in Bataan, I loved how it was just a 2-hr drive away from Makati – a smooth drive too! I hope you find this blog post helpful and pls share with me your fave weekend getaways near the Metro.

I love Boracay – it’s definitely one of the world’s most beautiful beaches but personally, I initially didn’t want to go – my husband had to convince me. Why? For some reason, I’ve always had a notion it was crowded and thinking of my last trip in 2009 (YES – it’s been that long!) – I remember the shores being so busy and webbed by green algae, thus I wasn’t overly excited when my husband brought up the Boracay 2020 idea. Here is my experience returning to Boracay, almost 11 years later and of course, details on going through Boracay’s travel requirements. Was this trip a yay or a nay?

When in Italy, people usually have these more popular places in mind such as Milan, Rome, Venice, Florence and of course – Tuscany. All these places sound lovely and a must-visit so this blogpost is about my first ever experience in the Italian countryside – a visit to a quaint and charming hilltown in Cortona, Tuscany. Best to be read with a wine glass in hand!

Best Things to do in Lake Maggiore, Italy

Higson Honeymoon It was a great exchange – I planned 90% of our wedding so in return, my husband Nick took lead in planning 90% of our honeymoon and here’s one of my favorite places – Venice! This city is quite charming so I highly recommend you pay Venice a visit. If and when you do, here are some #YuNick travel tips we hope helps your trip!

In my recent trip to France (where I shared about the Schengen visa application process), Nick and I joined his family in their annual ski trip. Nick loves to ski – whilst I had no clue what was coming. During my first ever ski trip, I was absolutely freezing, trying to figure out if the Topshop coat I brought had proper padding for warmth (clearly not). It’s actually very cool how annual ski trips are a thing for some Western families. Growing up in the Philippines, where it is summer all year round, it was quite a shock to my system to actually immerse myself in a VERY cold climate and even more – to actually ski. Properly. So, I am sharing with you what I love about our ski trips and how, surprisingly, reasonable the costs are.

Bachelorette Party Venue Ideas in Manila (No plane tickets needed!) A lot of soon-to-wed couples seem to be keen on intimate destination weddings and funny enough – even the bachelor and bachelorette parties are going towards that trend too. I’m seeing a lot of Hong Kong, Bali and even Siargao bachelorette parties but what if your entire barkada is set to have one in a year or two? You’ll go to every trip? Frankly, we can’t always look the other way and swipe that card in order to join our friends (as much as we’d love to!!) so I pooled up my top 5 bachelorette party ideas (mine – included) in Manila. No flights needed – just your crazy girlfriends and a fun road trip adventure! My criteria for these top 5 spots – how comfy you can get with your girlfriends (and not be afraid of making any noise), affordability, Instagram factor (lol!) and road trip – friendly.

Shopping in Bangkok, Thailand It is a well-known fact that Bangkok is a HUGE haven for shopaholics – honestly, a gold mine. Many many years ago, I would look forward to going to Bangkok. I come with half of my luggage empty to leave all that room for shopping and spend a whole afternoon combing through the endless aisles of Platinum Mall. The equation was simple: cheap + plenty = heaven! But surprisingly, that was the old me.

Applying for a Schengen Visa An update from last year, my visa trauma is almost gone (but not fully), I honestly still get nervous when I apply. Today, I’ll be sharing with you the process of acquiring a Schengen visa at the VFS via the French embassy. I hope this helps!