I’m overly excited!!! It’s actually an understatement.  But i just love that my SIL is doing a preparation already for our upcoming arrival in the US.  In fact, she did some bookings already in hotels where we would stay.  Although, we won’t be able to include an Outer Banks vacation this time since we are just going to stay in the West for our total of 24-days stay in the US, we are still pretty much excited about the trip. Itinerary includes Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Reno, SFO, Lake Tahoe, San Diego and hopefully to even include Yosemite if we can still squeeze that in.  It’s one challenging amazing race for us but definitely an enjoyable road trip.  Can’t wait. We can’t really wait!

We rented a self-driven car on our 3rd day.  We got it for only $45 for 24-hour rental!  Yeah, cheap!  We enjoyed the day just hopping from one mall to the other.  Our first destination was Guam Premier Outlets.  It wasn’t that big and not too many stores to really enjoy but got really nice stuff from Nine West, BCBG and Ross.  We ended up getting a small balikbayan box on our way back to Manila since I hoarded about 5 sets of bedsheets.  I was very happy to have found nice bedsheet sets in Guam for our King Size bed, which were only from $16-25, for a 4-pc set.  What I like most is that these sheets are at 300 thread count and can even accommodate a 17″ mattress.  I usually find it hard to get nice sheets here since we pretty have a think mattress and most of the local manufacturers can only accommodate up to 8″.  I even got a 450 thread count for just $25.  Those were really steal.  

The kids were very cooperative during our stay in Guam.  As they say, it’s getting easier each trip.  Thank goodness, they can be coached on what to do.  I thought I would even need those wrinkle creams to battle my stress during the trip.  But no, I didn’t need any since I also don’t want to fall prey on those creams that claim 100% benefit.  I would have wanted to check also on youthology scam before buying any.

We also went to Micronesia Mall, Tumon Sands, Tumon Plaza and K-Mart.  We also went to Two Lover’s Point, the highest point in the island of Guam. We had nice pictures from here.  We went back to our hotel almost 10pm already.  (yes, sinulit ang car rental).  We just ate in one of the restaurants in Micronesia Mall which I actually forgot already.  

All of us were literally dead tired for the whole day so we just capped the night easily.

I know this has been a long overdue post about our trip to Guam last November. Nevertheless, here it is…

It was our first time in Guam. Thanks to Mabuhay Miles promo again last year that we were able to claim 3 roundtrip tickets to Guam. Actually thanks to HSBC Mabuhay Miles credit card. It was so worth it to spend using that credit card. Proof? Our HK trip last September for the whole family were all miles redeemed so as this trip to Guam. We only got a paying ticket for Bianca.

We decided to choose this island for our destination last november. We didn’t regret it. We had a great time. It was family bonding again. And as me and Dicky who took care of the kids for 4 days, i didn’t need any of those ephedra diet pills since I pretty lose about 5lbs in that quick span of time

We left Manila for late flight of 10pm. We were in the airport by 7pm. Again, since it’s Philippine Airlines, it was just a breeze in check-in counters. Guam is ahead of Manila’s time for 2 hours. It was just a quick 4hour flight so we technically arrived Guam at 4am. Upon landing in Guam International Airport, we went straight to the taxi bay to get our ride to Westin Hotel. Our driver was Filipino so we felt at ease. Our room in Westin were already reserved the day before so we were allowed to check-in right away. We were happy with the size of the room. A typical deluxe room for a 5-star hotel. There’s a veranda overlooking the beach and the whole stretch of Tumon Sands. We decided to rest and sleep first before we made our first day adventures.

The next day, we woke up almost 1030am already. We decided to go out and check out Tumon Sands Plaza and DFS Galleria. (yes, shopping right away ;P). Since it was close to lunch time, we took our brunch in Outrigger Hotel. We went to the Underwater World within Tumon Sands Plaza. The place is pretty small. Manila Ocean Park is actually bigger than this. Nevertheless, we still want the kids to see it. Afterwards, we went back to our hotel after strolling around the nearby mall and going to DFS Galleria. We changed to our swimming attires and we were off to the beach afterwards.

Westin Hotel is beachfront.  Guam beach is beautiful. They kids didn’t want to stay in the sands so we let them stay in the pool instead. But we also tried the kayak and then we stayed in the pool area until sunset.

We went back to our hotel room almost 7pm already. We cleaned up the kids and they were snoozing as early as 8pm. Dicky just grabbed a take-out food from a nearby restaurant. We were both tired as well so we just ended the night early.

Day 2 coming up…

Some of our pictures from Day 1…

It’s already mid-February and it’s been hot already on our part of this world. I am hoping to hit the beach this summer with the whole family. Need to get a quick weight loss for me and the husband so we can be back to shape before this trip. Still no final plans yet but we are looking to bring the kids to those nice resorts in the south. I just hope the husband can find time to take a leave from work

Literally! I am planning for a quick getaway for the family this summer. Still needs to decide among the choices we’ve got. If lucky enough, we can trade off our deposit week from our timesharing membership. I would be happy for an out-of-the-country trip. There are so many good places to go to and that includes panama city florida. I hope we could really go to this place in the future. It’s so stunningly beautiful! And there are hotel resorts that are on unbelievably low rates if you book early. For the meantime, let me compare the quotes I’ve got and work on our travel budget sheet. We need to decide soon as airfares and accommodations are getting fully booked already.

the quick vacation we had in Thunderbird Resort in Poro Point, La Union. Everything in that place was picture-perfect. It was all nice and beautiful. In fact we had a number of beautiful pictures with my team. Glad that we were able to capture the nice sunset also during that lunar eclipse. Right beside the pool is a pond with great colored fishes. No wonder, they do use an environmental friendly pond pumps as per the hotel staff.  I hope to go back to that place with my whole family next time.

We are already preparing for our itinerary for our upcoming trip! Thanks to my SIL. I am getting super excited. In fact, there are more to see this time versus the last time we were there. We are even looking for a vacation property management which we can avail for some home exchange program. We need such to manage our accommodations since we are travelling to different areas: Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Reno, Sacramento and San Francisco. I have read about 3rd Home, which is a premier vacation property management and home exchange website. In fact, their site is appropriate for our requirement since they do have some of the most popular destinations for vacation rentals from their owners located at Miami, Florida, Palm Springs, California, and Nantucket Massachusetts. They even have beach villas in Mexico and mansions on Miami Beach. They even have upscale lofts in France and log homes in Colorado. I got excited learning about all of these. We would definitely look into those places as well in the future. The program allow members to exchange their second homes with other luxurious vacation houses and even enjoy exclusive access to some of the most desirable resorts and private destinations in the world. It is perfect for those who wants to experience a different getaway experience. I read also that they strive to create the finest, luxury, second home exchange program in the whole world.  Now, let me review more their site and plan ahead for our next vacation destinations!

The husband and I would have a planning session before the year ends for our goals in the coming year. I always look forward to it as we also plan for our travel budget for the year. Next year would definitely be a trip to the US. As much as I would like to include a Europe trip, I think that plan should take a back seat until 2012.

Nevertheless, I still can’t help but dream about going to Europe sometime. It is one of my ultimate travel destinations I wish to go to on this lifetime. I wish to go to popular cities in Europe like Paris, Rome, and London. I was browsing a blog of a friend who recently went to Europe. I took a lot of notes on the places she recommends to visit. Now, I can’t help but browse some more. I found out about a site that gives information and reviews about different Restaurants in UK. The site is very informative for a tourist like me who would like to plan for a European trip. Since you do not want to waste money and time in dining in a non-sense restaurant or even bars/pubs, checking the popular and favorite Restaurants London from the site would be quite helpful. A review by patrons are being given on each shop or restaurant. It is also easy to navigate since a map is actually provided so you won’t get lost as well in finding the restaurants or Pubs London. If you love shopping, you can also check the site for a complete list of stores to watch out based on what you are looking for. A schedule of activities on a particular place is also updated in the site. I definitely have bookmarked the site.

Now, planning for a Europe trip has never been this easy because of tremendous resources you can find online. I hope the dream would come true in the coming years.

We are back from Guam since this morning but I am still in denial that vacation is finally over. We had a grand time in Guam! It was a perfect get-away for me, the husband and the two kids. We love Guam! We love our hotel, the Westin Resort Guam. We love the beach, the pool and the outlet shopping! Would love to go back there since it’s a short plane ride from Manila. In fact, a budget for a trip to Boracay in an upscale resort is almost the same with a get-away in Guam. So why not right?

I have yet to upload our pictures and make a detailed story of the trip. For the meantime, I need to freshen up as I have a party to attend to tonight. Our association is having a suppliers’ party and I still need to get those business gifts I ordered last week. I am hoping the cards are done since I still have to write on those.

Hope to post some pictures tomorrow.

for Guam. Gladly, the little girl, Margaux has no fever anymore since yesterday afternoon. I was so worried for her as we might even have to cancel the trip. Thank goodness, she got well. We would be equipped with right medications for the trip anyway. Also, I am happy that I was able to finish all errands and tasks that the husband asked me to do. I was able to even finalize and get the life insurance rate we were asking from our agent. Would read through it while we are on trip and would finally give our decision by next week. For the meantime, there are still some work I need to do this morning before I finally finish packing.

and we are bound for the island of Guam. We would be staying here…

The Westin Resort Guam

We are excited of course. Although I haven’t done our itinerary yet. I need to finish it by today as the husband would look at it tonight. Aside from the Guam Itinerary, he is also asking me to check out Fort Worth apartments as he wants to consider including Texas for the trip to mainland next year to see and meet his bestfriend. I wonder how we could fit all our schedules by then.

For the meantime, I need to print all necessary information we need for the upcoming trip to Guam like transportation options, attractions, dining options, and shopping of course. We are praying for Mr. Sun to shine on us while we enjoy the beach and sands of Tumon Island! Can’t wait!

I love travelling!  And to just say that is even an understatement.  We are leaving for Guam this friday and yet I am also busy researching and canvassing for our next trip next year.  If everything falls into place, time and budget, would like to avail of the disney world vacations. I’m sure the kids would have a blast there.  We are sure to be in the West Coast by May of next year and I am haggling to the husband that we stay for a minimum of 30days.  Disneynald in Anaheim and Universal Studios would all be included in our itinerary.  This time, the kids are bigger so I’m pretty sure they would enjoy it most.  For the meantime, I got to get back on my research as I am preparing for our itinerary for Guam this week.

I am also planning for our upcoming trip to Guam this November. Here I go again, cannot decide on which hotel to book. Too much information overload from Trip Advisor is confusing me! I need to ask feedback from friends who have been there before. Good thing I also have a former bride who is residing there and is very much willing to assist me on planning our itinerary. We are actually not staying for long so it is important that we maximize our days. I don’t know, I just can’t decide again just like when I was looking for a hotel in the city when we went to Hongkong last month. The husband said I should book it before the week ends. I hope I can manage to do all the comparison of the hotels. I’m down to 3 options: Outrigger Hotel, Westin Hotel or Hyatt Hotel. I hope it won’t be this hard when we decide to go for Outer Banks vacation homes.

At last, writing about our final day.   I would have wanted to go to HongKong Island via Star Ferry but we woke up pretty late.  Dicky suggested not to go there anymore, instead spend time in Tsim Tsa Tsui.  I have fixed our stuff already the night before so we didn’t have to cram packing for check-out.  We went out of our hotel to walk along Nathan Road.  We figured to stop in some stores but wasn’t really able to buy anything.  At almost 11am, Dicky (him and the kids) suggested that they should just go back to our hotel room and let me have my time to quickly shop.  He told me to go back by 1pm in our room.  It wasn’t really easy to shop actually if you have toddlers in tow so I agreed.  

I actually just moved around Harbour City and crossed the street to check on H&M.  I was looking for a particular item but to no avail.  After careful thought, in the end, I was able to get myself something nice.  

Went back before 1pm in our room and our family went out to eat for lunch.  We decided to eat again in City Super so it would be quick and easy.  After lunch, went back to the room and checked-out.  Since Dicky wasn’t really able to shop at all. (but got him a perfume along Nathan Road), we headed to the airport instead to have the final shopping before boarding. 

We were in the airport before 3pm, we left the kids in an airplane play area at the 2nd floor, while Dicky and I took turns in moving around.  Dicky got some casual tees from Bossini.  We boarded the plane by 530pm in time for our 6pm flight back to Manila.

We were home sweet home before 930pm.   

Some pictures on our final leg…

It was indeed a family-fun trip.  Would love to do this yearly! But for now, I’m off to plan for the Guam trip on November!

So I’m finally on Day 3.  It was our last day in Hollywood Hotel so had to make the most of it.  It was kinda cloudy that morning so we weren’t sure if we could go swimming in the pool.  We bought some breads already from the park the night before so that actually worked for us as our breakfast that morning.  After packing some of our stuff, we went down around 9am to take a look at the garden part of the said hotel.  We brought our swimming gears just in case.  We had few shots but sad that we didnt find the cute cars there like what I saw last year.  

Even if it was drizzling, the kids still want to dip in the pool!  The husband agreed to let them swim anyway.  Good thing, it also stopped after a while.  They really love swimming, no inhibitions (unlike mommy! harharhar)

After swimming, we went back to our room to take a bath and pack as well. We checked out almost 12nn and left our luggages in the concierge first as we were TungChung outlet mall bound right after. We had last few pictures from our hotel room…

We had our lunch in the fastfood area in TungChung and then tried to move around for shopping. We took a train ride going there. But luckily or not so luckily, Dicky and I wasnt able to buy anything for ourselves. I never had a chance to even look at the Pedder Warehouse for some shoes. Instead, we got crocs for the kids so as new adidas rubbershoes.

We went back to Hollywood Hotel to get our luggages.  That was around 3pm already.  We took a cab going to Marco Polo Gateway.  It was at a hefty price of 250HKD.  There were charges for the luggages.  We arrived in Gateway almost 430pm already.  Will post separately our room in Marco Polo.  I heart it, the room and the hotel’s location!  We rested a bit then we were off to Harbour City.  The hotel is right inside the mall!  We ate in City Super (fastfood) at the 3rd level.  We were supposed to walk to the Clock Tower to watch the Symphony of Lights after our dinner but it was drizzling so we just stayed in the balcony side of the mall to watch the show (minus the music!)

Went back to our room in Marco Polo Gateway almost 10pm since we tried to window-shop around as well after the show.  We were able to buy few shirts/blouses (especially for changing clothes of Margaux for school) from Mothercare.  We rested for the night as it was our last night in HK!  I was looking forward for the following day for last minute shopping!

So it’s time to have our Character Breakfast Buffet in Disneyland Hotel.  (Tip:  Do reserve in your hotel’s reception for the coupons for this breakfast since it would be cheaper by few dollars rather than a walk-in guest in the restaurant) Cost of the buffet breakfast was at 196HKD per adult and 99HKD for child.  Kids from 0-3 are free of charge. 

On this buffet breakfast, saying that Bianca had a blast is an understatement.  She was ecstatic, super happy actually.  She loves the disney characters so much that she really wasn’t able to eat since she has been running around after Goofy, Pluto, Mickey, Minnie and Daisy.  The ate (Margaux) seemed not to care at all.  She doesn’t even want to have pictures with them as she was only concerned to see the Disney Princesses.  Oh well, the Princesses didn’t go down that time.  They were preparing for a show in the lobby instead.  So notice that all pictures with characters are mostly with Bianca only.

Wasnt really able to take pictures of our food but it was all good.  I think I returned a number of times getting their friend noodles and dimsums!  Yum, yum, yum.  The husband was of course very happy too!  We managed not to have lunch anymore since we were so full from that breakfast. 

More pictures…

I wasn’t at all concerned that Bianca have been really holding the characters.  I know how much the Disneyland Company are paying special attention to the use of safety products on the suits of their characters, so I feel safe.

Finally, Snowhite was in the lobby so we also had a picture with her.

It was almost noon when we went to the park for our 2nd day.

Note:  This post is picture overload…

We went to Disneyland Hotel to have the character buffet breakfast.  We took the 2nd serving from 10am-1130am.  So while waiting for our turn, we took advantage to take pictures within the hotel lobby and garden. The kids loved their maze garden.  It was a nice spot to take pictures.  We also tried to come inside and let Margaux led us the way.

More pictures at the back of HongKong Disneyland Hotel…

Margaux so love the jumping shots so she recommended that we do it again and again and again…

And she wants a solo shot this time…

Arg, I was too tired after those jumping shots.  (nakailan kaya ako no!).  I think I have lose weight after it, like 5lbs! *harharhar* so I don’t need to  buy diet pills But the 5lbs have all been recovered right away after taking a sumptuous great buffet breakfast.

Oh my, Margaux was still jumping on the picture above even though I told her that it’s time to rest already. I can’t even walk already after those jumping shots!  

Afterwhich, it was time to eat with the characters of Disneyland…coming up in next post!

At around 130pm, (yes at the peak of the sun) we went to enjoy the park on our 1st day.  We took the shuttle from the hotel lobby and the kids were pretty excited on what would they see inside Disneyland.  Of course, the dad was taking pictures every step of the way.  Its our way for the kids to remember that happy vacation.  We took some jumping shots as well before we boarded the bus.

Off from the bus, a picture in the arc of HongKong Disneyland shouldn’t be missed and to the surfing Mickey.

Then to the Mickey Mouse Flower Garden…

First ride, the Disneyland Train.  Bianca loved the train so much.  We took off in Fantasyland and watched the 4d Magicshow. This time it was Margaux who had a blast in the show.  Bianca didn’t quite get why she had to wear the glasses inside the dark movie theater.  She ended up  watching it without her magic glasses. 

We proceeded by taking all other rides like the Winnie the Pooh (Bianca’s favorite), Dumbo Elephant (Margaux’s favorite) and the Carousel of course (Bianca’s favorite also).

We then realized that we were hungry so we ate in one of the al fresco cafe’s which has nice patio furniture covers along Main Street. It was timely after taking our snacks that it was time for the Disney Parade.  Oh, the kids had a blast waving at their favorite characters.  Margaux was “kilig” when the Disney Princesses waved their hands and even blew kisses on her.  While Bianca was shouting on the glimpse of Pluto, Goofy and the most popular couple in town, Mickey and Minnie Mouse! 

After the parade, we took our chance to take pictures in front of the magical castle…

The kids enjoyed watching also the High School Musical show in the main ground.  Then we tried Autopia and the Astro Blazers (which is Margaux’s most favorite).  I think we took that ride for like 8x for 2 days!  ;)

We were in the park till evening since we waited for the fireworks display.  I took this pictures of Dicky while we were waiting for the fireworks…

Although the fireworks in Disneyland Anaheim is whole lot better, we still enjoyed the final attraction in HongKong Disneyland.

We headed back to our hotel through the Resort Shuttle.  The kids were already low-bat this time.  We ate quickly in the lounge since the restaurant only offers dinner buffet.  We felt that it would be such a waste if we would take that.  The kids just had their kiddie meals while Dicky and I had noodles for dinner. Margaux was already sleeping in the couch even before we finished eating.  We capped the night early as we were prepared to take another long day in the park on our 2nd day.

We are back! We arrived home Saturday evening. I was dead tired tending to the kids. They were so playful, at times rowdy but was able to manage them still.

We left the house wednesday morning before 5am to be in the airport early. Oh, I lacked sleep that night since I finished last minute packing at 1am.  We took the first flight to HK via PAL. The kids were so easy to wake up during the time. They were so excited. They were up until we boarded the plane till we landed in HongKong. (ibang energy level! ) We were the first one to board the plane.  Yes, super excited lang naman! 

Some pictures while in NAIA Terminal 2…
  

They were  behaved all throughout the trip.  I was happy cause they were easy to manage on the plane.  Its a test if we can go for long haul flights next time.  Bianca was so obedient when I told her to put on her seatbelt.  She didn’t took it off all throughout the time that we were on flight.  The Ate (Margaux) was just busy with her writing books.  When it was time to eat, they both ate the food that was served.  

The flight was on time so we were in HongKong by 10am. The checkout from immigration only took few minutes and we were off to get our luggages.  We took a cab going to Disney Hollywood Hotel where we stayed for 2 nights. It was a breeze during check-in and we were allowed to come in to our room already as early as 11am. It was hot when we arrived in HongKong. The sun was up and so we were so glad. But we were informed by the reception staff that a storm might come the following day based on their forecast so instead of going to TungChung first based on our IT, we decided to rest for a while, freshened up and proceeded to the park right away.

Next up, our 1st day in Disneyland Park.

One day to go…this is the planned “Itinerary” for the trip…

Day 1 – Wednesday, Sept 9
8am – Depart Manila via PAL
11am – (hopefully) in Disneyland Hollywood Hotel already
– check-in and drop luggages
12nn – travel to TungChung outlets for lunch and quick shopping
2pm – be back in Disney hollywood hotel to freshen up
3pm till closing – Disneyland in time for the parade

Day 2 – Thursday, Sept 10
8am – breakfast in Disneyland Hotel
10am – Disneyland again
* could go to TungChung again in case the kids are sleeping in the afternoon

Day 3 – Friday, Sept 11
8am – breakfast in Disneyland Hollywood Hotel
9am – swimming in the pool of Hollywood Hotel
12nn – check-out, move to city
130pm – check-in Marco Polo Gateway Hotel
3pm – take Star Ferry to go to HongKong Island (for kids to try this so as the tram in HK island)
330pm-5pm – move around Causeway Bay, Central
5pm – back to TST via MTR, shop and dinner
730pm – go to Avenue of Starts to watch Symphony of Lights at 8pm
9pm – back to hotel, rest

Day 4 – Saturday, September 11
8am – breakfast in Harbour City
9am-1130am – last minute shopping
12nn – check out; leave luggages in concierge
1pm – lunch and move around TST area
3pm – off to airport, airport shopping!
6pm – flight back to Manila

We are hoping for a good weather! Can’t wait to be back in HK again!

Yes, we finally have confirmed bookings on hotels where we would stay in HongKong in two weeks time. After much of my delay, I finally decided to give Marco Polo Gateway Hotel a try. All hotel entrances/exits are leading to Harbour City so I’m going to be one happy shopper then. This is a much needed trip for our family. We really wanted to go on with this family vacation as this could mean bonding time with the kids (read: no yayas at all!). I have psyched myself that I can manage my two little girls, mind you they are still quite unmanageable especially when together. I should actually show the husband that I cannot lose my sanity from this trip otherwise I doubt if the husband would agree to bring them to some other foreign destinations like the beautiful white-sand beaches of Riviera Maya. I have been wishing to have the chance to stay in one of those Karisma Hotels. It’s going to be one vacation that can be truly relaxing, with superb luxurious accommodations, great beach, and feasting on deliciously prepared Gourmet food. It could really be a treat. In truth, I am including it in our list of destinations to go to.

when we moved to the city from Disneyland for 1 night stay in HongKong this September.  How pathetic it could be?  Just 1 night and I can’t even decide?  lol! Well, I am considering a lot of things since we are bringing the kids. But in my husband’s point of view, I am just complicating things!  *rolleyes*  Ok fine, I might be overacting but I just want to get a nice hotel in a very good location.  I am also considering size of the room and cleanliness of the comfort room plus accessibility to transportation means. I am still hoping to extend our stay for another night if PAL would open up some slots!  Now, I am willing to pay extra.  But in choosing the hotel, I also have to consider rates of course.  I have been to Hongkong a lot of times but I just don’t know why its taking a while for me to decide on matters I should know already!  ;-) Reading a lot of reviews makes me delay things.  I really need to book already before this weekend as the husband might change his mind for the budget set for this trip.  ;)  How I wish it was just as easy as booking orlando florida hotel packages. They have amazing prices that includes flight, accommodations and theme park tickets already.  Hmm, makes me think if we could include it in our itinerary next year.