Have you ever been overwhelmed with so much you wanted to just escape?
I am quite proud to tell everyone that I’m a tough cookie. Kung maikwekwento ko lang lahat ng mga pinagdaanan namin, pinagdaanan ko sa buhay, mahihiya ang Maalala mo kaya sakin. Char! So whenever something comes in my way, I always think “you’ve been through worst, keri mo to bakla!” and get on with it. Fortunately, nalalagpasan din naman. Pero minsan, I have this feeling na inaasar ako ni Lord. Just when I thought kaya ko na lahat, ayan nanaman siya bibigyan ako ng panibagong unos na may mas bonggang intensity! Iniisip ko nalang, he wouldn’t give me something I couldn’t handle. Keri ko to. Ako pa ba?
Times like these, kelangan huminga. Habit ko when I’m super stressed, either lalamyerda somewhere (depende sa budget lol) or mag aalay lakad lang ako. As in super lakad anywhere, everywhere. While walking, nagiisip, nagrereflect, nag iisip ng strategy, game plan at my best and worst case scenario. After a few hours, okay nako. Renewed person na ulit. This time, yung stress ko brought me (us, rather) to Newcastle. Eh stressed din si friendship, and he needed this as well so dito kame napadpad! Super random! We even left the house so late. The 5-hour drive was also therapeutic, yung nakadungaw ka lang sa bintana, emote emote habang nakaplay yung Never Enough sa background.
After 5 hours, we were lucky to have a bit of sun left so nasulit ang random gala. We were also lucky to be sheltered by old and new friends.
Day 1: Tynemouth Priory & Castle. £5.60 (entrance)
Day 2: Alnwick Gardens (4.60 on winter)
The castle was closed during the winter so sayang and we will most likely come back for that. As for the garden, avail naman siya. We’ve been wanting to visit the poison garden for the longest time so at least na tick na Namin siya sa list.
Anyway, here’s a random video of our trip! (PS. Bear with my editing skillz, I’m still learning!)
We’ve all been through the rough patches in life. I mean, sino ba namang hindi? At some point, we all came to a phase where we wanted to just give up and drop everything. Bahala na.
I couldn’t count by hand (and feet) how many times I was on the verge of giving up and just ending everything once and for all. But I still came through, every. single. time. I did learn important lessons though. And some techniques or perhaps mechanisms to halt disappointments and heartaches.
What’s your BEST case – WORST case scenario?
Everytime I get into difficult situations, big decisions, I always ask this to myself. And overtime, it has transformed me into a hardcore realist. It did have it’s downside though. My walls were way up and unreasonably robust but hey, it worked for me.
When my almost 12-year relationship ended, I was shattered. Ang hirap. Ang sakit. For lack of better word, it was a f*cking sh*thole! And if I’m gonna be honest, drinking, partying helped me cope and travelling helped me heal my grieving heart. Also, I had replayed the best and worst case scenario button in my head a million times. And then, out of nowhere, I bumped into a broken soul. It’s funny how fate led 2 freshly wounded souls (in short, parehong galing break-up) together. We began as friends – we talked, laughed, stress walked (we just walked and walked silently anywhere, thinking), and for most times, cried together. We became each others shoulder to cry on, sabay tugtog ng Scared to death at Wag ka nang umiyak (Ebe and Kz version, way before nag-trending yung kay Gary V) . Ang emo ng friendship namen. It felt like we were both in a severely destructive phase na anytime, puputok. And for those who didn’t know or understand what we were going through, and what we had, people simply assumed. At one point, we were even each other’s reasons for apparently breaking up with our partners hahaha. Nkklk! It was just a frenzy of emotions and hearsay. Ang gulo! Pero kebs nalang. What’s important is I/we just move on from this dark cloud over us para masaya na. Nakakapagod din eh.
After a few months, I got over the depression phase. I decided to head for the best case scenario and just move on with my life. And you know what, it is just one of the most exhilirating feeling ever – knowing you have fresh start. A clean slate. Freedom. And with my fresh start, I began falling inlove. Tricky at first, given both our history. I was hopeful, but never expected. Pero, akalain mo?
So there my friends, is the synopsis of how I got my best case scenario: unexpectedly, unintentionally, I found the love of my life. From 2 lost, damaged souls into starting anew into a lifetime of love. Funny how you find love in the most unusual time, place and circumstance.
Dati, naririnig ko lang to sa mga baklaan namin. Pag agree sa mga jobi (sabe) ng mga ate, sabay-sabay sisigaw ng Czech Republic!!!! Whooo!
Kidding aside (naaaks, may pa-aside), never kong naimagine na mararating ko ang magical bekimese word na ito pero since andito narin naman ako, grab the opportunity na ito teh, bago pa mag expire ang Schengen visa.
Hello, Prague! Medyo na-hopya ako ng Autumn in Prague pero di ko nareceive yung memo na napa-aga pala ang dating ng winter sonata so di ko na na-sight yung mga paandar ng scattered leaves. The place was lovely anyway. :)
We landed around noon so may time pa to scrung lala around before we checked in. From the airport, the only mode of transpo going to the city centre is either mag taxi which is Mahalya Fuentes (expensive) or take the bus which is very cheapangga. Chu-chu train parin ang main mode of transpo and unlike before, di na kami nag-getsung ng mga 2 or 3 day pass since we were informed na magkakalapit lang ang mga ganap so no need to buy.
The thing about arriving there early is the Bagelyas. Most of the trips we’ve had mega arrive kami dun ng early thinking sayang ang time so ayun, pagdating sa area, ikot around with the trolley while waiting for the usual 1400H check-in which is a bit of a hassle at majingay ang gulong sa daan. Travel lite pa kame sa lagay na yan (All travels, 1 small trolley and 1small bag lang and the most days we’ve fitted in there was 11 days, pak,ganern!)
One of the Czechs local delicacy-
We stayed at Residence Bologna, which is very very near the city centre. The hotel is not as modern as most would prefer pero kebs na since winner ang location and the price. We also were a bit spoilt since they gave us a room which should be for 4-6 people + balcony so pak na pak talaga. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to take a photo of it, pero promise totoo lahat ng sinabi ko kahit wala akong ebidensya.
After we’ve settled in, and had a bit of rest, we tried to look for some lafangga areas. In our past trips, we usually use Google and TripAdvisor for food recommendations- then we discovered Yelp (free app!) which is much to our liking since it is easier to use and gives clearer and better reviews and directions to the area you want to get to.
Thanks to Yelp, we found this resto called Prazky most u Valsuwhich is just 3-5mins walk from the hotel.
We ordered some soup (since it was just a degree + snowing) and one specialty of theirs which was called Pork Knuckle. Naloka kame day, we just literally imagined a knuckle but when they served it, nako buong pata pala! Unfortunately, they don’t serve any rice (sayaaaang!) nevertheless, food coma it is! They also gave us varieties of their breads and with the amount of food they serve, we had enough left for a takeaway. And the catch- it’s cheap! We just spent 20 quid for everything! From then on, confirmed! Totoo pala ang chika na mura lang dito sa Praha!
It was already twilight when we finished so we took this time to discover the city. There were actually fewer tourists than we expected (post Paris attack) which we took to our advantage since it wasn’t as crowded as usual.
By the Bridge of Charles
See! Not crowded @ Charles Bridge!
Prague Castle
Old Castle Stairs
St. Vitus Cathedral
One arti pose, thanks to our trust mini tripod
Post 2-3 hours straight of walkathon, photoshoot and nginigan festival (di ba nga isang centigrado lang yung temperatura) we needed to fill up our tanks and thanks again to yelp, we found Rugantino.
It’s a more modern resto compared to the Celtic-ish one we went to earlier but it didn’t disappoint! Food was good, very tasty and the ambiance was really nice. I do apologize, na loss nanaman ang lola niyo and I forgot to take more pictures. For our order of 16oz. stake, sea food risotto (I again, forgot the name), foie gras, drinks and for this posh ambiance, total bill was only £30!!! Mura, tehhhhhh!
Day 02!
Day view naman na ang mga ganap this time
At the French Embassy
John Lennon Wall
Back to Charles Bridge
May pa-Helicopter sila oh
On our third day, um-aura lang ulit at the city centre then gora sa Train station en-route to Austria!
Here’s a pa-video kuno of my lamyerda. Sorry, back to being a rusty editor- nangalawang na ang skills! Nevertheless, enjoy!
amazingcharrozcaldos.blog 