Lamyerda Diaries: Oxford, Oxfordshire

So what’s up?

I’ve decided to cancel my bank shift for this weekend. I thought after all those weeks of work, I deserve some rest and relaxation.

R&R officially commenced Friday night. Hubby had boys night out, housemate Mike went globtrotting somewhere so I had the house all to myself! I did my usual thing – bubble bath, face mask, aromatherapy and relaxing spa music. Eng sherep beh. The only thing missing was a full body massage but I have yet to find a place/person who offers this at a reasonable price. Anyway, the main goal was to relax and na-achieve naman. Pak!

Saturday. The plan was to go to the beach however, I woke up really late and was actually not in the mood to move so we decided to cancel it. Out of nowhere, nagkayayaan. We ended up driving 2 hours to Oxford. I fell in love instantly. I just adore the ambiance. Plus ang daming gwapo mga veh, I kenat! Char! It just had a very chill vibe which I did not expect at first. It wasn’t as crowded as Cambridge although the buildings/structures were quite similar sans the canal. I can actually see myself living here. Add extra point cause they have a branch of Shoryu Ramen. I think the only downside will be 1) Oxford has been dubbed as one the most expensive cities to live on 2) A bit farther from Central London.

Anyway, back to Lamyerda Diaries- it was a 2 hour drive from Essex and the first spot we went to was the Blenheim Castle and gardens.

Entering the actual castle would cost £26- ang mahal mag mashie! Since were more interested in just strolling around, we opted for the park and garden tour which only cost 16 quid.

It kind of had a Kensington gardens feel but 3x times bigger! And there’s more area with a wide variety of trees plus a really huge pond/lake in the middle. Walking through the whole adult park area alone took us around 30-45 minutes. Luckily, the weather cooperated so di nakaka haggardo v.

One other feature of the place was their Pleasure Park where they house the Marlborough Maze.

After the Blenheim, we went to their high street. Knowing it was a Saturday evening, I kind of expected it to be packed but nope! Pubs/bars were packed but not as busy as a Saturday night in London (esp. Soho area).

Radcliffe Camera

Unfortunately, it was too late to enter the Christ Church Uni to see the big dining hall and stairs from Harry Potter movies so we just sat and people watched outside.

I wonder how busy the area gets on weekdays. I’m looking forward to visit again soon!

Bear with my video! Natamad Ako mag edit chuchu

Acan’t Forget

Throwback Thursday: Fam Bam getaway

Morning after our wedding, we were (sort of) dragged out of our wits to go into a 6-hour roadtrip with the whole family. The thought that we’re all gonna bond is ecstatic but I’m not gonna lie, after all of the stress and exhaustion from planning to preparing to the actual big day, we were kind of in a zombie mode the whole day. But then again, we’ll be leaving again in the next 5 days so every moment counts.6 hours, 5 vehicles and threading through high terrain and one nasty landslide later, we arrived at my brother-in-law’s resort in Dinadiawan, Aurora.Ahhh, finally, the calm after a profoundly busy feat.

I’ve been craving for this kind of serene place for a while so instead of sleeping in the cottage, I decided to sleep outside and bask under the stars. Mama then decided to join and we just talked about random things till dawn… ❤️

Haaaay. I think I’m homesick but what’s not to miss? Also, it was such a pleasure getting to know and spend time with my new family. I am praying we could do this more often. I love you all! ❤️

Blabbermouth, Lamyerda Diaries

Isang malaking CZECH!

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. :) _DSC1587

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!)

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One of the Czechs local delicacy-

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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 Valsu which is just 3-5mins walk from the hotel.
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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!

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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.

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By the Bridge of Charles _DSC1652

See! Not crowded @ Charles Bridge!
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Prague Castle
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Old Castle Stairs
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St. Vitus Cathedral _DSC1713
One arti pose, thanks to our trust mini tripod
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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!

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