Touring the Languedoc: Albi and its environs

On the road again!

One of the things the big K and I look forward to every time we visit France are the wonderful, not to mention thrilling road trips we get to do. Nothing compares to the joy of driving along the picturesque countryside (we love that there's hardly any traffic!), exploring towns and villages that seem to have come straight from a storybook along the way or just simply absorbing the beautiful scenery as we whiz by.

And I mean REALLY whiz by! Just imagine hurtling along a VERY twisty country road up in the mountains with space barely enough for two cars to fit in. Tight, blind corners, sheer drop-offs, no safety barriers and a sign that says you can do 90kph. Really?! I don't think so. I kept reminding my need-for-speed-wannabe-race-car-driver husband to slow down. It's no wonder some of the best rally car drivers are French!

But that's getting ahead of the story. And so with much anticipation, the big K and I drew up an itinerary to some of the charming places in the Languedoc and Provence regions for the next couple of weeks.

A lavender field in early bloom.

Bienvenue à Toulouse!

With an ongoing beach house project, supplier meetings and a hectic work schedule,  the big K and I weren't planning on any long haul vacation anytime soon. So for our birthday getaway treat we were looking forward to simply relaxing by the beach in the company of a good book while sipping our favorite Mojito drink all day long. Sweet!

But happily, things don't always work out as planned..... because my darling big K, on short notice, was asked to attend a training on his requested leave days, our birthday getaway! If that weren't enough, his training was all the way in Toulouse, France! (Insert big smiley face here!)

Needless to say with barely a month to prepare for the trip, I was all in a frenzy gathering papers needed for my Shengen visa application (Aah! The perks of a citizen from a 3rd world country!). Aaaand.... I also had to come up with a two-week itinerary. Yup! The big K got his vacation days moved after his training so we could go on a side trip. (Insert another BIG smiley... wait, make that grinning-Cheshire-cat face here!)

The oldest fountain in Toulouse at Place Saint-Étienne.

Barefoot Luxury in Dedon Island, Siargao

We'd been in the resort for two hours or so before I realized what had been nagging at me since we'd arrived. It was almost eerily quiet. Sounds silly, I know, but being a full-on, born and bred city mouse, it takes a while in real QUIET to fully grasp how tremendously noisy a city can be.

Had a massage at 3:30PM in the afternoon, heard ONE motorcycle, that's it. No other engines of any kind, no radio, no TV, no karaoke (thank heavens!), no telephones. Perfect.

Now it's 6:30PM, and someone's got a generator going somewhere but you almost have to strain to hear it. The main soundtrack for tonight seems to be cricket songs. There are a lot of them out here, and I think they're all in love. Perfect.

A Double Dose of Healthy Living

New Year! New journeys! I wonder what adventures await the Big K and I for the year. One of the things I always look forward to at the start of each year are the travels the Big K and I will be embarking on be it for work (well his work, I tag along), celebrating milestones like our anniversary and birthdays. Or just simply packing our bags and see where our itchy feet will take us.

To start the year and to celebrate our anniversary we were off to one of our favorite places in the country. A short drive south of Metro Manila, Tagaytay, is a great place to visit this time of the year when the air is still cool and the holiday crowd has just gone back to their regular daily grind. Ah! Peace and quiet!

Blue, Blue, the Mountains are Blue!

Now where do you find blue mountains? Uh, no, it has nothing to do with a mental state. Okay, it might not be as bright as the clear blue sky but it still is a shade of blue. So, where is it you ask? 

They really are blue!