Day 197 - Birthday in Rome!

Today was my birthday, and I turned 26, past what should have been a quarterlife crisis...which is what this whole trip was all about fighting right? I still think about all the uncertainty of life when I come back home, but am still enjoying every minute of my travels, savoring it before I have to go back home. And it's not that I'm reluctant to come back, I actually look forward to it as much as I look forward to the next few weeks in Spain. Fear has crossed my mind that I will be even more confused with which path to take in the next chapter in my life, but I think this trip has made me realize that I can do whatever the hell I want, as long as I made the effort to go the direction I want to go.

It was another tour of Rome today, with me playing tour guide for EJ, since I'm somewhat of an expert now...OK not really, but I tried my best to pretend like I knew random facts about everything we came across. We headed to Piazza Venezia first since it was so close to our hotel and took pictures in front of the Il Vittoriano, where two guards are on duty nonstop, 24 hours each day. We quickly browsed through the nearby museum inside the monument, which had an extensive collection of military paraphernalia on showcase.

Nearby, we visited the Chiesa di Santa Maria d'Aracoeli, which EJ decided was one of his favorite churches because they had elegant chandeliers hanging on the sides throughout the church. We made sort of a circle around the city, stopping by the Statue of Marcus Aurelius and Circo Massimo before heading to lunch, where we had Pizza, Bruschetta, and some french fries. It was decent food, but seemed more like a pub than anything else, and I figure that EJ needed to get some real Italian food soon!

Afterwards, we visited the Colosseum again, but this time it was during the daytime, and full of tourists! We headed towards Termini Station, stopping at random shops and the Santa Maria Maggiore Church that I visited yesterday. Secretly, I was in search of a beauty store so that I could buy scissors and get a haircut from EJ, since that's his profession. Luckily, we found a shop, even though almost every other shop was closed (Sunday, the holy day) and I finally got a haircut in our hotel room after almost 6 weeks. Woohoo!

In the evening, we headed out again to see some more sites, including the Pantheon, and the Piazza Naviona. There happened to be a carnival of some sort in the Piazza, with differerent games booths, a carousel, and some merchandise and food booths. I'm not too sure what the occasion was but I'm assuming it was Christmas-related. We walked around some more, and found a cool spot to grab a couple drinks during Aperitivo hour. I think I ate too much before dinner, because when we walked back to the Pantheon to celebrate my birthday, I was stuffed! Luckily, I had it in me to order a pasta dish and enjoy the view of the Pantheon and the Piazza della Rotonda at night. We got front row seats at the restaurant (not that it was crowded or anything) but it was a nice touch for my birthday dinner!

At the end of the night, we had another countdown towards midnight for EJ since it was his birthday at the strike of midnight (although everyone in the US was still celebrating my birthday...jk). We headed to the Fontana di Trevi this time around since it was close to the Pantheon and he wanted to see it at night. Again, everything at night is so much better! Less tourists and more time to just snap some awesome photos!

Aperitivo Hour

Il Vittoriano

Chiesa di Santa Maria d'Aracoeli

Piazza Naviona

Pantheon

Fontana di Trevi

Day 42 - Lolo's 80th Birthday Party

Today I got to celebrate the 80^th birthday of my friend Marvin's Lolo (grandfather). It was nice being included in a family celebration, even though no one really knew who I was.

We headed to the city of Batangas early in the morning so we could dodge the traffic of Metro Manila. There were so many toll roads to get there! I think you have to pay everytime you use one of the highways in the area, so we stopped at many tollbooths to collect tickets, and pay the fares.

We got there around late morning and I was introduced to everyone. They were all very friendly and made me feel at home. Again, it's times like these that make me miss home. I was just reminded of the family parties I would go to at my aunt's house whenever there was a holiday or big birthday celebration. Everyone was loud and raucous, just like my relatives at family functions.

Even though it was morning and I had already had a McDonald's breakfast, we started eating some of the food that was cooked. At these parties, food is eaten all throughout the day, with a siesta in the afternoon. I don't remember most of the names of what I ate, but I had some pancit, pig intestines, pig knuckles, pork rinds, and some other noodle dish...

After the first meal of the party, the karaoke machine was brought out – the same kind that I saw in Boracay, and all the grandchildren gathered around to use the machine. Marvin says that once the uncles get drunk in the afternoon, they take over the karaoke machine with their offtune renditions of various Filipino and English songs.

After lunch, we all sang 'Happy Birthday' to the man of the hour before the presentation of gifts from the Balikbayan Box. Some of the family members had just returned from a trip to the East Coast of the United States and brought back a Balikbayan box full of goodies for family members and the neighbors. Most of the stuff that was given to the grandchildren were clothing. Some of the other stuff I saw in the box was sponges and some bath products. I was a little confused why there were sponges in there. I would have thought that the Philippines would have their own high quality sponges to use, for cheaper than you could find in the states. Marvin didn't have a clue why sponges were brought back, but explained that the Balikbayan box is just a tradition that most Filipinos follow to bring things back for their neighbors and family members when they go on a trip.

Marvin and I took a bus back to Manila in the afternoon and decided to grab some dessert and a small snack at the Peninsula Hotel in Makati. The significance of this hotel was that it the location of the last attempted coup to oust the President at the time (November 29, 2007). Muntineers took control of the second floor of the hotel for several hours, before surrendering to governmental forces. Reporters were subsequently arrested during the action because they hindered the ability of the government to control the coup. There is a sort of reporter responsibility, and I wonder if there is anything written about that. Free and unbiased reporting, but not in a way that would hinder one's or another group's efforts?

Later on at night, Benny and I met at another CS event, only to see Sharapova lose at Wimbledon (sadness!). I met a couple of new CS friends there as well. They were all just testing it out for the first time, and I hope I inspired them to start travelling too! We all headed to another club in the city of Malate to end the night, drunk and happy.

Karaoke before the Uncle Take-Over

A Variation of Pancit with Thick Noodles

Drunk Tito Karaoke Take-Over!

Singing Happy Birthday to Lolo (with his Beautiful Lola)

A Picture with Lolo

Halo Halo Dessert - I thought it was too sweet for my tastebuds

Peninsula Hotel Makati