Frannywanny

When I was planning for my upcoming business trip to Beijing , I was told that I will be staying at the Marriott City Wall Hotel . With that in mind, I planned my itinerary around the hotel knowing that there's a subway station nearby making it accessible for me to sneak in some quick shopping trips in between our official visits and meetings. I've been growing through the Marriott City Wall website a lot of times that I knew the look of the hotel by heart. Thus, when the luxurious black Mercedez Benz (a.k.a. my ride from the airport) made a left turn into a small road and stopped in front of an unfamiliar looking hotel, that got me really confused. I was already too confused with the non-stop Chinese conversations thrown my way as I tried to answer back with my very rusty broken Mandarin and now, I began to question myself if this was really the Marriott Hotel and not as what was I saw in their website. My confusion immediately disappeared as my Chinese counterpart explai...

Look what greeted me the moment I stepped into our house the morning that I arrived from Beijing, China ! It was a six-foot tall box that simply has the phrase "O, Wow!" in front. Our helpers were so excited as they have been wondering for days what was inside. As you open the tiny square hole, this apparently is the magical access to close to a hundred of Oishi assorted snacks! From my favorite Kirei to Pillows; to what most 80s kids love munching on, the Prawn Crackers, to the new Baked Potato Fries and a lot more! Everyone in the house excitedly sorted out the bags of chips as Paul and I packed them into tiny plastics to share with my in laws (especially the two kids) , my grandparents and of course to my ever reliable helpers, driver and our beloved Manang. This truly placed everyone in a happy mood as they all exclaimed "o(h), wow!" as they got their bags of Oishi goodies!

I'm finally back! After recovering from such a tiring travel for a day, here I am back at the daily grind yet totally excited for the upcoming weekend. My trip to Beijing was short but nonetheless very interesting and inspiring. It was for work and what I love about being able to join work-related functions wherein I get to meet our fellow counterparts is the fact that I get to learn a lot from them. It always gives me that drive to do more for my brands..it keeps me inspired and motivated. That's always a good thing, right? Well, as mentioned in my earlier post, this was the first time that I traveled on my own. I'm happy to report that I came back in one piece. Though, I sadly caught a bad case of cough and colds from the change in temperature and probably from those white cotton-like particles that were flying around Beijing all four days but I'll be okay hopefully in a few more days. Loading up on Vitamin C and H2O!! One thing that I look forward to when tra...

Off I go again! For the next four days, I'll take another break as I go incommunicado to a not-so-far-away-land for a short business trip. Here,  I look forward to enjoying the majestic structures that has been standing for centuries, to indulge in the richest and yummiest food and to somehow reconnect with my roots. Yes, I'm flying off to Beijing, China and believe it or not, it will actually be my first trip abroad that I'll be on my own. No Paul, no family, no friends or colleagues to be with me. I'll surely miss Paul as he would automatically hold my hand as the plane takes off and lands on the ground. How he would take care of packing our bags and carry all of them while leaving the lightest baggage for me to pull around. How I wish he'll be there to experience Beijing with me. Without him, all the more I'll strive harder (and save more) for us to be able to visit China soon. ♥ Click here to learn how to apply for a Chinese Visa.   Don't you ...

In every country, there is a particular district that I have grown fond of. There's Tsim Sha Tsui in Hong Kong and Raffles City in Singapore. As a result, I would tend to book hotels within these areas as I find myself most comfortable and at ease when staying in these places. Both districts are considered highly commercial areas as they are filled with lots of shops and restaurants making it so convenient for Paul and I to eat, shop and walk around at any given time of the day. After all, being in a foreign land, it's important to still feel safe to be able to fully enjoy and maximize the trip. As we got to our hotel in Korea , I immediately fell in love with Myeongdong . I love the fact that the entire place is filled with retail shops, food establishments and a lot more. There are a number of malls present such as the Lotte Young Plaza , Migliore and the huge high-end department store called Shinsegae . Just around our hotel, there are a lot of beauty shops which wer...

After arriving at Korea and making our way via the Airport Limousine Bus , we arrived at our hotel -- Hotel Skypark 1 -- located right at the heart of busy shopper's haven, Myeongdong . Since we got to the hotel a little past 10AM, we were told that our rooms were still not ready and we sadly had to go back at 2PM to check in. Not really a big problem for us as our hotel was strategically located beside retail outlets like Uniqlo, Mango, Gap, Skin Food and several food establishments like Lotteria (more on this later) , Smoothie King and a lot more. Not quite satisfied with our airport meal, we decided to head out to search for a place to have coffee and some snacks. Koreans must really love coffee as you'll see a lot of pretty coffee shops everywhere! The more popular ones being Cafe Pascucci , Starbucks Coffee , Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and Caffe Bene .We chose Cafe Pascucci which is located a few blocks away from our hotel. Paul and I shared this cup of Strawberr...

Annyeong haseyo! I'm back from my week-long break in chilly Seoul, Korea ! With the temperature ranging from 5-12 degrees celsius, I spent most of my stay wrapped in my comfy fluffy jacket, gloves and thermal wear to keep me warm.  My friends Richard and Irene were right..thermal eventually becomes your best friend as the temperature drops and as the icy cold wind hits your face. Armed with my daily dose of vitamin C and a new pair of comfy rubber shoes, I joined The Food Club as we visited the various sites around Seoul and ate to our hearts content! Oh I just love Korean barbeque, Bibimbap and Kimbap! I had them almost every single day! The highlight of our stay was that we were able to catch the full bloom of the cherry blossom trees. So pretty and breath-taking indeed. Before I go on and on about our trip, I'd like to open this Korea travel series with some basis Korea 101 ! The Food Club was able to grab a good deal with Cebu Pacific when it had its sea...

This is it! All our bags are packed and in less than 10 hours, we are ready to go! Frannywanny is taking a week-long break in Korea ! I'm so excited to enjoy the cold weather wrapped in my winter outfits and to see lots of cherry blossoms too! Our itinerary is set and together with some members of The Food Club , we are taking Korea by storm through our tummies! We're ready to eat, eat and to eat some more! While we were lucky to be able to grab a good seat sale deal thanks to Cebu Pacific , we all know that preparing for our trip doesn't end there. Entry to Korea requires a travel visa and luckily, the process was pretty simple. Actually the simplest that I've had compared to preparing for my US or China visas. Follow these simple step to apply for a Korean tourist visa for all Philippine passport holders : 1) Download the visa application form and fill all spaces up.  Refer to the second page of the file for a step-by-step guide on how to fill the ...

There are just some things that I don't think I'll ever get tired of eating... ever -- nachos, cheese, pasta, sushi and buffalo wings. These are my comfort food of choice that I just love to indulge on after a crazy day at work. While there are a lot of restaurants that specializes in buffalo wings, only a few has really made the cut and in my book, this includes Sunrise Buckets . I've previously mentioned how I first learned about and was able to try Sunrise Buckets up until the time wherein they finally opened their first store in Madison Square which prompted Paul and I to pay them a visit a few months after. Fast forward to 2012, we were invited to their second branch at Rockwell's newest development in Pasig called The Grove . It's located right across Tiendesitas and is along C5. hmm.. a bucket for my sister? Together with friends Richard and Irene , we got to The Grove ready to chow down buckets after buckets of Buffalo Wings! Since there were four ...

It's Lent and the Philippines is now having a 5-day long break allowing us to reflect, repent and to remember what He has done for us. For me, I'm spending this 5 days to do all those and to relax, tp catch up with friends and to prepare for my upcoming trip as well. Today, I had lunch with a couple of good friends from high school. Since my good friends Angie and Dave are expecting their little bundle joy soon and Ge was advised by the doctor to just stay indoors; thus, we decided to have a simple potluck lunch at their lovely home instead of eating outside. I observe Lent as I stay away from meat until Easter. Luckily, all the dishes that we had today were meat-free allowing me to enjoy every single one! Let me share with you what me and my friends brought to lunch today: Even if she said she won't be cooking anything; Ge, who can double as Martha Stewart, couldn't help but prepare this yummy Spinach Dip with Crostinis. She also had a plate of Asparagu...

Traveling to China soon? Let me share with you this step-by-step guide on how to apply for a Chinese Visa for all Philippine passport holders . When I first learned that I will be flying to China for work in a few weeks, I felt my heart do cartwheels and a few somersaults here and there but after that I went straight to business. Since I will be flying out to the land of bulgogi and bibimbaps before my China trip, I knew that I can't afford to dilly-dally and waste precious time in applying for my visa or else I face the consequence of not having my passport in time for the trip or worst, not having a Chinese Visa at all. Did a little research, I was happy to find some websites that were really helpful as I prepared for the documents needed for my visa. The good thing is, I've had a Chinese visa before therefore cutting down on at least half of the documents needed to be submitted to the embassy. Nonetheless, let me share the full list here with you. First step: Do...

Hello April! Time seems to be zooming by so fast this 2012! I can still remember how Paul and I welcomed the New Year with lots of sweet round fruits and a bowl of noodles with my in laws. Now we're a few months away from my birthday which means we're nearing the middle of the year! Hold on 2012, don't go by so fast as I'm definitely having a blast! Back when Paul and I were still university students, we look forward to the summer break as this means we can hang out more often than usual during the school year. Summer break means impromptu road trips, afternoon movie marathons complete with a bag of popcorn and soda, and quick trips to the mall. On days when we just want to laze around the house and eat, we would excitedly wait for the mid-afternoon where we would go around our neighborhood in search of some yummy street foods ! To be honest, I grew up never having a taste of street food. With my Dad who gives so much importance to hygiene, my sister and I were ...