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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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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Day 02!

Day view naman na ang mga ganap this time
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At the French Embassy_DSC1901

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John Lennon Wall
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Back to Charles Bridge
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May pa-Helicopter sila oh_DSC1953_DSC1969

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!

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Blabbermouth

Welcome to UK, Justin!

It’s not everyday that you would get the chance to meet an old friend again so when we heard that one of Gelo’s college classmates was going to visit, we made sure to give him the warmest welcome (despite the branded “typical English weather”).

It was my first time to meet him and I’m pretty sure we blended well enough cause were from the similar “berdeng bloodline” (wink, wink sabay kembot).

We met at Hotel Strand around 1400H, which is roughly 5-10 minutes walk from the iconic places in London. From there on, we started our mini tour with a cruise around Thames (despite the normal pouring, which we kept on saying happens most of the time) and where I gave them time to catch up and enjoy the view as it was also my first time to try the cruise. I pre-booked for the London Eye+River Cruise package which costs £28.80 per person which is a better deal than buying individual tickets for each attraction. If you visit their site (https://www.londoneye.com) they have other deals that would better suit your taste especially if you have little kiddos. (Oh di ba!? Nagpromote!?)

Since there was still daylight when we finished with the cruise, we decided to stroll around before going for the Eye. We went to Westminster Abbey, walked till we reached St. James Park then of course, the famous Buckingham Palace.

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It was a good decision to go sightseeing first and wait till it got dark cause we had spectacular views while we were up the Eye. I would highly recommend night rides to enjoy these city lights.

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Of course, we also had to show him everyone’s favorite spot

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After the walkathon, we headed back to his hotel to freshen up since our next agenda is dinner @ Jamie Oliver’s (Covent Garden) and the most looked forward to- SOHO! #booking #alamna

Day 2!

We started early at the famous 9 3/4 quarters and we were lucky cause the was no queue! So, grab the opportunity!

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We asked Justin if he had any specific places he wanted to see and one on his list was Borough Market – perfect timing cause we were already starving! While we were there, we also had the chance to make him experience an authentic full english breakfast + ireland’s clonakilty black pudding. (Sorry, no pictures taken, we obviously prioritised getting our tummies full).

Next on his list was Tate Modern. Oh, Art! <3

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We didn’t bother entering the other galleries (kasi may pa-entrance hahaha) so we went straight to our next appointment. Here’s the millenium bridge exiting at St. Paul’s.

 

Above anything else, never forget…

 

Another ticket I had to book was for the Sky Garden. It was free this time but they only have limited number of people going in so good thing there slots available for this certain day. And–the sun came out! Wohoooo!

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Last stop– the famous Tower Bridge which is often mistaken as the London Bridge.

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We ended the day with 3 bottles of wine at this nice bar called the Alchemist found at Aldgate. Bid our goodbyes, and made our draft plan for our next adventure next year!


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‘Twas really nice to meet a new friend and thank you for 2 wonderful days Justin! See you again SOON! :)

PS. Thank you for getting this and bringin it to UK Justin! I superrrr loooove them! Brought me back to my ballerina days

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