PORTUGAL: A Universidade de Coimbra

Read In English

Ok, o comboio de Coimbra a Salamanca parte às 23:30. È quase as 20:00, então temos mais ou menos 3 horas para ver tudo o Coimbra. Vamos.

[COIMBRA] Budget and Itinerary

MONDAY: 30 June 2014

Alfa Pendular (Lisbon - Coimbra) - 22.80
University Cafe (Hamburger & Coke) - 8.80

EUR31.60

SUBTOTAL – EUR22.80

Estimate of EUR1 = PhP60.00

TOTAL – PhP1,896.00

[COIMBRA] Sorry, No Starbucks Here

You know how some people have this habit of tweaking their Facebook profile so that it shows a location where they are obviously not residing at the moment but they do it anyway because they are weird? Well, Coimbra has always been that location for me. I don’t know, perhaps there really is just some air of mystery to a place you have never been to, only for it to be shattered once you finally get there and realize that there really is nothing more to it.

PORTUGAL: 3 Horas em Lisboa

Read In English

Já faz três ou dois dias quando cheguei aqui em Lisboa mas eu fui a Sintra, eu fui a Cascais, então hoje é o último dia mas ainda não vi tudo a Lisboa. Então vamos fazê-lo agora mas só temos mais ou menos duas horas para fazer tudo. Então, vamos.

PORTUGAL: Cascais

Read In English

Já chegamos a Cascais. Primeiro eu vou procurar um restaurante onde comer porque eu quero almoçar primeiro. Depois, temos três destinos: Cabo da Roca que forma parte da Sintra mas ontem já não tivemos tempo, ne? Então, Cabo da Roca, BOCA do Inferno, e depois as praias de Cascais. Temos mais ou menos quatro horas porque eu devo voltar a Lisboa antes das 20 porque tenho trabalho online.

[LISBON] Budget and Itinerary

FRIDAY: 27 June 2014

Alfa Pendular (Faro - Lisbon) - 22.20
Metro Red/Green (Lisboa Oriente - Alameda - Rossio) - 1.90
Vistas de Lisboa Hostel (1 Bunk in 8 Bed Dorm/3 Nights) - 39.00
Unidos do Minho (Dourada Grelhada w/Fries & Coke) - 13.50
Mineral Water (Vistas de Lisboa Hostel) - 0.50

EUR77.10

PORTUGAL: Castelo dos Mouros

Read In English

Já chegamos ao Castelo dos Mouros. Ok, Castelo dos Mouros, aqui. Ok, vamos. Compramos um bilhete para entrar no castelo. É possível andar a pe, vir aqui a pe, mas é muito muito difícil e vai demorar muito tempo. Então eu recomendo que tomes o ônibus. Não é muito caro, 5 euros, todo o dia.

[LISBON] Hashish, Anyone?

Okay, I am well aware that I look emaciated most of the time. Wait, scrap that, I have ALWAYS been emaciated. This is mainly due to malnutrition because I hate food. But of course, most people would stick to stereotypes and label you as this or that based on your appearance alone. Perhaps this is the reason why for three straight days in Lisbon, there was always someone approaching me whispering “Hashish?” or “Marijuana?” Hooray, I look like a drug addict. Tip: Fast forward to 4:20 of the video and listen well.

PORTUGAL: Sintra

Read In English

Hoje vamos a Sintra para ver o castelo. Então agora estamos na estação de comboio de Rossio e a proxima viagem é as 14:38. Vamos comprar um bilhete. Acho que custa menos de 5 euros, menos duma hora. Aqui se compra os bilhetes.

[CASCAIS] Go to Hell

So you’ve finally arrived in Lisbon and you're feeling down and blue. You're alone. You don’t know anyone in the city. You feel depressed. You’ve had enough of awesome grilled fish. What'd be your best option? Lisbon has many tourist attractions worthy of your time and money but the best tip I have for you is to simply relax. Or you can always go to hell.

[SINTRA] The Great Wall of Sintra

One thing you must keep in mind when including Lisbon in your itinerary is that it has many districts, usually within an hour away by train that you could visit on a day trip. Do you want to go sunbathing? Go to Cascais. If your thick wallet is becoming more and more of a burden, then you are better off squandering all that cash in the casinos of Estoril. Do you just want to chill by the river and see an ancient tower? Belem has exactly that. But if you want to see palaces and all things vintage, then Sintra is the place to be.

[LISBON] Lisbon and Your Legs

If you are a regular reader of my blog, then you'll know how obsessed I am with legs. But before you spread the rumor that I'm a pervert, let me clarify it as early as now. Your legs will take you to all the places you want to go, and when they say that the trip is over, the trip is over. There is no argument here unless you are bound on a wheelchair a la Professor X and have enough mental stamina or elbow grease to drive your tired ass around. And then, Lisbon.

PORTUGAL: Albufeira

Read In English

Se compra os bilhetes de ônibus aqui... Uma hora e meia mais ou menos, 4,70.

Já chegamos mas eu não sei como chegar às praias. Parece que não HA ônibus aqui, só taxi... Então vamos lá a pe. Isso, centro. As casas aqui são muito bonitas...

Aqui é as rutas de ônibus se vocês não querem andar a pe...

PORTUGAL: Faro

Read In English

Portugal, finalmente!

Acabo de chegar aqui em Portugal e o voo teve uma demora de duas horas e agora eu não sei como eu vou chegar ao hostel. Talvez não seja muito caro o taxi. Não sei.

[ALGARVE] Budget and Itinerary

WEDNESDAY: 25 June 2014

Ryanair (Billund - Faro) - 833.32

DKK833.32

Taxi (Faro Airport - Hostel Casa d'Alagoa) - 13.00

Hostel Casa d'Alagoa (1 Bunk in 12 Bed Dorm/2 Nights) - 42.00

Mineral Water (Hostel Casa d'Alagoa) - 1.50

EUR56.50

[ALBUFEIRA] Beach, Sun, Fun

I guess what I like most about Portugal and Spain is that you are almost always just an hour away by bus from the next town which is small enough to be enjoyed on a day tour yet also has a lot to offer in case you decide to stay for one more day. The region of Algarve is no exception to this. Because of its location along the coast where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic, there simply is no shortage of beaches here. Everyone seems to be all praises for Albufeira, and so I went.

[FARO] Welcome to Iberia

My decision to include the Iberian Peninsula in my itinerary turned out to be a good one. Not only was I excited to practice my Spanish and my Portuguese, I was also eager to get toasted by the sun after the rather frigid welcome northern Europe gave me. And so I hopped on a Ryanair jet from Billund to the Algarve region in southern Portugal. After almost four hours, we finally landed at Faro International Airport 15 minutes after midnight. Português mode on!

[SOUTHERN DENMARK] Budget and Itinerary

WEDNESDAY: 25 June 2014

Carpool (Flensburg - Kolding) - 7.00
EUR7.00

7 Eleven (Bacon Cheese Hotdog & Coke) - 50.50
Toilet (Kolding Rutebilstation) - 2.00
Bus 166 (Kolding - Legoland) - 70.00
Admission Ticket (Legoland) - 263.00
Locker (Legoland) - 20.00
Legoland (Hotdog in Bun + Coke) - 56.00
Legoland (Fries + Hot Choco) - 60.00
Souvenir Keychains (Legoland) - 99.95
Locker (Legoland) - 20.00
Bus 43 (Legoland - Billund Airport) - 20.00
DKK661.45

[BILLUND] How to Legoland in Denmark

It seems to me that in Europe, the farther north you go, the colder and more expensive it gets. I was actually toying with the idea of going as far as Copenhagen then crossing the bridge to Sweden before I go south. The good thing is I did not. In effect, I just spent half a day in Billund, and not without reason. Perhaps Scandinavia and I are going to meet again, but for now I came for one sole purpose: Legoland.

[SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN] Budget and Itinerary

MONDAY: 23 June 2014

Schleswig-Hosltein Kleingruppen Ticket (Hamburg - Flensburg) - 8.00
Flensbed Hostel & Boardinghouse (1 Bunk in 4 Bed Dorm/2 Nights) - 37.00
Nordsee (Nordsee Schollenfillet + Kartoffelbox + Coke) - 11.60
Nordsee (Mineral Water) - 2.20
Convenience Store (Mineral Water x3 + Smarties) - 2.59
EUR61.39

[FLENSBURG] You Say Velkommen, I Say Willkommen

Would it be so weird if I told you that I enjoyed Flensburg more than I did Hamburg or Berlin? I guess I was asking for it somehow. While both cities mentioned have their very own unique characteristics that make them tourist-infestation worthy, this small town probably knows that it could not compare and perhaps thinks that it should not care either. But then again, Strategic Location is the phrase we are looking for here. Straddling the German and Danish borders, Flensburg has its own perks.

[HAMBURG] Budget and Itinerary

SATURDAY: 21 June 2014

Berlin Shuttle (Berlin - Hamburg) - 16.00
Generator Hostel Hamburg (1 Bunk in 6 Bed Dorm/2 Nights) - 50.00
S3 (Hauptbahnof - Veddel) - 2.00
S3 (Veddel - Hauptbahnof) - 2.00
EUR70.00

[HAMBURG] The Afternoon Stadtrundfahrt

Congratulations, you have reached the part where I bore you with the mundane details of our walking tour. Worry not, my friend, you can still back out! Or just look at the pictures, maybe? Or just watch the video. In any case, this is a boring blog written by a boring person for an equally boring person who is none other than himself. Okay fine, let’s start!

[HAMBURG] A Weekend With the Hamburgers

I'm not sure whether they really do refer to themselves as Hamburgers, but it’s cute anyway so I insist. My trip to Europe was supposed to be predominantly German, but in the end I decided to include Spain and Portugal in the itinerary, which meant less days for Deutschland. What should have been three weeks were condensed to one and a half, and all that was left for Hamburg was a weekend.

[BERLIN] Budget and Itinerary

SATURDAY: 14 June 2014

Etihad (Manila - Abu Dhabi - Berlin) - 686.00
AXA (Schengen Insurance) - 100.00
USD786.00

Schengen (Visa Fee) - 60.00
Polyglot Conference (Registration Fee) - 40.00

EUR100.00

[BERLIN] One Does Not Simply Take a Stroll in Berlin

You also have to bring a camera and take pictures, because you made it all the way here, right? While Berlin might lack the photogenic old buildings that most Central European cities would consider as the source of their touristic appeal, there is still this weird feeling present in this place. Unfortunately, it was all gloomy for me given the cold weather and cloudy skies.

[BERLIN] The City of Awesome Graffiti

I have to be totally honest with you. My first impression of Berlin has not been that favorable. It could be due to the fact that I have lived within the vicinity of Manila’s business district for half a decade or so, which means that the concept of home for me would mean lots of skyscrapers and easy access to all the creature comforts I could find. This is not to say that Berlin does not have all that, or maybe it just lacks the minimum number of high rise buildings for me to consider it as homey.

Game of Thrones (HBO): Season 4/Episode 10

4.10 The Children

Convinced that she can’t control her dragons, Daenerys chains two of them, except Drogon which is still nowhere to be found. Jon Snow negotiates a truce with Mance Rayder when Stannis and his army suddenly attack the encampment. Cersei persuades her father to not marry her to Loras, but he refuses. She then tells him that the incestuous rumors surrounding her and Jaime are true. Jaime leads Tyrion to escape with the help of Varys. Tyrion finds Shae on his father’s bed and strangles her to death, then goes on to kill his father with a crossbow. Bran and company make it to their destination, but are attacked by the undead, resulting in Jojen’s death. They are rescued by the Children and brought to a safe location where he meets the Three-Eyed Raven face to face. Brienne and Podrick encounter Arya and the Hound on the way to the Vale, ending in a fight with her brutally wounding the Hound. He pleads Arya to end his life, but she walks away. She then convinces the captain of a ship sailing to Braavos to take her with him.

厦大： 坐公共汽车

现在我们去思明的学区不过不要骑自行车。我们坐公共汽车，所以我们把自行车在那边放。现在我们在汇景不是思明因为我们的朋友要搬家我们只好打的，不是坐公共汽车。

厦大： 去三楼一起吃饭

我们现在去哪儿？

吃饭。

三楼？SM？去SM吃饭？

没有时间去SM。

现在我们在三楼因为在这里有。。。种类更多。。。

你买了什么？你好。这是什么？

炒米粉。

炒米混。

薯条，汉堡包，雪碧。

这是什么？

饺子鸡蛋和薯条。好吃。你要吗？你吃吧。

这个是饺子。你好意大利人！

我是加拿大人。

对对。

我不喜欢加拿大人。怎么办？

厦大： 听力课

听力课。。。对你来说听力课实用不实用？重要不重要？

一般

一般？什么意思呢？

因为我们有本科。已经有回答，所以你。。。没上课。。。

因为有的学生说无论有没有听力，我们应该听。。。

对，但是你看电视也可以听。。。

所以呢，对你来说上着听力课的时候我们听音乐，看电影更好？

对， 因为听课本，我们在。。。

在汉语课口语课一样？

对！

厦大： 口语课

现在八点，每个星期二我们（有）口语课。这是我们的口语课本，共有15课。每个星期有别的话题，有生词，有对话，不过我最喜欢的是这个。语法，因为我可以用这个方法*（说法）经常的生活。。。

你好，这是菜单，你要点什么？

什么饭菜做得快？我们俩想快点儿吃，吃完了好去看电影。

你们觉得口语课重要不重要？

非常重要！

为什么？

因为中文说得非常重要。

因为课本有有很多经常的说法，对不对？

对。。。

厦大： 汉语课

你是澳大利亚人呢！

对，我是澳大利亚人。

原来你在北京，现在你在厦门。 为什么？

因为我不能学习汉语，然后厦门的？？比较好。

对你来说在厦门上大学比在北京工作有什么好处？

比较难说因为我的生活在厦门比北京的时不一样，但当老师比当学生有很大的差别，所以这边我觉得我的生活比较轻松因为会只学习，但是在北京工作。

但是你觉得一边工作一边上大学是一个更好的办法学汉语？

要看什么样的工作因为以前我当英文老师，所以大部分时间说英文，但现在我要一直学习。。。如果我找到一个工作在那个中文的环境更好，但是那时候没有。

谢谢。

Game of Thrones (HBO): Season 4/Episode 9

4.9 The Watchers on the Wall

Sam finds Gilly knocking at the gates of Castle Black after escaping a Wildling attack. He lets her in and hides her in a room before going back out to discover that the Wildlings have begun their siege of Castle Black. The brothers of the Night’s Watch defend the wall with all their might and resources, but everyone’s inexperience proves to be detrimental to their defense. The Wildlings have giants and mammoths aiding their cause. Most of the crows die protecting the wall, while their proud commanders who have always insulted and belittled them all fail to prove their worth on the battlefield. Jon Snow is now the de facto in charge. Ygritte finds him and aims to kill, but hesitates to shoot him in the end. Her reluctance claims her life as Olly (Brenock O’Connor), the boy whose parents she killed when they sacked a nearby town, shoots an arrow straight to her heart. Jon Snow decides to confront Mance Rayder after holding the fort, believing that they would no longer survive a second attack.