Frannywanny

December 31, 2012. Today is the last day of the year. I can't believe how time sped by sooooo fast this year! It's currently the Year of the Golden Dragon, said to be not a very good year for those born in the Year of the Dog like me. However, I felt pretty lucky this year. I guess it really is up to your own mindset and outlook in life, right? This year opened with so much love as Paul and I welcomed 2012 with our families around us. We're lucky to be blessed with such amazing parents and equally loving siblings and relatives. From them we get our strength as they've been showering us with their undying support. I got to admit that I prayed for one thing this year. That is for us to finally have our little bundle of joy . I guess the BIG Guy up there believes that we have to wait a little more and instead blessed us with a lot more other things. It's okay, we can wait and we're pretty sure our little bundle of joy will definitely be worth the wait.  I ...

My recent trip to Beijing, China was business-related so I wasn't really expecting to be able to visit much of the touristy sites or have as much free time to roam around and to have food trips on my own. It was pretty good actually as it was my first time to travel alone thus I don't feel very comfortable go around such a HUGE province on my own. I happily tagged along with the group wherever our host takes us. That set-up worked perfectly fine for me. At least, the next time I get to go back with Paul , I'll have a better idea on where to go! Out of the four days that we were there, our gracious host took the afternoon off on our 3rd day to take us to the Palace Museum , otherwise known as the Forbidden City . This is located right at the center of Beijing and as we were told, everything surrounds the Forbidden City . We entered through the North Gate where the ticket counter was located. Believe me, the Forbidden City is HUGE! It actually reminds me of the Gyeong...

My trip to Beijing was really short.  Too short that all days were filled up with office visits, a grand launch party and a quick stop to the Forbidden City. Given that it was my first time in Beijing, China ; I tried my best to soak in everything that I  saw, heard and tasted all throughout my four-day trip. As I was packing my luggage on my last evening, I realized that I haven't shopped for anything! *panic!* Not even my mandatory Starbucks city mug that I always make sure to buy for my growing collection. Thus, on my last day, I invited my Japanese counterparts for a quick morning shopping trip at Wangfujing . This is one place that I took note of after asking my friends K and J for shopping and eating tips in Beijing . I totally can let go of not seeing the Great Wall or the Olympic Stadium for this trip but I'm not leaving Beijing without a short shopping spree at Wangfujing ! No way, José! It was raining on our last day making it very hard to walk around and e...

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...

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 ...

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...

Where to eat? Where to go? These are the most common questions, we normally would ask ourselves when planning a day out with friends and family. It has been more than three fun years... 5 foreign destinations ... countless domestic locations ...and a total of 263 food and travel recommendations ! Frannywanny's Food and Travel Index Here's how to use it: 1) Click on the link that you can see on the right side of the screen 2) Browse through the list as it's arranged alphabetically 3) To search restaurants per area : click CTRL+F (find function) and type in the city (eg: Makati) the computer will automatically highlight the restaurants under this category. Just keep pressing Enter to go through the list. photo credit: http://www.significantelements.org/

For months, word has been going around that one of Hong Kong's popular milk tea brand is coming to Manila. Wild guesses were thrown here and there as to which particular brand this would be. Finally a happy yellow tarpaulin was put up beside Fully Booked Greenhills and I recognized the cute winking girl from our trip to Guangzhou, China last year. Happy Lemon is coming to town! Finally, the long wait is over and Happy Lemon finally opened to the public a couple of weeks ago. Despite the crazy traffic happening in and around the Greenhills Shopping Center , Paul and I were very determined to finish our Christmas shopping before December begins thus we patiently waited in line to get a parking slot. After almost crossing out our to-do list, we rewarded ourselves with a visit to Happy Lemon . I love the bright yellow interiors and the winking little girl is just so adorable. The store is still having their soft opening at the moment but I noticed that the service was prett...

I got a feeling that next year's gonna be a good good year!!! I can't believe that 2009 is finally coming to a close. This has been a year where we have witness major natural disasters, a number of great losses and a couple more sad news. However, trying to stay positive, there are also a lot of things that I am personally thankful for this year and I'd like to share these with you: 1) Travel Nothing relaxes me more than planning for an exciting trip! 2009 found me in four amazing spots namely: China , Hong Kong , Singapore and the Visayas region ! Next year will be another big traveling year that includes that much-awaited two weeks honeymoon to certain countries in Asia. Boy, I can't wait! 2) Frannywanny.com This blog has been my pride and joy for the past 2 years. Here I eagerly share with everyone my latest food finds, my travel notes and a lot more. Before starting on this entry, I even had to go through every single blog post that I've made this year to remin...

Paul asked me if I can be his model for an assignment for his class... Of course, I said YES . Inspired by the 191 (and still counting) comments left on my on-going Starbucks planner promotion page ...here I am with a couple of my Starbucks collection that consists of the city mugs and the super cute Bearista bears! Of course, I just had to be in my Starbucks outfit too! Not really a Starbucks fan, am I? Looking forward to reading more comments in the coming 15 days!! :)

Unlike our Guangzhou trip which was filled with new food discoveries , our Hong Kong escape was a bit more laid back... too laid back in fact that we veered away from searching high and low for interesting food spots. What stood out, however, were the desserts that capped our meals during the three days that we were there. Mango Loco During our first night in Hong Kong, Paul and I walked around the neighborhood to re-familiarize ourselves with Tsim Sha Tsui. While walking along one busy road, we saw a small brightly-lit store that actually has a crowd waiting outside. This got us so curious that we quickened our steps towards the store to see what it's all about. On the counter were laminated menus with photos of iced mango drinks. Scanning the menu, we realized that Hui Lau Shan is a dessert store and inside are tables filled with teenagers and yuppies enjoying their fruity desserts. In order to satisfy our curious state, we ordered a Mango Sago to share. After waiting for two ...

It has been 9 long years since my last visit to Hong Kong . Within those years of absence, Hong Kong has continued to flourish and sparkle as a perfect travel destination. That said, my latest trip to this Asian food and shopping paradise was one that's filled with lots of new discoveries. Unfortunately, we had very limited time available. With only 2 and a half days worth to roam around the city, we made our top 3 must-visit places and made sure to include this in our tight schedule. Avenue of Stars and Symphony of Lights As I was creating our trip itinerary, Paul just made one tiny request. This is to visit the place where you can see the statue of Bruce Lee. I was initially dumbfounded. Where on earth will I find this place? After much research, I finally landed here . Luck must have been on our side as this is within walking distance from our hotel . So, on our first day, we headed towards the Hong Kong Harbor in Tsim Sha Tsui to check out the Avenue of Stars . We passed throu...

I can still remember it very well. It was one early morning back in 1989, I entered the Ninoy Aquino International Airport while holding Papa's hand very tightly. I was wearing my best Sunday dress, my comfy M&S socks, my favorite Mary Jane shoes and a cute little backpack on my..uhhh...back. We were going on my first ever trip abroad and boy, was I excited! I think I hardly slept the night before and was immediately awaken when Mommy woke me up to get ready for the airport. We were going to Hong Kong ! Fast forward twenty years and a couple of return visits after, Hong Kong is still one of my favorite places on earth. How can I not love a place that serves the best tasting food? From dimsum lunches to roast goose dinners, Hong Kong is one place where dieting does not exist. However, we can always compensate all those cholesterol-laden dishes with loads of walking. From the lovely Victoria Peak to that romantic walk down Avenue of Stars , you'll definitely get the best le...