Cutty

The day after the wedding, I met up with my cousins Prince and Abe. They drove from Stockton to pick us up in Vallejo. I didn't want this to be another day of shopping since we've been doing that for quite some time already. Besides, we don't have space in our luggage. We decided to go to Sacramento instead. We toured the University and the Capitol. It is a small city, with an old-world charm. Near the Capitol are lovely old style Victorian homes and small boutiques. This place shows depth and history that is lacking in LA or Vegas. Feeling guilty for not bringing them something from Manila, Vic and I agreed to treat them out to dinner at Cheesecake Factory. It was all worth the calories and the long drive. The next day, we met up with the parents of the groom. We went to CIA Greystone . There, I had the most delicious White Corn Soup. It was the best part of the meal, even better than the steaks and desserts. Here are some other shots of the wonderful lunch we had ...

We drove from Vegas to Vallejo. The trip would normally take 8 hours. It took us 12 hours. Since we had senior citizens with us in the car, we had wee-wee breaks every two hours. It was a looooong drive but it was scenic also. We passed through the orchards of Waslo and the cattle ranch beside the freeway. I've never seen an orchard or ranch that spans as far as the eyes can see. Vallejo, like most cities in the Bay Area, has a very pleasant climate. It looks so lush compared to the dryness and heat of Vegas. I can see that there are lot of Pinoys in the area. One said that this is like the Daly City in SanFo. I agree! Even the servers in the restaurants speak Tagalog. We're staying at the hotel fronting the Six Flags Theme Park. We can hear the screams of the people in the roller-coaster as we got out of the car. Exciting! I want to try it out too but no one would go with me. Vic would have a heart-attack if he rode with me. That afternoon we found some time to ...

We've been in the US for 8 days now. Our main purpose of coming all the way to the US is to attend the husband's cousin's wedding. The wedding will be held this afternoon in a Baptist Church in Vallejo. Here's what happened so far. Like what most visitors, we enjoyed the buffet. We had buffet for almost all meals. Buffet is the way to go in Vegas. It is cheaper and is found everywhere. The only catch is we just don't know how long the food is in the same buffet. The Kusina ni Lorraine restaurant Filipino food for a craving Pinoy traveller. Like most Vegas buffets, there is no effort in the presentation. We had our fill of grease and meat. When we were not with our hosts, Vic and I would proceed to our must-visit restaurants like Cheesecake Factory and PF Chang's. We even discovered Buca di Beppo, an Italian restaurant that served really good Italian food, even better than Maggiano's, Italianni's or Olive Garden. the house in Vegas We tried ou...

After three days of going around, we finally managed to go down to The Strip. As expected, I paid homage to the shops at the Bellagio. I braved myself to enter Chanel. I wanted to check out if I can afford one of the items in my wishlist. Apparently, I can. However, if I choose to purchase it, I'd have no shopping money for the remainder of the trip. I also have the option to pay cash for the half of the price then charge the rest to my card. Still, I can't get over the fact that I can buy 1 LV and 1 Gucci for the price of the Chanel. However, if I choose not to get it, I know it will haunt me forever. Ugh! The SA was so helpful. She showed me the stuff I want to see. She even told me that Chanel ships to Manila. My next concern was the sales tax. She said that there'll be no sales tax but she doesn't know how much I'd have to pay Customs to release the bag. There is also a 12-day exchange policy for unused and unworn bags. She really is making it very...

We checked-out of the hotel early on the fourth day. We needed to troop to Yunlin, a province 3 hours away from Taiwan's capital. We were scheduled to sing at the university that evening. But before that, we spent the time going around the city to tour the place. I have only been to the night markets and around the hotel. I needed to explore the city or else, the trip would've been a waste. Our guide Perlette and Josh brought us back to our concert venue. This time, we went around the structures surrounding the Main Concert Hall. When I was younger, I said that I didn't want to go to China and Japan. The ornate oriental structures did not appeal to me. Now that I am older, I am awed by the complexity of their architectural designs. Here's Tria and Binky doing their pose in front of the Main Concert Hall. She's a ballerina and he's a ballerino. Our next stop was Hakka Taiwan, a souvenir shop that sells porcelain, tea, shirts, paper products, pineapple ca...

This was the day of our major performance. For the second time around, we will sing at the Main Concert Hall. This is how it looks like inside. The risers you see are powered by hydraulics. Bongga! This is how it looks from the outside. But before the major performance, we served as the demo choir for the choral workshop our conductor gave. It was held at the lobby, beside the grand staircase. In the beginning, we doubted if we can fill up the place. When they let the people in, it was filled up to the brim. There were also several people standing by the sidelines. But before all that, we had some time to ham it up in front of the camera. Yep, that's ACS for you. We always have time for work and play.

Since it was a Sunday, hearing mass is part of the schedule. At 10am, we heard mass at St. Christopher's Parish in the Philippine Area. In just a few minutes, I sensed that this is one celebration that the OFWs looked forward to. The Eucharist was celebrated by a Filipino priest. The rest of the servers, including the choir, is made up of Filipinos. It felt like their family away from home. Tagalog songs were sung. They had drums, keyboard and guitar. Some of the songs were too "Aegis" for my taste. However, their expression was clearly a sincere offering to the Lord. It was a lively mass, one that I am not used to. After the mass, we rendered five songs. I am glad that mass-goers enjoyed our music. Afterwards, we proceeded to the Taipei Fine Arts Museum for a press conference. Apparently, we were the choir who opened the festival. We sang our "greatest hits" after the Finnish choir. It was quite unfortunate because the all-female Finnish c...

We arrived at the hotel late in the evening already. We were fortunate to have stayed in such a posh hotel in the middle of the Embassy Row in Taipei. The place was quite accessible by taxi and metro. There were lots of small cafes and restaurants around the hotel. 7Eleven was also found in every corner. This chandelier spans several floors We have a lovely view of the wine cellar every time we go up the elevator. Upon our arrival, we were met by Perlette Matthews, a French-American-Taiwanese model/actress/celebrity. She was our translator, coordinator, guide and organizer for the next five days. It turned out that she is married to a fellow Filipino chorister, Fortune. Fortune and Perlette are members of the Formosa singers. Seeing our schedule for the next few days, it seemed that that night was our only free night. It was the only night we can go to the night market. What better time than this this Saturday night? Irene, a kaladkarin friend, and I decided to meet at the l...