A first! I actually like "Breaking Dawn"'s (Part 1) movie adaptation better than the book (BD is the least liked book I have of the "Twilight" series).

I saw the very cute Pentax Q! I was trolling for a good (hopefully more than 20 feet depth) waterproof cam and got tempted by currently the "world's smallest" interchangeable lens camera instead!

The Animals to Nina Simone.....I'm just a soul whose intentions are good....Oh Lord! please don't let me be misunderstood...

Serizawa Kamo's Rurouni Kenshin Translation Index

http://victorian.fortunecity.com/stanford/130/index.html
One of the earliest sites (which is still around) which I used for research when I was obsessed with the Rurouni Kenshin story years ago.

I hope this doesn't get taken down...



Last volume cover of RK, taken from wiki

Orororororo?

A Very Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends in the US who are celebrating the holidays. For those of us who don't have an official holiday like this..we ought to always treat everyday as a "Thanksgiving" day for all the blessings we have received - they outweigh all the problems we face!

Thanks to Mommy Loy's gift of humongous bananas (saging), I'm now having sinugbang saging (grilled), linung-ag nga saging (boiled) and minatamis (simple syrup) paired with sinugbang (grilled) potpot (akong favorite nga dried fish) prior to lunch!

It's Dad's 86th birthday today!!

Spirale Ristorante: "Vale ogni centesimo!"

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Restaurants
Cuisine:	Italian
Location:	Davao City, Philippines

You can confidently bet your last piece of penne pasta when it comes to my visiting Italian restaurants which come highly recommended!
Italian and Japanese are two international cuisines I try my darndest to savor when I visit another place.


On 24th September 2011, after the extremely adventurous trip and butt-whomping rides through every imaginable vehicle to Camp Sabros and experiencing its soaring ziplines, my companions and I finally came back to Davao City.
I had promised Rina, my closest (and therefore favorite cousin) that she and I would have dinner together, have a talka-thon and that I'd hand over for her sweet tooth Manila baked sweets which were probably not good for her system...hahaha!

Chiara, (who was not able to be with us in Camp Sabros) was in Spirale Ristorante already with her family.
She had earlier recommended this eating place upon picking us up at the airport at an ungodly hour - with Cafe Firenzo beside it but of course they were still closed at that time.
It just whet my appetite.

We made a snap decision to go to Damosa Gateway (I keep blundering and calling it Damaso, probably from the fat friar in Jose Rizal's novels) to see how good their Italian offerings were.

Rina and I arrived just in time to greet and meet Chiara and her hubby before they left and thank them for the fun we had at their Camp Sabros.
Then it was time to get into the serious business of ordering and inhaling the delicious aroma of food which came our way, even if we were seated outside.

I was tasked to do the choosing and it was difficult because I loved all the descriptions in their menu selections.

I finally settled on Pizza Prosciutto (no surprise there) and Vongole al Chorizo for the pasta side. (I was sure my stomach pets wouldn't mind the carbo load late that night).



Cousins who like to eat together...


As for the flavor - I give them two thumbs up.
While it had only been recently that I had indulged in similar pizza (though oval-shaped) at Cibo in Manila, I think the arugula and prosciutto formula that Spirale slathers on their thin, crunchy-liciously crispy pizza were points ahead in being "home-made"-tasting.

The pasta was a tongue-pleaser too.
The baby clams were tender (they ought to be) and the stewed tomatoes coupled with the white wine sauce was just rightly thrown in together.
I usually avoid seafood-related pasta because my all-time favorite is the simple but divine arrabbiata, but this ristorante's version of the vongole was enough to make me more open-minded.

With just these two dishes, my cousin and I were stuffed to the gills, though I did manage to set aside a slice or two for Che (who was already at the Ponce Suites, photos of which are posted somewhere on this site).

I wish I had more time to stay, eat and talk with my cousin because its certainly one ristorante I would like to do a little more menu-exploration.

For the penny-pinching worker though, this might be one restaurant, which although you might like to eat at everyday - may not be that conducive to your wallet's continued health.
In comparison to Manila, where popular restaurants are more expensive, Davao still is relatively cheaper in terms of eating places which do give a broad variety of very fresh seafood - though I am not completely sure about the international cuisine side.

I can't label Spirale as a very expensive place, it is also not what I would call as very affordable.

My recommendation is that you try it at least once...and then you can save up your money to eat more frequently here as time goes by *grin*



Spirale Ristorante
Damosa Complex, Angliongto Road, Lanang, Davao City
Phone +63 82 234-6298

"Writing Fiction Today" - Instituto Cervantes has an open forum with Spanish and Filipino Writers Ruben Abella and Sarge Lacuesta. Nov 15, 2011, 7 pm at 855 TM Kalaw St. - for those who may be interested.

I was chortling when I heard the news - its official! The biggest saltwater croc (caught alive) in the world is found in the Philippines. I thought it was news about a hefty politician caught red-handed. But it was about the 20+ foot-long Lolong :-)

"The beginning is always today." - Mary Wollstonecraft

Soul in Seoul, Grinning in Gyeongju

Start:	Apr 28, '12
End:	May 6, '12
Location:	Seoul, Korea

I plan to go with a friend for her second trip to Korea :-)

Sign from God, my mileage was due, so might as well use it for the ticket. This is ideal as its spring and cherry blossoms might be in full bloom...

Research mode has been for some time with discussions from FB travel group friends.

A subway song for Seoul -> http://youtu.be/tWcDTEaATxI

Official Site of Korea Tourism Org.: E-Books

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/GK/GK_EN_2_7_4.jsp
Korea travel research (aka I'm too cheap to buy books LOL)

Left comment on this website which used my photos without prior permission: "Wouldn't it be better if acknowledgment of any photos grabbed from other people used in this site would be practiced diligently? I noticed that one particular establishment herein featured has photos plastered on this site which were taken from my Multiply blog without asking for my permission nor has any statement saying where they were taken. While I share or talk about where I've been to, in order to help promote lodgings, tourist spots, and what-have-you etc. I would consider it courtesy if I had been asked beforehand."

As one who likes taking pictures, this is an experience that sadly has happened to me innumerable times, and I've been mad enough to chew on thumbtacks -> http://thoughtsofashutterbug.wordpress.com/2011/11/03/freedom-of-photography/

* Top 20 Most Awesome Company Offices-> http://www.incomediary.com/top-20-most-awesome-company-offices/

My patient watching the shelves has paid off - since the severe Ondoy storm (Typhoon Ketsana, which submerged a huge area affected in Luzon part), the Mabuti Portuguese sardines had vanished off the shelves of Landmark grocery...and though I keep on checking every time I do my shopping, its only today I saw stacks of it again. But omigosh..its now Php 200+ per can with say 4 to 5 small Portuguese sardines..WAAAH!

3 Reasons to Travel While You're Young | Goins, Writer

http://goinswriter.com/travel-young/
One of the nicer articles I came across in FB today...