tapas town

There are 3 reasons why I gained weight after my first 3 days in Madrid, Spain.

1. The food is "muy delicioso".
2. There is a place to eat at every turn.
3. Shops are closed between 2 to 5pm (siesta time), so there is nothing for tourists like me to do but EAT, EAT, EAT!

Reason #3 led me to a place called Mercado de San Miguel (below), a 1900s public market that reopened in May 2009, after it started restoration in 2008 in the hands of private businessmen. Encased in glass and wrought iron, the place now houses delicatessens, tapas bars and stalls that offer meat, seafood, fruits, cheese, wine, beer, dessert, coffee – even books.


This is how it looks just before it gets full at lunch time.(Which is around 1:30 to 3pm!)

Above is the meat stall where everybody buys Jamon Iberico, a type of cured ham that is only available in Spain. You have to take a number when there's a crowd.

Customers normally order "cien gramos" or 100 grams. (Yes, that is an Iberian pig's hoof that you see. LOL)

My other favorite stall is the one with "aceitunas" or olives. (That's Jun, waving.)

I couldn't help but order 2 of each of these "tapas de olivas". Para mi, they're the best! The olives provide a refreshing aftertaste.

Anchovies with poached "huevos" (eggs) on toast, a must-try.

"Croquetas" (potato croquettes) of different flavors are sold here. The one with calamares negros (black squid ink) is my favorite.

This is the cheese stall where you can buy Manchego, the most popular cheese in all of Spain.

The best desserts in the entire market – Pastel de Nata (left) and Pastel de Queso (right). Both are eggs tarts but with different flavors; one has coconut while the other has cheese.

Because of the number of choices, you'll probably have dessert more than once. :-)

To drink, I always had the Spanish "sangria", a mixture of red wine, brandy, triple sec, fruit juice and sugar. It's so light and easy to drink; you'll get drunk before you know it!

Madrid isn't like New York, Hong Kong or Paris when it comes to shopping. If it's any indication, you won't find a Balenciaga boutique here (even though its original designer and founder, Cristobal Balenciaga, was born in Spain)!

In Madrid, what you save in shopping money, you gain in calories! :-P

(Top pic) The Spain "We Love Football" Bearbrick is one of a series of bears representing some of the countries who participated in the 2006 World Cup. Produced in cooperation with Kentucky Fried Chicken Hong Kong.

Photos by yours truly. Copyright bearbricklove.com 2010.

the other leaning tower of pisa

During a day trip to Italy's Tuscan region, our group passed by Pisa to see the famous leaning tower. As I had imagined, the slanted erection was an arresting sight. But guess what I saw on my way back to the tourist bus? Check it out below.

It sold for 5 Euros and was available only in L and XL. :-D

(Top) Series 5's Italian Flag Bearbrick.

roma panorama

After seven days in Rome, the Italian capital, what did I take home with me?

2 pairs of shoes, 2 jackets, 2 shirts, 1 belt, 1 pair of sandals, and... 700 (yes!) snapshots of one of Europe's grandest-looking cities. Here, take a look at some of them:

1. A cherub stares out from the inner dome of St. Peter's Basilica.

2. Tourists learn that the best way to see Rome is on foot.

3. Heavenly light shines on the city after a day of rain.

4. Yellow ochre, orange, burnt siena, peach, and raw umber. Who says a metropolis has to be gray?

5. The statue of St. Peter Nolasco, founder of the Order of Our Lady of Mercy (whose members offered themselves as ransom in order to save others), glows inside the dark interior of St. Peter's Basilica.

6. After an elevator ride, one still needs to climb 320 steps to the tip of the dome to catch this magnificent view of St. Peter's Square.

7. The only way to see the altar from the dome was through a thick wire fence. :-(

8. Thousands of plastic chairs are still lined up on St. Peter's Square the day after Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Easter mass.

9. The latest Dolce & Gabbana gladiator sandals walk Rome's stony pavements.

10. One may get a glimpse of the crowded piazza from inside the Pantheon.

11. A fragment of the Colosseum's arena peeks through silhouetted buttresses.

12. The only source of light inside the Pantheon is a hole in the ceiling.

13. The sun outlines the beauty of the trees at the Roman Forum.

14. The monument of Vittorio Emmanuel II (united Italy's first king) stands proudly at the center of Rome.

15. The remains of the temple of Castor and Pollux at the Forum rises against the blue sky.

16. Sculptural Italian pine trees are seen outside one of the Colosseum's scenic windows.

17. Bas relief sculptures adorn the entrance to the Vatican Museum.

18. Inside, one has to walk through the stunning Hall of Maps to reach the Sistine Chapel.

19. A formal balance characterizes most of Roman architecture.

20. The Vatican Museum's spiral staircase provides a most dramatic exit.

Tip for those planning on a Roman holiday: The city's grand proportions should be captured on a wide angle lens. I found it very hard to crop things out of a picture. It felt like tearing pages off a Roman history book! :-)

(Top) I took this pic of Series 5's Italian Flag Bearbrick against the dome of St. Peter's Basilica and the Ponte (bridge) Vittorio Emmanuel II. It was very windy, the bearbrick almost fell into the Tiber River!

the case of the bogus be@rbrick / part 2

I was leafing through a local fashion magazine when something familiar caught my eye. There it was, hanging across the bare chest of a young, sassy-looking model named Jake Cuenca was a bearbrick (see Bench Underwear print ad below)!

I knew, of course, that there existed no such bear on a chain, and closer scrutiny proved that it was a fake! The rounded hands and feet, the big ears, and the small ribcage were clear indications. Check out my earlier post, 'The Case of the Bogus Be@rbrick / Part 1', for other telltale signs.

Lately, bootleg bearbricks like these seem to be proliferating – I've seen quite a few attached to manbags, keychains and even mobile phone straps!

Don't get me wrong, I don't detest these little imitations. In fact, they're not at all bad-looking. But a fake is still a fake. There's no thrill in owning one, if you ask me. :-)

At the topmost left is the original Series 1 U.S. Flag Be@rbrick, which I shot against a map of the New York City subway system. It was one of the first bears I bought. Back then, I was still clueless about fakes – so I guess I was lucky it was for real.

the many colors of the netherlands

Windmills, cheese, clogs, tulips, bicycles, delicate delft pottery – these form a pretty wholesome and traditional mental picture of the Netherlands for most of us.

However, there is a side to this country that many may find incongruous with the said image: its liberal policies toward drugs, prostitution, same-sex marriage, abortion and euthanasia.

Such divergence also described our sightseeing in Amsterdam and its outskirts:

1. (Right) A trek to the colorful Keukenhof Tulip Gardens one day, then a trip to the Hash, Marijuana, and Hemp Museum the next.

2. A visit to the city's oldest church, Oude Kerk, followed by a stroll around the nearby red light district that showcases bikini-clad sex workers in glass windows.

3. Morning melancholy at the Anne Frank House, and a swinging evening at the trendy bars on Reguliersdwarsstraat.

It was a juxtaposition of opposing inclinations, a psychedelic mix of moods and colors – much like a sidewalk display of hallucinogenic mushroom postcards (left) – that reflected a progressively tolerant lifestyle.

During a taxi ride downtown, our Moroccan driver, after learning that we were tourists, asked us what we liked about Amsterdam the most. We couldn't give a singular answer right away, as Jun and I had different choices. We threw back the question at him instead, to which he quickly replied, 'The freedom, of course!'

Ah, yes. Too bad Anne Frank didn't live to see this day.

Shown at the top is the tri-colored Netherlands 'Flag' Be@rbrick from Series 9. I have created a special background for it based on the flag and some images I took at Keukenhof.

Postscript: Below is a 3D installation of Amsterdam's new slogan, 'i amsterdam', in the middle of Museumplein, the city's popular cultural district. It is a symbol of the people's pride, confidence, and optimism about the life, freedom, and opportunity in Amsterdam. I love it!


(Research from Wikipedia)

be@rbrick lover in paris

Guess what?

Right now, I'm in the City of Lights with a friend! We just arrived yesterday! I wasn't planning to do any blogging here but this City is just so inspiring, I couldn't help but write about it 'tout de suite'.

Paris had always been on my mind. Judging from the Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Travel Book that I got (years ago!) in preparation for this trip, I told myself that I'd probably fall in love with every corner of the city. And it started coming true!

Above left is my France Be@rbrick, from Series 12, standing on a cement stump in front of the Arc De Triomphe. It falls under the 'Flag' Category in Be@rbrick design.

Directly above is a picture of my friend and I looking at Charles de Gaulle's speech, Appeal of 18 June 1940, cast in bronze on the floor of the famous arch. This was a celebrated speech by Charles de Gaulle, the leader of the Free French Forces, during World War II. Standing there, amidst the throngs of people lining up to read it, I somehow sensed the greatness of those words, even if I didn't speak the language. I honored the moment by placing my French Flag Be@rbrick right next to CDG's signature. What an occasion!

profile of a be@rbrick collector

In the Philippines, I've only met two other people who collect Be@rbricks. One is a charming 10 year old girl named Zoe (left), daughter of one of the creative directors in our office. Once, I gave her a Thermo Be@rbrick which changed color according to temperature. Her mother, Kat, told me that upon coming home one night, she opened their freezer to find a pale, frosty Be@rbrick sitting on the ice tray, right next to a slab of frozen Angus.

The other collector is a more unlikely kind of toy geek. His name is Jason (right), a hunky Filipino-Australian commerical model. During one of our shoots (for a product our ad agency handled), he revealed that he owned seventy (70) Be@rbricks. And that he always carried a bear with him (one with an Australian flag motif) whenever he traveled away from home. How sweet!