Travel Buddies

Travelling with other people makes the trip more enjoyable and memorable, especially when you travel with very good friends. When I went to the US without my husband, I was a bit apprehensive at first. It was going to be my first time in the US and I didn't really have any idea how I could manage everything if I were alone. I'm lucky to have had PZ, one of my very good friends from college as my travel buddy then. We were going to be bridesmaids to another very good friend DL in New York. PZ has been in the US several times and so I felt very secure that I was going to travel with her.

We were roommates at the Da Vinci Hotel in Midtown Manhattan for three nights. We also spent one day at the Woodbury Commons. We weren't able to go to all the stores because we had to leave at 8PM to catch the bus going back to Manhattan. It's really funny because we were in New York but didn't get to see the Statue of Liberty and the remains of the World Trade Center...

We shared many funny and memorable experiences. On our way to Washington D.C., we went to the wrong train station -- we went to the GrandCentral Station instead of Penn Station. We thought it was easy to get to Penn Station from Grand Central and so we decided not to take a cab anymore. What we really forgot was that we were carrying very big (and heavy) luggages. By then, we already had a lot of things with us because of our Woodbury Commons shopping trip. We had a hard time carrying our luggages up very steep staircases (nope, no escalators). Our conclusion then, we missed our husbands so much!

PZ and I stayed with another good friend, VA, in Washington D.C. for two nights. We spent just one day going around and were able to go to all the must see places on foot! Something that we could not imagine doing in Manila. Another funny incident, on our way back to VA's house, we wanted to pass by the Pentagon Mall. While in the subway, we heard the Pentagon station being announced, so we got up and got out of the train. When we got down, it wasn't the Pentagon Mall. We went down the wrong station. There was a Pentagon station AND a Pentagon Mall station. We had to walk to the Pentagon Mall. Although the walk was not very far, at that point we were very TIRED already :-) Well, the good thing was, we got to see the WALLS of the Pentagon!

We continued on to Pennsylvania to visit PZ's sister and stayed there for a couple of nights. Another memorable adventure, PZ driving to the Lancaster outlet shops from Middletown where we were staying. It was her first time to drive in the US and we had to go through the freeway! All of these during a storm! Well, she did very well with the help of GPS :-)

Reflection Pool, Washington D.C., November 2006

Roosevelt Memorial, Washington D.C., November 2006

New York City, November 2006

Tavern on the Green, Central Park, New York City, November 2006

We had a lot of fun together. I'm really glad that she was my travel buddy. Thanks PZ, for being patient with me and taking care of me, and most especially for a wonderful time indeed!

On my husband's and my trip to Europe in 2004, we were joined by my husband's cousin TS and his wife GS in Berlin, our first stop.

Berlin , April 2004, with TS and GS feasting on Pork Knuckles

They were jaded travellers and have gone around Europe, being based in Amsterdam at that time. TS and GS were the experts, being used to just having a Lonely Planet guidebook to get around. They had a really long list of the places to visit and so all we had to do was follow them :-)

My husband and I are really thankful to them. They really led the way throughout the whole trip and so we were able to maximize the time we had there and were able to visit a lot of places. After Berlin, we stayed with TS and GS in their lovely home in Amsterdam. We also had a great time there, visiting all the must see places, especially the red light district. TS and GS were the perfect hosts. Thank you TS and GS, for a wonderful Berlin trip and having us in Amsterdam. As you will find in this journal, even if the European trip happened three years ago, it still is the most memorable time for us, and so we thank you for being a very big part of it :-)