Simple Happiness

We went to Ontario, Canada in September in Summer-Autumn 2012 for a vacation particularly in Toronto.

We stayed with our very good friends in Toronto instead of staying in a hotel.

We went to shopping centres like Yorkdale Shopping Centre and Bayview Village Shopping Centre, and bought some books at Chapters Bookstore and shoes at Ecco shop.

We did not really go overboard when shopping. We just wanted to look around.

Other than shopping centres, we went to Harbourfront Centre, Yonge-Dundas Square, Toronto Islands or Toronto Island Park, CN Tower, and Casa Loma Majestic Castle.

We went to eat at places like Pickle Barrel Restaurant, Paramount Fine Foods, and Swiss Chalet Rotisserie.

We did not go around in Toronto only, we also went to Niagara Falls and Markham, both parts of Ontario.

Finally, we saw the spectacular famous two falls, the Horseshoe Falls and the American Falls. The two falls were amazing from Skylon Tower.

Afterwards, we went to Niagara-On-The-Lake. We had lunch at The Olde Angel Inn Pub and Restaurant, and had some ice cream at COWS, one of the best ice creams in the world.

In Markham, we went to Angus Glen Golf Club and had The Real Angus Burgers for lunch at The Silo Grill. The Angus Glen Golf Club was a known golf club in Canada for hosting PGA Tour events.

Actually, we went to several golf courses like Don Valley Golf Course, Rosedale Golf Club, Bayview Golf and Country Club, and Tam O’shanter Golf Course before we went to Angus Glen but Rosedale Golf Club and Bayview Golf and Country Club were private so we were not able to go inside their restaurants just to have a bite.

We did not really do a lot of things in Ontario as we only stayed in Toronto for a week. After a week in Toronto, we went to California in the United States particularly in San Francisco and Sonoma for another week vacation.

Richie Ramsay won the Omega European Masters 2012 held at Golf-Club Crans-Sur-Sierre in Crans Montana, Valais, Switzerland from August 30, 2012 to September 02, 2012.

Although we did not go to Crans-Montana on Sunday, we went there on Friday, August 31, 2012 to make sure that we will be able to see Greg Norman, the White Shark, one of the legendary golfers in the world.

Indeed, we were able to see Greg Norman, who used to be the number one golfer in the world for so many years before Nick Faldo and later on Tiger Woods entered the stage.

The Omega European Masters 2013 will be on September 05-08, 2013!

We went to Bogogno in Piedmont, Italy for a long golf weekend on the fourth week of August in Summer 2012.

We played golf on the first day and second day in Circolo Golf Bogogno in Bogogno. We played the Bonora Course on both days.

The Bonora Course is one of the two 18-hole golf courses of Circolo Golf Bogogno. The other 18-hole golf course is the Del Conte Course.

We stayed at Golf Club Castelconturbia “Foresteria” Hotel in Agrate Conturbia for accommodation and played golf at its Pines Course and Chestnuts Course on the last day of our stay there.

The Pines Course is the yellow course and the Chestnuts Course is the blue course. These 2 courses are both 9-hole course. The other 9-hole course is the Oaks Course, the red course.

We had dinner at L’Olimpia Trattoria in Veruno on the first night and Antico Verbano Ristorante in Meina on the second night.

Agrate Conturbia, Bogogno, Veruno and Meina are municipalities in the province of Novara in the region of Piedmont or Piemonte in Italy.

Indeed, we went back to Bogogno to play golf. I wrote about it last year when we went to Bogogno, Piemonte, Italy in Summer 2011.

I went to the Philippines for a vacation in Spring in April 2012. Most of the time, I stayed home with my mother and family but still was able to go to a few places and met some friends.

I had dinner with my family at King Bee Chinese Food in Daang Hari, Las Pinas. We had lunch at Sbarro in Festival Mall in Alabang. We had dinner at Pancake House in South Supermarket in Alabang.

My very good friend brought me to have lunch at Mey Lin in Jupiter Street in Makati. After that, at Chow King in Glorietta. Later at night, we met another friend and had dinner at Peking Garden in Greenbelt 5, Makati City.

My other very good friends brought me in Tagaytay. We had lunch at Marcia Adams’ Tuscany located at the boundary of Tagaytay and Alfonso, Cavite. We also visited Oasis of Prayer, Pink Sisters, and Our Lady of Lourdes Church.

When it comes to golf, I played golf once for the AACC Golf Cup which was sponsored by the Ayala Alabang Camera Club held at the Alabang Country Club.

When it come to short trips, my niece and I went to Puerto Princesa, Palawan just to check the place for a longer Palawan trip in the future. We stayed at Palo Alto Bed and Breakfast for three days and two nights. We had dinner and breakfast at Salakot Cafe of Palo Alto.

We did the Puerto Princesa city tour and visited places like Baywalk, Plaza Cuartel, Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Market or Tiangge, Palawan Widlife Rescue and Conservation Center known as the Crocodile Farm, Mitra’s Ranch, Baker’s Hill Palawan, and Binuatan Creations.

We did the Honda Bay island hopping tour and went to places such as Pambato Reef, Starfish Island, and Pandan Island Resort.

We went to Mangrove Eco-Tourism and Wildlife Park in Iwahig for Iwahig Firely Watching. The fireflies on the trees along the river were amazing.

We ate at Badjao Seafront Restaurant, KaLui Restaurant, and Edgardo’s Place Lobsters and Crabs Seafood Bar.

After the Puerto Princesa trip, I went to Pandan, Antique via Kalibo, Aklan. I attended a few events and activities during the Tugbong Festival 2012 in the town of Pandan in the province of Antique.

We did not forget to go to Malumpati Cold Spring (Malumpati Health Spring and Tourist Resort) and the Fisherman’s Wharf in Pandan, Antique. We also went to Barbaza, Antique and met some relatives.

I also never forgot to get some photos of the setting sun in Pandan Bay. Taking pictures of Pandan Bay and its beautiful sunset is almost a must when you visit Pandan. 🙂

When I went back to Manila, my very good friend brought me to eat batchoy at La Paz Batchoy in Makati along EDSA. Later on, before I left Philippines the next day, we went to have a small bite at Vivere Suites’ Sky Lounge in Filinvest Corporate City in Alabang with my dear sisters.

Thank you, my dear family and my very dear friends for everything. Thank you for all the time that you have spent with me. I always appreciate the time and effort that you have been giving to me every time I go to the Philippines. Until next time! I love you all!