From Malta to Gozo

The bus system in Malta is very efficient. From where the fountain is, we took Bus No. 45 to Cirkewwa. It cost us .47 Euro and more than an hour to get there. We took the ferry from Cirkewa to Gozo. It was a 20 minute sail.

The Gozo Sightseeing Bus toured us around Gozo for more than two hours. The visit to the Ggantia Temples was the highlight of our trip to Gozo.

The Ggantija Temples or otherwise known as the Megalithic Temples of Malta are the oldest free-standing structures on Earth. They were built 1000 year before Egypt's pyramid and 2000 years before the United Kingdom's Stonehenge.

After sailing back to Malta, we took Bus No. 62 from Valletta to have dinner in Paceville, St. Jillian. This is where you can enjoy the nightlife in Malta

An Afternoon in Malta's Valletta

We arrived in Malta last April 24, 2011. Our hotel was located in Valletta, the capital of Malta. Although it was a five star hotel, I was disappointed that the rooms did not have Internet connection. I had to update my blog from the hotel's lobby and the connection was very slow that is why I was not able to post these photos immediately.

Valletta is a World Heritage site. The city is like an open-air museum with numerous Baroque architectures. It has many quaint cafés and bars that made the city one of Malta’s main tourist attractions. Let me share some of the photos I took on an Easter afternoon while walking around this World Heritage site.

The Actor's Assistant

Image courtesy of www.ca.uky.edu

I am currently in Valletta, Malta. It's almost 12:00 am and we just got back from Gozo. I have a 6:00 am flight to Paris so I am going to keep this story short and straight to the point. Our room does not have an internet connection so I am writing the story from the hotel's lobby.

This personal assistant (PA) has been loyally serving his actor boss for more than ten years. Recently he has been confined in a hospital in Manila because of colon cancer. When the actor found out about this, he instructed the family members to transfer him to a better hospital in San Juan. The family members thought that the actor was going to foot the bill so they followed his instruction. When the hospital bill already reached more than 300,000 Php, the family members approached him for financial assistance. They were surprised when he handed them a small amount of money and  advised them to just write the hospital a promissory note. He even told them that there is nothing that the hospital can do in the event that they do not fulfill their obligation.

Do you know who is this actor? I will give you a clue. Aside from acting, he is also known as a sports enthusiast. Before writing your comments, kindly review the Guidelines in Posting Comments. I also suggest that you follow micsylim on twitter and you might just get additional clues. Thank you very much for reading. Please email your stories to michaelsylim@gmail.com. I will be waiting.

Let me remind you that you still have time to submit your entries for the Vidajewelries Longevity Bangle/ Kanebo Giveaway contest. Please email your answers to mikesylim@gmail.com (NOT micsylim@gmail.com) with your name on or before April 30, 2011, 11:59 pm, Manila time.

Letter from a Reader: For the Love of My Boyfriend

Image courtesy of www.myspace.com

Dear Fashion PULIS,

I am Chal. I went to DLSU but you were never my professor. Anyway, I would like to share a story with you and your readers. I was doing some research on this designer and I came across your blog. I wouldn't really have shared this story about him if he changed his ways. However, things are really getting worse.

This designer did my wedding gown a few years back and I still love it up to this day. That was how I knew him. So when the Taiwanese friend of my mom, Toni, was looking for a Filipino designer to do his line of gowns in Japan & Europe called Vita Bella, I thought of him. When I contacted him, he immediately responded so I set him an appointment with my mom and Toni.

Toni would ask our travel agency to arrange this designer's trip to China. Apart from his ticket, he would make Toni pay for his boyfriend's ticket and tell Toni that he is the assistant. In China, his boyfriend would just lie around and make Toni pay for meals. The scenario became worse when the designer asked for a credit line from our travel agency for the extra tickets he was purchasing. I declined nicely because I have already read about him in your blog. One time, he even gave us a check for his boyfriend's ticket only to have someone inform us the following day that the check belonged to him and he was the real assistant. This means that he was using the assistant's money to pay for the boyfriend's ticket.

Things became worse a few weeks ago when a fashion show was held in Manila Peninsula. Coincidentally, Toni was invited to watch the fashion show and he requested our agency to book a room for him. The designer was also part of the show and he might have received a complimentary room from either the hotel or the organizers. My contact from the Manila Peninsula informed me that the designer's assistant approached the reservation staff and advised them that they will be extending an extra night courtesy of Toni. Toni was very upset upon checking out because he discovered what the designer did without asking his permission. The poor Taiwanese guy spoke little English but he had a good understanding as to what was happening. It is very sad because Toni believed in the Filipino talent he has already invested close to a million on this designer. My mom also told me that the designer never returned the gowns he borrowed from Toni that were used in the fashion show. The Manila Peninsula found a few gowns left in the designer's room when he checked out.

I'm writing you this letter to warn your readers. I really believe in the designer's talent and I feel so sad that he is ruining his career all for the love of his boyfriend. I hope that one day he apologizes to me, to my mom and most specially, to Toni.

Yours truly,
Chal

Note: This letter was published with the permission of the sender. Parts of the letter were edited by Fashion PULIS.

Oops! That's My.....

Image courtesy of www.shutterstock.com

After recuperating from his surgery, this television personality reported back to work in high spirits. He was very excited to show the photos he took in the hospital to his colleagues. While he was talking to one of the show's producers, he started scrolling through his iPhone and explaining the procedure that was performed on him. He presented the photos of the tubes that were inserted in the different parts of his body. He kept talking and scrolling through the phone until suddenly he froze in shock. He forgot that he also took a photo of his private part while he was in the hospital. After a few seconds of silence, he suddenly blurted out "ay, _ _ _ _ ko pala yan!" The two of them simply burst into laughter.

It is Easter Sunday so I thought of sharing something funny with all of you. May all have a Happy Easter! I will be off to Malta in a few hours.

Let me remind you that you still have time to submit your entries for the Vidajewelries Longevity Bangle/ Kanebo Giveaway contest. Please email your answers to mikesylim@gmail.com (NOT micsylim@gmail.com) with your name on or before April 30, 2011, 11:59 pm, Manila time.

Day Three: From Rome to Pisa

The train tickets to Venice were sold out when we arrived at the Rome Termini Station so we decided to visit Pisa instead. After three hours and two train rides (Rome Termini - Firenze Santa Maria Novella - Pisa Centrale) worth 50 Euros (approximately 3100 Php one way) we finally arrived in Pisa. It was a thirty minute walk from the train station to the Piazza dei Miracoli.

From the train station, we had to pass by the a busy street with many shops called Corso Italia.

At the end of Corso Italia was a bridge that led us to the Piazza Garibaldi. This was the view of the river bank from the bridge.

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Upon reaching Piazza Garibaldi, we saw the monument of Giuseppe Garibaldi, the military hero who unified Italy. Next to the piazza was Borgo Stretto, a pedestrian with shops and cafes worth visiting.

Towards the end of Borgo Stretto, we could already see the view of the Duomo and the Torre Pendente di Pisa.

Finally, we reached the Piazza dei Miraculo.

This was the view of the Torre di Pendente Pisa from the side.

Behind the church and the tower was the Battistero di Pisa. 

We did not stay long because we had to catch the train ride back to Rome. It was indeed a short but fruitful visit. 

The Nightmare Endorser

Image courtesy of www.female-six-pack-abs.com

This celebrity refuses to cooperate with the management of the slimming center that she is endorsing. The company has given her so many free weight loss treatments but she refuses to utilize them. She does not even want to go to the center because she claims that her schedule is too hectic.

The company is really concerned that the celebrity might not meet her weight loss target so to make it more convenient for her, the treatment machines were brought to her house. In so doing, the celebrity should have no excuse to miss her sessions. However, in spite of what the company has done, the celebrity still manages to skip her treatments.

To make things worse, she has not been following the diet plan that has been given to her. The problem with her is that she started binging again after she lost a noticeable amount of weight. I heard from friends who are close to her that she can finish a small lechon by herself. I just do not know if she still does that now that she is on a weight loss program.

I really admire the persistence and the dedication of this company's management. Truly, it is very difficult to help someone lose weight if he/she does not want to help himself/herself. My advice to this company is to just look for another endorser who is willing to give you his/her 100% cooperation.

By the way, you still have time to submit your entries for the Vidajewelries Longevity Bangle / Kanebo Giveaway contest. Please email your answers to mikesylim@gmail.com (NOT micsylim@gmail.com) with your name on or before April 30, 2011, 11:59 pm, Manila time.

Day Two in Rome: Sightseeing

It is always difficult to choose a place to eat whenever you are overseas. We ended up in this cafe called Sweet Life along Via Veneto because I noticed the two Filipinos managing the place. We enjoyed the food and the service. We told them that we are planning to go the Vatican after lunch so they suggested that we take the public bus.

True enough Bus no. 62 from Piaza Berberini took us directly to the Vatican. It only cost us 1 Euro (approximately 62 Php) per person.

We arrived in Vatican City  after a fifteen minute bus ride. Since we have been inside before we decided just to stay outside and take some photos.

It was past 2:00 pm when we got there and the line to the Sistine Chapel was still very long. If you want to go inside, I suggest you join a tour group because the tour operators can manage to get you in without having to wait in the long line. We went rosary shopping after having our photos taken.

For the rest of the afternoon, we decided to just walk around Rome. We had several photo stops including:

Palazzo Venezia

Pantheon

Piazza Navona

and Fontana de Trevi

After taking so many pictures, we walked back to Piazza Berberini to take the Metro this time to visit another important landmark in Rome.

The Colosseo

In one afternoon, we were able to see all of these landmarks in Rome. We still have one more day left in Rome so before heading back to our hotel, we dropped by Roma Termni to check out the train schedules for Venice tomorrow. Although I was just in Venice last September, my brother has never been there so Venice seems like a good idea for tomorrow. We'll see how tomorrow goes.