Pizza Monday

Weehoo!

I ate pizza today! 

Yep, pizza makes me happy like no other (at least in the savory food category! hehe!), and if I had a choice, I would eat it everyday.

This afternoon, I tagged along KB and Framie (KB's girlfriend), and KB drove us to S&R Fort to  get me a slice. 

Though not my MOST favorite (Shakey's Classic Cheese-Thin Crust is my number one), it's still up there on my list. What I love about S&R's pizza is the thick, gooey cheese topping, especially when served straight from their pizza-cooker-thingy (it's not an oven, is it?). 

Today, I ordered Pepperoni because I was also craving for some meat, but I traded my half for half of Framie's Cheese.

Also, i saw this today....... FROYO Cherry Garcia. I didn't buy it, (but I really, really wanted to), so I just took a picture in the freezer. Hehe!

I'm sad to be going back to work tomorrow, and most definitely not ready, but Wednesday is going to be exciting because I'll be watching Phantom of the Opera with Ate Star, Bernard and Don (aka Babycakes). 

Yez! :) :) 

Seeya, 

Binky

Mom's Birthday

Today is my Mom's birthday. I won't tell you how old she is, but I assure you, she doesn't look her age at all. 

This morning, we bought breakfast from McDonald's (drive thru!). Pancakes and Sausage McMuffins and hash browns and cups of hot chocolate for everyone.

At lunch, Mom cooked tapa we bought from Divisoria, and I binged on Three Musketeers and Milky Ways! :)

In the afternoon, Kuya Botchie (KB) and I, and our little friend Rafa (our five-year old kapitbahay) watched The Avengers on KB's computer. Is it just me? Pero hindi ko na-gets yung The Avengers. Also, Iron Man got too much screen time. But I really liked Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk. Hope he gets his own movie, too!

I also promised Mom I would clean my room (as a sort of birthday present), I ended up taking a nap for two hours. Hehe. I need to make it up to her some way.

At six pm, we went to Mass, then ate at a Chinese Restaurant near our house. Mom doesn't like eating out so much, except when it's in a Chinese resto. 

Tomorrow's also going to be busy because my Titas and cousins are coming over for lunch. They are going to bring over my Mom's birthday cake, which my cousins usually buy from this really old-fashioned bakery in Pasig. Really good cake. I love it so much. 

That's how birthdays usually go in this house. 

Happy Birthday, Mom! 


Cake Update: Here's my Mom's (Tessie) birthday cake. My Mom's eldest sister (Clarita) is also celebrating her birthday in August, so they put her name there, too. 

Soft sponge cake, enveloped within the yummiest marshmallow icing, and topped with very pretty, traditional cake decor. 

Until next time, 

Binky

Charming Roeselare, Part 4

"There's a beautiful forest across our house in Belgium," Bernard would always say. He talked about how he always walked there alone, and how he could not wait to bring us there.  

I couldn't imagine it. Bernard said they lived in the city. There really was a forest in the city? 

Bernard is a very good friend, but many times, it's hard for me to believe him. 

He's not a very convincing storyteller. He's not good at describing things because he never really pays attention. He has the attention span of a three-year old. Hehehe. 

Perhaps, his"forest" was just shrubbery. Or a clump of trees in front of their house. 

And I suppose I'm one of those people who needed to see to believe. Because when we finally arrived at Bernard's house that beautiful spring afternoon, right in front of me was, indeed, a forest. He explained that it was called Sterrebos. 

I guess that's what I get for ridiculing Bernard. Serves me right for bashing the person who had been key to this awesome European adventure. Hehe! Oo na, I should have never underestimated you.

Here are some photos: 

View from across the street. Pretty much what we saw every waking moment. Lucky!

Main jogging path, which leads to the Kasteel van Rumbeke. 

Finally, Kasteel Van Rumbeke. Very quiet and picturesque. It's said to be one of the oldest Renaissance castles in Belgium (thanks wikipedia!). Bernard explained that these days, it's being used as a venue for events and such. I also imagine it being used during town meetings? How very old time-y! I love it!

Back side of the Kasteel. It's perfect. (I felt like I was in the set of Ever After!). 

Obligatory jump shot, of course. You can tell Bernard was smug about this whole forest thing. Ahahaha! 

We thoroughly enjoyed Sterrebos. It was as beautiful as you described, Bernard. And, like you said, it was such a nice thing to create new memories there that didn't involve just you -- wandering alone in the morning (or was it night?), getting caught by policemen for suspicious behavior (a true story, by the way, one of his that I easily believed).

Thank you, too, to Bee's Pops Jurgen (aka Edward Norton), Muks, Andrew, Lelet, the Kiddies, the Lolas and the whole Decloedt clan, for warmly welcoming us to your home. Just being there in Roeselare, being surrounded by its simple charm, was already in itself, an experience-- one that I would always remember, and would wish to go back to. In a few years, perhaps? 

Mabuhay ang Roeselare!

Byebye for now,

Binky

Charming Roeselare, Part 3

My Ate Star and I are always on the look out for cool street art. 

Here are some of our discoveries in Roeselare. 

Pretty clever gate art. We found this while walking to the supermarket. Finding things like these made getting lost in and around the residential area of Roeselare super fuuuun!

Statement street art. Indeed, what happens when we run out of power? 

I think we also found this around Bernard's neighborhood, whilst walking to the Zentrum (we did not know where the nearest bus stop was). 

Kiddie art. This is inside Roeselare's train station. See that Homer Simpson bit? I find that real kooky. :)

Gritty street art in the otherwise very, very wholesome streets of Roeselare. 

Probably these do not qualify as street art, but how cute are these store signages?!

Cafe Moustache (Zentrum). We never ate here.. establishments usually open around 11AM, and close at 6PM. 

Kids' clothing store, Otto and Lili. Red and polkadots. What a cutiepie!

Til next time, 

Binky

Charming Roeselare, Part 2

Hello! 

I know I haven't posted for a while. I have no excuse, but the rainy weather has made me even lazier than usual. Haha! 

I've been feeling a lot nostalgic about our trip to Belgium lately (again, because of the weather!), and what better way to rekindle those memories, but with a blog post, right? :) 

Anywaysss, back to Roeselare! I also loved...

Market Day

Tuesday is Market Day for Roeselare. It’s the equivalent of our Weekend Markets here in Manila, only, it happens every Tuesday mornings! Hehe!

About 15 stalls are set up in the square near the city hall (also in the Zentrum), and the majority of the things you’ll find here --- food, food, food!

Here's the photo of our hotdog (our first in Europe!), sold by an elderly couple on their food truck. Really good!! The bread was a bit tough to eat, but it seems that it's really how it's made. 

We also tried some of the famous Bicky Burger. It wasn't McDonald's, but the meat tasted pretty interesting. I even read somewhere that the patty also has horse meat. Gasp! But it was okay, I didn't know this when I was eating it. Hehe! 

I don't have a picture of the Bicky Burger, but I found an infographic about it from youtube! :) :)

Here's some more of the food stalls: 

Pancakes!!

Everyone loves candy! :)

Some extra-special Belgian cheese for 10 euros. The lady was very kind to give us a few bits to taste for free. I wanted to buy, but I couldn't shell out that much money just for cheese. That's right, I was really a cheap-o in Europe! :)

I really, really miss this place. 

Til next time, 

Binky