Hellenic Parliament

We walked from Monastiraki to Syntagma Square. It's always busy here so it's a good place to people watch. Found a bench and sat there for awhile. 

Finally got up from sitting and climbed the stairs up to see the Hellenic Parliament.

We saw a crowd of people starting to gather in front of the entrance and I knew that it was almost time for the changing of the guards.

It was interesting to watch the guards perform the ceremony in their uniforms. I applaud them for enduring the heat while wearing their full uniform. 

What I Ate: Hong Kong Part III

We took a day trip to Lamma Island. It took about 30 minutes from Central to Lamma island by ferry. Our main reason for going there was for the seafood. 

This where we decided to have our lunch. Perfect view! 

And they have no shortage of it there. A lot of restaurants are lined up next to the port. Each restaurant has an array of live seafood for customers to choose from. You pick the seafood and they cook it for you. 

It's something I miss when I'm back in Canada. You can never get the same quality of seafood. Our friends ordered all the food again because they know what to get. They ordered clams with oyster sauce and that was really good. I never get to eat this in Toronto. It was very tasty.

They also ordered crab but I'm allergic so I didn't sample it. Everyone else loved it ;)

Yeung chow fried rice!

And razor clams! This is the best! It was so juicy and tasty. I loved the way they cooked this with rice noodles top with garlic. It was definitely the big winner for me.

One of our dinners was at Crystal Jade Restaurant in Times Square.

The photo above was the most amazing dish I ate there. It's the shredded chicken and bean starch sheets with sesame sauce. It was refreshing!

Fried dumplings. We also ordered xiao long bao but we ate it so fast I forgot to take a photo.

Sauteed green soybean with bean curd sheets and preserved vegetables.

And this chicken and vegetable handmade noodle soup.  I was not a fan of it.

Red bean pancake for dessert.

Bohol Tour - Man made forest & Bamboo hanging bridge

We drove through the mahogany man made forest but didn't stop until we were on our way back because we wanted to get to Chocolate hills first.

Everyone stops here to take a photo! It's stretches for 2km. It provides shade from the sun and heat during summer.

I was quite impressed to see the thick trunks of the trees. I wondered how old the trees are. The trees were thriving here. And I have never seen anything quite like it in the Philippines. Usually it's bamboo or coconut trees. 

I'm glad that this forest is preserved and no one is trying to cut it down.

The stop after that was the bamboo hanging bridge. The entrance fee is ₱10 per person.

I was intimated to walk the bridge but decided to just go for it. I was holding the hand rails with my dear life. The bridge was shaky and I was so scared that it was going to fall apart. And I will plunge down on the river. 

I took little steps and got scared each time I moved my feet. The bamboo bridge floor was of course uneven so I had to watch my step to make sure I don't get my sandals stuck.

It was absolutely fine! I was worrying too much. After a couple of steps, I was feeling better. But was still hanging on, haha. 

Managed to get a photo.

I was happy to walk the hanging bridge because I got to see Loboc river. I didn't pay for the river cruise so this was the next best thing. And I love the trees surrounding the river on either side. The river is green but I was surprised that it was clean. I didn't see trash on the river and on the banks of it. I am really happy about that. Keep our rivers and oceans clean please. 

What I Ate: Athens Part I

It was a meat overload in eating for me in Greece. I was hoping to eat more seafood but ended up eating me a lot more than I wanted. Our first day was spent walking around Monastiraki Square. 

When we got tired, we stopped by this stand to sit down, have a beer and gyros. 

I live close to Greek town here in Toronto so I have eaten a million gyros but nothing beats gyros when you are in the motherland. It was delicious! 

Just look at that piece of art. 

At night, we found a random restaurant close to our hotel. We tried our best to eat healthy by ordering Greek salad. Having greek salad in Greece whoohoo! The feta was divine!

And then we became unhealthy by ordering pork skewers and fries. Sorry.

Happy camper! And I love the cup that the wine came it. 

Varvakios Central market

We passed by this market on our way to Monastiraki square. It was almost closing time so we didn't have a lot of time to browse the market. I was still interested in looking around the shops that were still open just to get a glimpse of what they are selling. Wanted to buy the bacon ;)

A lot of fresh vegetables and fruits on this stand.

And then we saw a spice store. This was really interesting for me. The prices for each bag was pretty cheap considering the size of the bag.  One bag will last for a few years with me. They had every spice you could ever want.

And also different types of nuts! I wanted to buy the almonds and pistachio's. 

We eventually found an island in Greece known for pistachio's but that's for another blog post. 

Do you get excited when you see a market? Do you stop and explore it? 

I have not come across a local market I didn't like.