A Pilgrim's Prayer

If some things do not happen as they are scheduled,

Lord may I remember that I am a pilgrim not a Tourist!

If I should get tired and inclined to become short tempered

Lord may I remember that I am a pilgrim not a Tourist!

If my meal in a foreign country may not be to my particular liking,

Lord may I remember that I am a pilgrim not a Tourist!

If any delays should occur and I should become anxious,

Lord may I remember that I am a pilgrim not a Tourist!

If some other pilgrim is making noise so that I cannot hear the guide,

Lord may I remember that I am a pilgrim not a Tourist!

When I ask that person to be a bit more quiet If someone takes a better seat or more choice place,

Lord may I remember that I am a pilgrim not a Tourist!

If I find myself last in line or waiting, Lord may I remember that I am a pilgrim not a Tourist!

If the person in front of me buys the last item which I really wanted

Lord may I remember that I am a pilgrim not a Tourist!

If I should get a chance to help another person, who always seems to be annoying me,

Lord may I remember that I am a pilgrim not a Tourist!

If someone is always the "last one on the bus" and I am always on time,

Lord may I remember that I am a pilgrim not a Tourist!

But Lord especially let me remember that what I find objectionable in another is really what you oft times find objectionable in me

And let me remember this and forgive the other,

As you are continually forgiving me!

      Amen

Scandinavia Tour 2013

Traveling Together

The road between Geiranger and Eidsdal is known as Ørnevegen (Eagle Road). The last turn is a hairpin bend known as Ørnesvingen (Eagle Bend) and offers an extraordinary view over the Geirangerfjord. Beyond a wooden gate, a steep path leads you to the tip of the headland. 
From here, the view is even more stunning as you can see the magnificent Seven Sisters waterfalls, 
its white waters standing out against the sombre rockface as they roll down to the dark
 green waters of the fjord.

One of the features of Trafalgar tours is the Be My Guest dinners.  This is
where we join people from the local community for a meal.  In Bergen, we went to a farm-turned-into-restaurant just outside of town.  We were given a tour of the farm  and then were given a great meal of Norwegian specialties.  Following the dinner the staff all lined up to bid us goodbye.

The Fløibanen funicular in Bergen is one of Norway's best-known attractions. Fløibanen can be found in the heart of Bergen, 150 m from Fisketorget – the fish market – and Bryggen wharf, and it takes just 10 minutes to walk to the lower station from where the cruise ships dock along Bryggen. The journey up to Fløyen (320 m above sea level) takes 5–8 minutes. The journey is an experience in itself, and at the top you can enjoy fantastic views over Bergen.

STOCKHOLM, Sweden

Delighting in Norway's Fjords

"We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate."  Pico Iyer

sharing breathtaking views of the fjords.  All photos taken with my
Sony Rx-1 Camera.



Fjords are the result of the gradual retreat of glaciers with the trace of the sea. One of the areas of the world where this natural accident is particularly important is Norway.




According to Wikipedia:
"The west coast of southern Norway and the coast of northern Norway present some of the most visually impressive coastal sceneries in the world. National Geographic has listed the Norwegian fjords as the world's top tourist attraction."

The Tourist's Prayer

our trafalgar travel Director Cat Griffith shared this prayer to us and i love it. 

The Tourist's Prayer

Heavenly Father, look down on us your humble, obedient tourist servants who are doomed to travel this earth, taking photographs, sending postcards and buying souvenirs. We beseech you, O Lord, to see that our plane is not hijacked, our luggage is not lost and our overweight baggage goes unnoticed. Give us this day divine guidance in our selection of hotels. We pray that the telephones work, and that the operators speak our language. 

Lead us to good, inexpensive restaurants where the wine is included in the price of the meal. Give us the wisdom to tip correctly in currencies we do not understand. Make the natives love us for what we are and not for what we can contribute to their worldly goods. Grant us the strength to visit the museums, cathedrals, palaces, and if we skip an historic monument to take a nap after lunch, have mercy on us for our flesh is weak. 

Dear God, protect our wives from "bargains" they don't need or can't afford. Lead them not into temptation for they know not what they do. 

Almighty Father, keep our husbands from looking at foreign women and comparing them to us. Save them from making fools of themselves in night-clubs. Above all, please do not forgive them their trespasses for they know exactly what they do. 

And when our voyage is over, grant us the favour of finding someone who will look at our holiday snaps and listen to our stories, so our lives as tourists will not have been in vain. 

Amen.

happy to meet Mr. Robert Kuan

happy to meet Mr. Robert Kuan, founder of Chowking Food Corporation during the Rotary Club of Makati Central Induction and turnover Ceremony at Manila Hotel last July 19, 2013.  He is also the Chairman of St. Luke's Medical Center and Brent International School Manila 

 "He is a recipient of several awards and citations in the field of business TOFIL Awardee in the field of Business and Entrerpreneurship for the year 2003, Agora Awardee for entrepreneurship, Triple-A Awardee of AIM, Outstanding Alumnus of the University of the Philippines (UP) in the field of Business, 1999 Franchise Excellence Awardee from the Philippine Franchise Association, 1999 Most Outstanding Professional Awardee in the field of Business Administration from UP Alumni Association, among others. He holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Business Administration from University of the Philippines in 1970 .

He obtained his MBA from AIM in 1975. He took up Top Management Program exclusively for company President and Chief Executive Officers at Bali, Indonesia in 1993."  source: people info.ph

Kid’s Zone!

 

“The first week of August hangs at the very top of summer, the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning. The weeks that come before are only a climb from balmy spring, and those that follow a drop to the chill of autumn, but the first week of August is motionless, and hot. It is curiously silent, too, with blank white dawns and glaring noons, and sunsets smeared with too much color.” 
Natalie Babbitt, Tuck Everlasting