in transit: barcelona & sitges, spain

Before autumn sets in, I will luxuriate under the Spanish sun in the city of Barcelona and on the gay mecca beaches of Sitges for eleven days.


But before all that, I went to have my very first haircut here in Oslo, and my pretty Chilean hairdresser gave me a mohawk. A mohawk! I thought it would be quite a radical change, but I love it!

And in an hour or so, we're off to a flamenco party. Quite a teaser for my holiday, eh?

Happy ten-days-ahead everyone!

superzoom it!

I finally got a new digital camera - the Panasonic Lumix TZ1 - which was once the world's smallest digital still camera with a 10x optical zoom and is the 2006 TIPA Awardee (Oscar's of the European photo and imaging industry) as the best superzoom digital camera.


Despite not being the prettiest or the most pocketable option, I decided to go with it because of its kickass 10x optical zoom which would come in handy for some homme espionage and the image stabilization feature which bids bye bye to blurry photos.

Also, this camera would play a vital part in my planned weekly blog project series called WWYD Wednesdays.

In the meantime, let me superzoom in on some of my neighbors.

alluring alejandro

It's been a slow blogging week since there's not too much excitement in my life right now. Last night, I watched on TV an intimate performance of Hallelujah, a quartet of indepedently successful young Norwegian artists Kurt Nilsen (World Idol winner), Alejandro Fuentes (Norwegian Idol 2005 3rd placer), Espen Lind (blue-eyed Brad Pitt), and Askil Holm (don't know much about him).

Among the four, I am strongly drawn towards Alejandro who is Chilean, by the way, and is very cute and charming. The guy has a strong songwriting skill, too. And he is like what, 19? 20? (Update: he's 18!) He wrote and performed Stars (click for a sampling!), which is slowly becoming one of my favorite songs. The melody is so beautiful and the lyrics are so pensive and positive.


Hallelujah is currently riding at the top of the Norwegian charts, what with its line-up of haunting ballads, harmoniously beautiful songs, covers such as Seal's Kiss From A Rose, David Gray's Sail Away and Bonnie Raitt's I Can't Make You Love Me, and a couple of country-tinged singles.

visiting munch

A visit to Oslo wouldn't be complete without a leisurely trip to the Munch Museum, home to thousands of paintings, drawings and prints created by Edvard Munch, pioneer of Expressionism and the most significant Norwegian contribution to the history of art.


I look so sleepy in this photo. I only slept for four hours last night, and three the other night. Anyway...

When I was paying the admission fee of 65 NOK (+25 NOK if you want an audio guide), the sweet lady attendant asked me if I was Spanish. When I said I was Filipino, she was just so delighted and gushed that I must meet a certain Emily. Apparently Filipina. Apparently been working in the museum for ten years. Apparently in a vacation until the end of September.

Ding ding ding.

Maybe I can use this connection to try working in the Munch Museum. Apart from working in a hotel, with its plush carpeted halls and business suit uniforms, I also expressed interest, many times over, in working at a musuem. In fact, I was an apprentice at the Philippines' Ayala Museum five summers ago. I love being surrounded by art pieces, I love those small spotlights bathing them in glory, and most of the time, they come with plush carpets, too. Hahaha. What is it with me and carpets? I must have some carpet-deficient childhood or pastlife.

I had a most fun time in the museum, that I stayed inside the exhibition halls for two-and-a-half hours. There was just so much to see, from the world-famous The Scream (1893) to personal favorites: Vampire (1893), Anxiety (1894), Madonna (1895), Starry Night (1923-24), and The Girls on the Bridge (1926).

If you'd find your way to Oslo, make sure that you drop by the Munch Museum. It's just fantastic.

just another day

Well, not mostly.

Finally, I had something to do today to break the monotony of my daily routine here in this city. I went to the local office of Aetat, the Norwegian Employment Service this morning to register, trying to beat any long queues that might snake later in the day. With insufficient skill in speaking Norwegian, I don't think I would be able to use my PR skills anytime soon. So when asked by the amiable officer, I said I could take in any job, be in the office or particularly in the service industry. I have always expressed my liking for carpeted hotel halls and spanking business suits.

Afterwhich, I skipped riding the tram back home and just walked around the city, checking digital camera prices in some stores along Karl Johan. I am choosing between a Kodak Easyshare V570 and a Panasonic DMC TZ1. If I have more cash to spare, I would definitely go with a Canon Powershot S80. Now that is one high-powered camera.

I also dropped by Steen & Strom to have a quick look at the remaining items on sale. I saw two pairs of Puma by Alexander McQueen sneakers both at 50% off, but still I couldn't afford to take home one pair with me.

Tonight, Keng and Stein came back from Prague where they had a weeklong holiday so Knut and I went to their place to bring some muffins and to take care of some business. Prague looks so beautiful from the pictures they took. I must go there one day.

Then, I booked two hotels in two cities Knut and I would be visiting in two weeks. I can't wait! The big city hotel looks so cosmopolitan, while the resort city hotel looks, well, decent for our budget.

Good night.

hot ticket: gavin degraw in oslo sentrum

"We brought the rain with us and we apologize for it," quipped Gavin Degraw in between sets. Surely, the rain didn't dampen the mood of the huge audience who came to see the American singer-songwriter in Oslo's Sentrum Scene.

With an intimate setting, I had the chance, yet again, to be only meters away from Gavin who churned a palpable 90-minute performance of his songs such as Follow Through, I Don't Wanna Be, Chariot, We Belong Together, and Dreams among others. He had great charisma, high energy, and a great body to boot. Also, there's a certain wicked charm to his smile. And he obliged to a two-song encore performance, afterwhich he heartily thanked Oslo for welcoming him to the city.


Throw in some Idols, too!
Other sightings include Norwegian Idol's Aleksander Denstad With, Anders Mjaaland, and Thomas Frantzen, pictured below, who I found very very cute. He reminds me of Michael Buble.

We locked eyes for about six seconds. No shit. He broke it with a smile. And so I did, too. He tried to tell me something, from across three people in between, on two separate occassions, to which I just nodded and smiled again since I didn't understand him. He was talking Norwegian. Ugh!

Sorry for the sucky photos, I took them with my cellphone. I thought the venue had a no-photography policy. Double ugh!

oslo, london world's most expensive cities

ZURICH (Reuters) - Oslo and London are the world's most expensive cities, while Zurich and Geneva residents have the highest buying power, according to a report released on Wednesday.

Europe dominates the list of 71 cities compiled by Swiss bank UBS, while Asian cities -- including Kuala Lumpur and Mumbai -- are among the cheapest places to live, based on the cost of a basket of 122 goods and services.

Oslo maintained its top position from 2005, while London rose three places to second.

Copenhagen, Zurich and Tokyo round out the top five, with New York in seventh place globally.

For the full report, click here.

Photo Credit: Karl Johans Gate, main avenue from the Central Station to the Royal Palace, lined with restaurants, shops, and the majestic Grand Hotel.

oh chariot!

So I'm back in Oslo. Somehow, Oslo seemed paler, laid-back, even empty in comparison to Stockholm. But I'm not complaining. Each city has its own charm and grid of avenues to offer even the most indiscriminating of tourists. In fact, I realize that Oslo has still much more to offer me - moments I haven't experienced, places I haven't been, things I haven't seen. So in the next weeks, I will try to cover as much of Oslo as possible.

Like a chariot blazing across the city.

I have listed down interesting sites to explore and museums to learn a brand new culture from. There's Akershus Fortress, the old castle built to protect Oslo. The Parliament Building that offers free guided tours of its halls featuring lavish decorations created by the best Norwegian artisans. The Kon-Tiki, Polar Ship Fram, and Viking Ship Museums in the Bygdoy Peninsula, which all retell why Norway is one of the best sea-faring nations in the world. A hop to the National Gallery, Munch Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Art is also a must.


But before all that, I will see another Chariot who is charging his way to Oslo. The guy behind one of my favorite songs, Follow Through, will be performing at Sentrum Scene this Thursday night. Gavin Degraw is coming to town! Knut surprised me with two tickets, which he bought even before I got to Norway. Nice!

hot ticket: darren hayes in stockholm pride after parade gala

I thought that I would never see Darren Hayes perform live after he cancelled his Manila Tour a few years ago. And never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be only two meters away from him, in Stockholm, among a crowd of thousands. I had the front-row vantage point, clinging to the fence separator four hours before he performed a strong energetic show, his one and only concert in Scandinavia this summer. If you, too, are a Darren Hayes fan, enjoy these photos!


For more photos, click here.

stockholm pride parade 2006

Saturday, the Stockholm Pride 2006 Parade set a record of 30,000 participants and nearly 400,000 spectators spread from the Humlegarden to Tantolunden, site of the Pride Park. We watched the parade from the steps of the Royal Palace, no less.


For more pictures from the parade, click here.

in transit: day two in stockholm

I'm too tired to post from all the walking, sightseeing, window shopping, eating, and boy watching I did all over Stockholm today. It was a fun night at Pride Park with a slew of drag performances, the best of which was the Queentastic duo, they're from Oslo of course. More pictures maybe tomorrow or when I get back home. It's the Pride Parade and Darren Hayes' performance tomorrow so I better get some beauty rest.

Good night, Stockholm.

in transit: day one, gamla stan, stockholm pride

We arrived in Stockholm around four pm today just right after a light downpour, the wind was chilly but the slightly grey clouds didn't manage to blanket the beauty of the city. God, Stockholm is a beautiful city! The spire-spiked skyline and the grand buildings are much more dramatic than Oslo's. And it's damn cheaper here.

After checking in at Rica Stockholm Hotel, partner of the Stockholm Pride, we quickly headed out to take in some sights, like the Opera House and the Danish House.


We walked further until we reached Gamla Stan, which means the "Old Town" with its "charming tangle of narrow streets and alleyways lined with yellow, orange and red buildings." (Thanks, TimeOut!) Here's Gamla Stan's main square, Stortorget, with handsome 18th-century buildings and the Nobel Museum on the right.


We made some turns and ended up in a cosy rainbow-flagged cafe called Mandus for a dinner of Swedish meatballs. Here's a street called Slottsbacken, at the top of which stands the imposing yellow bulk of Stockholm's de facto cathedral, Storkyrkan. Update: This street is not Slottsbacken and the church is not Storkyrkan. It's the Tyskan Krykan or German Church.


By seven, we headed out to Pride Park to join in the festivities of Stockholm Pride, the largest LGBT Festival in Scandinavia. It's so huge there was this big balloon to announce its gigantic proportions. Just kidding.


There's Schlager Party tonight where past and recent Eurovision Song Contest finalists performed their song entries. There were folks (as in old singers) from Sweden, as well as hot young ones from Belgium (Kate Ryan) and Romania (Mihai Traistariu). I'm sorry but I just don't quite dig most of the musical repertoire in Eurovision, past or present. Nonetheless, I danced, not to the Swedish tunes, but to the rhythm and throng of happy gay people.


Happy pride!

in transit: stockholm, sweden

I will be gone for a four-day holiday to attend the Stockholm Pride, see Darren Hayes in the flesh, and experience the city for the first time. Until then, have a fantastic weekend!

Images courtesy of Stockholm Town

the best news EVER

World artist Darren Hayes performs at Stockholm Pride!

At last we can finally reveal our greatest artist at this year's Stockholm Pride - Darren Hayes! The former singer and front man of Savage Garden, and one of Australia's biggest music exporters ever.

Saturday the 5th of August he will perform, with his band, two of his big time selling solo albums at Tantolunden's stage. Songs like Insatiable and Strange Relationship have been proven to be around for good, but of course, we will surely be treated to a hit from Savage Garden as well. The pop star who earlier this summer married his boyfriend since two years back, Richard Cullen, happily informs on his website: "I can honestly say that it was the happiest day of my life. I am overjoyed that I can live in a time where my relationship is considered legitimate and I praise the British government for giving me this freedom."

The performance is unique and will be the only chance to see Darren Hayes perform live this summer in Scandinavia. At the same time, it is Stockholm Pride's biggest booking ever and we feel both pride and honor over this fact.

Source: Stockholm Pride

The timing is perfect.

I just can't believe it.

Just perfect.

And I'm creaming in my pants now in shushed excitement.

in his terella

Today I had the pleasure of meeting one of my blogger friends who lives here in Oslo. After his month-long holiday in Sweden, I finally met Renny of the wonderful blog RennyBA's Terella over lunch at Youngstorget.


Thank God for friends! When you're in a foreign place and your family's not around, your friends are the closest you could have of home. It was a pleasure sharing with him how my first month in Oslo was and bits and pieces of good ol' Manila. In turn, it was a pleasure to solicit his personal take and professional two-cents on life, career, and lifestyle in Norway.

Tusen takk, Renny! I really appreciate the warm welcome and I look forward to see you again. Hyggelig a mote deg!