10 Places to see before you......

Half Dome, Yosemite National Park

The proliferation of these books and blogs listing where you should go before you kick off is phenomenal. This is one of the reasons why tourists are sometimes disappointed with a destination because they had such high expectations after reading someone's overly enthusiastic and personal account of a place they visited and recommend you to see before your last breath. No book or magazine or e-zine can can give you a sense of place until you get there. So where you want to go is entirely up to you.

There are places we visit that linger in our minds long after the journey is over. Remember the ad, "Your Windsong stays on my mind"? Here are my Windsongs:
1. Yosemite National Park, California - When I first laid eyes on Half Dome, I had a frog in my throat. I thought of the artist whose hand sculpted it, painted the landscape with towering trees, sketched waterfalls and streams where his pets could sate their thirst and drew expansive meadows where they could play under big, blue skies. Ah, but there's more to feast your eyes on in this great museum of nature. But you'll have to go and pick the artwork you like best.
2. Quebec City, Quebec, Canada - I remember looking down at the Old Town and the river beyond from my room at the Hilton. It was a beautiful sight.
3. Sydney, Australia - As our plane made its descent, I caught a glimpse of the Opera House and thought, "I can go home now. I've seen it!"
4. The Grand Canyon, Colorado - The bus driver asked me if I took enough pictures after observing me clicking away. "I couldn't possibly take enough pictures to capture the immensity of the Grand Canyon", I replied. And he agreed.
5. The Inside Passage, Alaska - I can feel Alaska from where I stand on the front deck. It's quiet and peaceful, the islands are uninhabited and the chill pierces my bones but I am loving it.
6. Cairo and the Nile River - I suffered from sensual overload trying to absorb all the things I saw, remembering facts and figures from the lectures, tasting falafel and drinking hibiscus tea, meeting new people and making new friends, shopping in the souks, sailing in a felucca and speaking the few words I know in Arabic. Inshallah I will be able to cruise the Nile River again.
7. Venice, Italy - On my first trip to Venice in the 70's, I got lost in the maze of alleys looking for a church on a Sunday afternoon. I came across some nuns who were happy to show me the way, saving me from my predicament. That experience left a long lasting impression of bewilderment over labyrinthine streets with no way out.
8. Home - Where I can take a long hot shower, wash my clothes, rest in bed with crisp, clean and sweet smelling sheets and dream of the next destination.

What are your Windsongs?

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Photo by TravelswithCharie

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Filipino Struggles in History - Carlos Botong Francisco

In 1968, Antonio Villegas (then Mayor of Manila), commissioned Carlos "Botong" Francisco to paint the history of Manila for Manila City Hall. The series of large scale paintings was called Kasaysayan ng Maynila (History of Manila). The paintings deteriorated over time and no attempt was made to preserve these historical canvases until 2013 when Mayor Amado Lim sent them to the National Museum for extensive restoration. Four years later, in 2017, Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada and the Manila City Council signed an agreement with the National Museum to leave the paintings at the museum so they may reach a larger audience in exchange for museum grade reproductions to replace the originals. Kasaysayan ng Maynila was later renamed Filipino Struggles in History and is now on display at the Senate Hall of the National Museum . Carlos "Botong" Francisco died in March 1969, a few months after completing the paintings. He is one of the first Filipino modernists and

The Art of Carlos Botong Francisco - Progress of Medicine in the Philippines

Pre-colonial period Pag-unlad ng Panggagamot sa Pilipinas (The Progress of Medicine in the Philippines) is a group of four large-scale paintings depicting healing practices in the Philippines from pre-colonial times to the modern period. Carlos Botong Francisco was commissioned in 1953 by Dr. Agerico Sison who was then the director of Philippine General Hospital (PGH) together with Dr. Eduardo Quisumbing of the National Museum, Dr. Florentino Herrera, Jr. and Dr. Constantino Manahan. These oil on canvas paintings measure 2.92 meters in height and 2.76 meters in width (9.71 ft x 8.92 ft) and were displayed at the main entrance hall of PGH for over five decades. Owing to its location, the artworks were in a state of "severe deterioration" at the beginning of the 21st century from exposure to heat, humidity, dirt, dust, smoke, insect stains, grime, termites and an oxidized synthetic resin used in an earlier restoration. These canvases were restored three times, the last was

8 Heritage Houses of Iloilo

Lizares Mansion The province of Iloilo on the island of Panay has a rich trove of heritage houses, left over from the sugar industry boom in the 19th century. Iloilo also had the largest port in the Philippines at that time which facilitated the export of sugar to foreign shores and deposited money in the hands of the sugar barons. The barons dropped their earnings into the acquisition of properties in Negros and the construction of beautiful homes in Iloilo, many of which are located in the vicinity of the Jaro Cathedral. The Lizares Mansion was built in 1937 by Don Emiliano Lizares for his wife, Concepcion Gamboa and five children. The family fled to safety when World War II broke out and the house was occupied by the Japanese military. The family returned to the house after the war but left once again after the demise of Don Emiliano. It was sold to the Dominican order in the 1960s and was converted in 1978 to a private school, Angelicum School. The mansion now houses the

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