travelswithalice

March 23, 2014

Art in the Park

We dropped in on the Art Fair in Salcedo Park on our way to lunch at Apartment 1B.

It was much too hot to stay for more than a few short minutes but I got a general idea of the things on offer and knew to go directly to Ral Arrogante's wire sculptures when we went back later.

The park really livened up in the evening. It had cooled down a bit, and it was time to sample the wine.

We shared a cocktail table with a lively group of bright young things who chatted up a storm with us for most of the evening. We covered weddings (two of them are to be married next week), careers, children. They scoffed at opera and extolled the health benefits of soup #5. DH Lawrence's farm in Mexico and would I write a financial column for a magazine owned by one of them? There were three empty wine bottles on the table when Stuart and I left for a late supper.

C', the new Italian place at the far corner of the park served up a good tomato soup and a nice panizza to share.

So did we buy anything? No, but I think I may have commissioned a life-size wire sculpture of Don Giovanni. Or maybe it was a bi-plane mobile for Stuart. We'll find out when it's finished.

Once again, Salcedo Park made for a really great weekend outing. Easy, lazy, friendly, arty. Very nice.

Labels: #MakeItMakati, Art in the Park, Makati, Ral Arrogante, Salcedo Park

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones # March 23, 2014

March 19, 2014

Hong Kong

It's incredibly noisy in my hotel room so I escape to the lounge.

I look out at the ever beautiful, but shrinking Victoria Harbour. It's messy with never-ending reclamation projects. It's hazy with mainland pollution. Still, to me, it's beautiful, exciting, always busy, always changing.

The hotel is undergoing a radical refit. My room is uninhabitable from ten to five on weekdays. I miss the old unfussy interiors. I miss the quirky hanging boxes and the angled desk. But change must happen and I must keep looking forward.

Besides, I'm finding new things to like in the renovated rooms. The bigger closet space means my clothes don't have to fight for territory. The well lit luggage rack means I can see the tiny numbers in my suitcase combination lock without my glasses. The single basin in the bathroom (I've always found the his and hers style an unnecessary conceit) means there's room on the vanity for all my stuff. And I do love that invisible TV in the bath!

This is still one of my favorite places to be. And the Grand Hyatt is still and always will be my Hong Kong home.

Labels: Grand Hyatt, Hong Kong

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones # March 19, 2014

March 08, 2014

Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra in concert at Salcedo Park

Stuart and I have just come back from a beautiful dinner concert. The fabulous Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, at a concert brought right to our doorstep, at Salcedo Park.

This is a welcome return of 'Salcedo Nights,' one of the many things I love about my neighborhood, Salcedo Village, and my city, Makati.