*Compellingly French!*

Fascinamment français!

French are lucky to be french. I mean, come on, who doesn't want to be in such a great country as France? Rich in history, culture and people with distinct marks of a superior race, who are you joking? I want to be French! Je veux être le français!

The French Revolution. Napoleon Bonaparte. The Eiffel tower. The Louvre. Palace of Versailles. The Mona Lisa. Ratatouille. French kiss. French baker. French fries (lol). FRENCH GUYS.

Chacun aime des gars français!

I came across this blog entry by Princessa, (http://hubpages.com/hub/Why-are-French-men-so-irresistible) and I tell you, this explains why most women love French guys. Read on!

"What makes French men so irresistible?"

1. From the first impressions you recognize a French man by his outfit. A Parisian has no competitors for fashion sense. Ordinarily you would never buy an orange scarf for your boyfriend, until you see a Parisian walking along the Champs Elysees with an orange silk scarf complementing his "decontracte" style. Only the Italians come closer with their particular sense of elegance and distinction.
2. Attitude. French guys look straight into your eyes when they are talking to you. Ok. Sometimes their eyes stray away towards your boobs, but quickly they come back to meet your eyes. It is actually considered bad manners not to look into the eyes of someone when you are talking to them and someone told me that it brings 7 years bad sex if you do not look straight into the eyes of someone when toasting!

1. They are passionate about anything they might be talking about which usually is food, wine or sex.
2. Conversation. With French men you can talk about anything you talk with your girlfriends. It does not matter their education, any French man will be able to talk with you about the latest fashion trends, cooking recipes and of course wine and cheese.
3. The French have a highly developed sense of smell. A French man actually appreciates your selection of toiletries. They can even recognize your perfume by name. I still remember the time I met a French fashion photographer in a Marbella nightclub, after being introduced he asked me -just to corroborate that he was right- if I was wearing Nilang, a perfume by Lalique, which at the time was only available in the Lalique shops in Paris so the scent was very exclusive and unknown. That impressed me!
4. French men can cook. And I am not talking about an omelette or opening a can of baked beans... no, no, no. I am talking about delicious well prepared meals cooked with lashes of fresh cream and herbs that you have never heard about; all served at a well decorated table and eaten with three hours of delightful conversation.
5. It does not matter what a French man tells you, if he says it in French you will be at his feet. Their accent, pronunciation and who knows what else are so irresistible, that I have almost fallen in love with many men without even having looked at their faces.
6. They are very expressive; they like to tell you how they feel and if they compliment you they really mean it. By and large they are not afraid to show their emotions. They will tell you that they love you, that they are mad about you and pour their heart out to you without feeling compromised for doing it. Even tough cinema actor Vincent Cassel has been quoted saying: "I think I'm actually more vulnerable than people imagine."
7. Most men do not drink beer -whisky as an aperitif is more acceptable and wine with a meal-. By and large a more elegant choice of drink.
8. Their life does not revolve around football matches. In three years living in France I have not yet met a football fan; at least not the type that spends Saturday afternoon in front of the tv. drinking a beer and cheering his team.
9. French men are still gentlemen and as such they still pay for you when you go out with them. French men like to pick up the bill. I know many feminists will be outraged by this, but they do it naturally. If you go out dining with male friends you do not have to go through the awkward discussion of who ate what or take out the calculator to divide the bills. Most of them are just happy to pay for you.

L'espoir vous trouverez votre vrai amour français!

*Hidden Valley Resort*

Hidden Valley Resort in Pinamungajan, Cebu is truly a hidden paradise. This mountain resort surprised me since I have been in one too many mountain resorts around Cebu City. As one of the destinations in "Suroy-Suroy sa Sugbo", this place is really worth the "Suroy".

The place is very peaceful and lets you reconnect with nature. They have a small zoo and a plant aquarium which pleased my younger siblings and my grandmothers. If you want to make the place very lively, you can indulge yourself with their videoke machine (which I did) and have the entire mountain barangay as your audience.

We could have gone exploring the nearby caves and waterfalls, but the bad weather didn't allow us to. Boo. =(

All in all, this place is one of the reasonable places to go to if you want some weekend time off by yourself or with family and friends. Friendly staff, good food and fully-equipped facilities are all in the package.

And oh, the herbal massage is a total must-try! =)


Note: This writer didn't get to take much better pictures because of camera battery downtime. Ack!

*Promdi in Manila*

I never knew that Employer interviews take forever to finish. I spent two days of waiting in line from 8am to 8pm, missing lunch and pretending to be just all smiles. Ack! It is agony at its very best.

After 2 weeks of flying to and fro Manila, I'm finally done with the hard parts (exams, interviews and all that). So for now, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

The good part during my first week was being able to see J and made up for lost time. Did the things we usually do like dine out and watch a movie or two. Boy, do i miss the guy. Except for the visible weight loss, J was still his same old self.

Regardless of J staying in Manila or not, I am not staying there. It's not that I don't like it or something. The promdi in me will always have to take charge. The hustle-bustle of Manila life is way too much for me. It is such a frustration to see Manila Bay gone black, the floating garbage flooded by the afternoon rain and some guy running away with someone else's bag on hand. Well I guess this has become an ordinary sight for people who lives in this city. I just wish more and more NGO's and GO's will work on these problems. There is still a huge chance for change.

Manila is not difficult a city for one to love. It will just take a solid, individual/group effort for this city to be as beautiful as it used to be.

Dang, this Promdi is now down with fever and flu as she writes this. Manila stress and weak immune system, I supposed. Boo. =(

*Hometown Luvin'*

Finally I got the chance to go home after some tedious work week. Almost died of exhaustion and hunger. Hospital work is way too demanding for my taste.

Though I was born and spent most of my childhood years in Cebu City, I still am a true blue Hinundayanon. My heart belongs to this peaceful little town in the Pacific area of Southern Leyte.

Haaaaaaay.. I can't wait to go home again. =(