In this post we venture out of the box onto the largely unbeaten path of traveling around one of the lesser known islands in the Philippines. Negros Occidental and Oriental - all part of Negros island have a lot to offer, in many case without the touristy buzz (like Boracay, El Nido, and Coron) but with the great food, beer, and astonishing art. So sit back, and start to learn about Negros - sugar capital of the Philippines and about Bacolod City and Dumaguete City. Just Been There Art Look at or buy art inspired by this trip. If you like this trip, but can't go, or you too have just been there, this unique art may rekindle fond memories of your own trip. Click the image for a link to the online store. Note: you will be leaving this site and connect to the artists site.   Early Morning at the Market   All art copyright by: Christine Ong-Dijcks  Bacolod City - City of Smiles The most common place to arrive is likely going to be Bacolod City. It is the capital and has a...

 On a recent trip we stayed in Sydney, and because the public transit is so good, we decided to pick a location a little off the beaten path. So not around Darling Harbor, The Rocks, or close to Circular Quay. Instead we stayed just off Central Station in Chippendale, right across from the University of Technology Sydney. Travel like Just Been There A few days in Sydney can look like this: The Bridge, Opera House, The Rocks - try to catch the market on a weekend, Darling Harbor and much more... Take the ferries to Manly as it is a great boat ride and the beach is nice (special tip below for those shoppers amongst us) Enjoy the great food, which is the main topic of this post Just Been There Art Look at or buy art inspired by this trip. If you like this trip, but can't go, or you too have just been there, this unique art may rekindle fond memories of your own trip. Click the image for a link to the online store. Note: you will be leaving this site and connect to the artists site. Bu...

A quick post on some exciting food destinations we found and tried off the Strip in Las Vegas. Don't let these strip malls scare you away. Off strip, in strip malls doesn't mean chains and blandness. We found some real great breakfast, lunch, and dinner places.  Ichiza's Partial Menu Here goes... Breakfast - German Bread Bakery Yes, found another one, and while this one is not in as cool a location as our find in Tehachapi ( read more here ). This bakery has the classic rolls (brötchen) and lots of other goodies. If you go for the brötchen, consider stopping by Smith's and get some jam or any other things you like on bread. Makes for a classic German breakfast.  Smith's does have a Starbucks, so if you want to do your picnic breakfast, stop by there. It is in the same complex.  Note, there are two locations, the other location is south of the airport, in Paradise. Breakfast option II - Sambalatte This place is wonderful, it is a very cool coffeeshop. Check out the u...

One of the exciting things of traveling through Europe is that you can visit three countries easily in a few days. You'll see big similarities and subtle differences. Oh and in this case, you'll need two currencies. And, to be safe, bring a passport to at least one of them. Travel like Just Been There Five days in Southwest Germany, with a bit of France and some Switzerland can look like this: Day 1 - Arrive in the Freiburg / Black Forest area Day 2 - France, Colmar day trip  Day 3 - Titi See and Freiburg Day 4 - Switzerland, Schaffhausen - Basel loop Day 5 - Pack up or extend (more later) Just Been There Art Look at or buy art inspired by this trip. If you like this trip, but can't go, or you too have just been there, this unique art may rekindle fond memories of your own trip. Click the image for a link to the online store. Note: you will be leaving this site and connect to the artists site. Locks on the Canal (Colmar) All art copyright by: Christine Ong-Dijcks  Where to ...

If you have been to NAIA, you will likely have figured out a lot of the following. If not, have a read, it might save you all some gray hair, frustration, and most importantly, some missed flights... Just Been There Art Look at or buy art inspired by this trip. If you like this trip, but can't go, or you too have just been there, this unique art may rekindle fond memories of your own trip. Click the image for a link to the online store and browse the site for more. Note: you will be leaving this site and connect to the artists site. Perched - Christine Ong-Dijcks All art copyright by:  Christine Ong-Dijcks Arriving at NAIA Your arrival will not differ much from any other airport. Depending on where you fly in from, you will see a big difference in the terminal appearance and style. Many of the major Asian airlines - for those coming from or connecting through Japan, Taiwan, Korea, etc seem to end up in Terminal 1. This is the oldest terminal and while the main departure hall looks ...

Amazing places to stop for food, bathroom, or other necessary things. If you find yourself driving around the Western United States, take a look at these places to take a break, have breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Or just stop to go to the bathroom and stretch your legs. We've been to all of these, and some are now a tradition if we drive by or are somewhat close. Just Been There Art Look at or buy art inspired by this trip. If you like this trip, but can't go, or you too have just been there, this unique art may rekindle fond memories of your own trip. Click the image for a link to the online store and browse the site for more. Note: you will be leaving this site and connect to the artists site. Light at the End All art copyright by:  Christine Ong-Dijcks Part II: California, Arizona, New Mexico (CA-58, I-15, I-40, CA-62 and more) Kohnen's Country Bakery This is hands down the best breakfast, bakery, pastry place west of Bakersfield... Anyone driving from California to Arizo...

Well, it has been a while... and lets face it, while we are pretending normal has returned, we are still not back to actual normal. Although, we are gearing up for a first flight in about 3 years... What a difference a virus makes. Here are some of our travels including tips, sights and other fun things. Lasson National Park - Volcanoes!! This really was one of our first trips after a full year of Covid-19. We decided to visit an old favorite and then some. Our trip to Lassen started in mid June, and to our surprise, some of the trails like Bumpass Hell were just about open. There was still quite a bit of snow on the paths and ground. So check ahead and don't miss out on these.  We stayed at Drakesbad Guest Ranch, which is in the south side of the park. Drakesbad is special to us and many people... check it out . We are just keeping our fingers crossed that it survived the wild fires that hit the area the same year we were there. A drink at Drakesbad If you stay at Drakesbad you ar...