miss igorota wants to thank you

miss iggy would like to thank gingmaganda and princess ody for being part of the 'hood, and also the frequent visitors of this blog and avid entrecard droppers for spreading the strawberry love.

happy thanksgiving to all who celebrate it!

we say a prayer for conniechiwa

losing a loved one is never easy- it sprains the heart and splinters the soul. our prayers are with you, connie. may god bless you and your family.

miss iggy is going to cambodia!

the original miss igorota is excited to be refurbished and stitched up for a trip to cambodia, where she'll meet the newest "correspondent": zj!

miss iggy hopes that zj doesn't mind her eye (and her baby's as well) is all smudged. most importantly, she hopes she doesn't get lost in the mail!

"NJ '08" was stitched onto her back to remind zj that this doll was acquired in 2008, lived in new jersey for a while and then had her own blog in 2008.

bon voyage, miss iggy!

jersey gardens mall

the jersey gardens mall in elizabeth, new jersey is the garden state's largest outlet mall. you'll find plenty of factory-priced designer brands such as banana republic, kenneth cole, benetton, calvin klein, u.s. polo ralph lauren, tommy hilfiger, just to name a few.

this outlet mall is close to the newark liberty international airport so that travelers on a layover can easily shop here by hopping on a shuttle bus. also close by are ikea and a warehouse-sized toys r'us.

to infinity and behind!

miss iggy is a little nervous posing behind this gigantic space shuttle inside the johnson space center in houston, texas. those exhaust pipes can blast her to the moon!

[april 2008]

miss iggy the jetsetter

at the entrance to the space center houston in texas are two T-38 talon jets. they're su-su-supersonic!

[april 2008]

life is a highway

Life is a highway
I wanna ride it all night long
If you're going my way
I wanna drive it all night long

-"Life is a Highway" by the Rascal Flatts

miss igorota marvels at the wide stretch of interstate highway in texas. miss iggy loves road trips. [april 2008]

jack in the box

miss iggy spotted a jack in the box restaurant somewhere in texas. she's a little disappointed that this fastfood chain isn't available in new jersey, as well as some other states.

tkts on broadway

miss iggy believes that when you're in new york city, you have to watch a broadway show! that's why she checked out the queue at the reopened tkts booth at father duffy square in times square (a square within a square!).


tkts offers discounted tickets for same-day broadway shows. however, if you don't feel like standing in line to get cheap tickets for say, daniel radcliffe's (yes, the harry potter star is currently on broadway!) play "equus," miss iggy suggests browsing for discounts in advance online at playbill.com. this site is supercalifragelisticexpialidocious when it comes to broadway discounts! so is theatermania.com!

random ruins

Miss Iggy stumbled upon some (random but) interesting ruins in the citycenter of Thessaloniki.

scout's honor!

Miss Iggy chanced upon a Scout ceremony on a lazy Sunday in Thessaloniki. Needless to say she's laging handa* (always prepared) for a photo op.

* "laging handa" is the motto of the boy scouts of the philippines.

good grief, it's charlie brown's steakhouse!

charlie brown's claims to be "new jersey's largest steakhouse chain" which curiously has nothing to do with the famous "peanuts" character. perhaps the restaurant's creator loved to read mr. charles schulz's comic strips.

their farmer's market salad bar is enough to fill you up without having to order any entree. on tuesdays, you can order margaritas for only $2.00 all day long. now there's an excuse to get drunk even if it's not yet friday!

this restaurant has branched out to neighboring states pennsylvania and new york.

Miss Iggy goes to church

Miss Iggy in front of a Greek Orthodox church

Saved by the bells!

miss iggy and wheels

she wants to ride a bicycle, she wants to ride a bike!

forget miss iggy not!

miss iggy and purple flowers.

miss iggy got tagged!

miss iggy's job is usually just to travel and say cheese (like she did here inside the space lab at

space center houston in texas, taken last april), but she felt obliged to respond to miss veronica escudero's "7" tag...

============================

Tagging Rules
1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 interesting/random facts about yourself on your blog.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post, leaving their names as well as links to their blog.
4. Leave a comment on each of their blogs to let them know they've been tagged.

7 random facts about miss igorota:

• she is a souvenir doll that one can usually buy in baguio city (benguet province, philippines). the three igorota dolls featured in this travel blog are all from strawberry farm in la trinidad, benguet, purchased by gingmaganda. strawberry farms are something of a novelty in a tropical country such as the philippines. you have to take a special trip in the northern highlands to reach this place.
  
• her name "miss igorota" came to mind when fortuitous faery recalled the 1968 movie "igorota" which starred the late miss charito solis as a tribal princess.
• the doll above is the original one given by gingmaganda to fortuitous faery. you can see the threads of her headgear unraveling down her face...signs of being toted around in a purse far too many times. in much later photos, her eye gets smeared with moisture from a water bottle inside a purse.
  
• fortuitous faery currently travels with a second igorota doll also sent in by gingmaganda. it's a taller version that requires a bigger purse to carry around.
• "miss iggy" is her nickname. the bloggers who photograph her are collectively known as the "sisterhood of the traveling igorota," coined after "the sisterhood of the traveling pants."
  
• miss iggy's first travel photo was at quiapo church in manila, philippines--home of the famous and much-venerated black nazarene.
• miss iggy's newest travel buddy is princess ody in vienna, austria. miss iggy is excited to be in europe!

miss iggy won't be tagging 7 other people, instead she's just tagging gingmaganda and princess ody.

fall foliage#3:red

amidst red autumn leaves, miss igorota sends heartfelt birthday greetings to the gorgeous gingmaganda: miss igorota's travel buddy in manila, philippines.

red happens to be one of ging's favorite colors...the other one being pink!

may life spread you one delicious surprise after another, ging!

beach combing in Perea

Miss Igorota's first day in Greece

It was too chilly for Miss Iggy to plunge in the water, so she made do with walks on the beach.

Fortunately, the hotel she stayed at was on the beach! The Golden Star Hotel is located in Perea, a suburban city 20 minutes away from the center of Thessaloniki. Along the stretch of the beach are other hotels, restaurants and bars - perfect for unwinding.

Miss Iggy by the pier

barack the vote!

november 4th is election day in the united states. this is considered a historic presidential election because of a reported huge voter turnout especially amongst younger people, and also because the winning candidate will either be the first african-american president, or the oldest president and the first female vice-president.

when you choose one president, you automatically choose his vice-president. they are voted in pairs, not individually.

above is a sample ballot that voters get in the mail to acquaint themselves with the candidates' names. america uses voting machines where you only need to press a button next to the name of your desired candidate. no writing required. the process is quick and easy...you're done in less than 5 minutes.

aside from the president and vice-president, voters from each state get to choose one senator, one member of the house of representatives, one county clerk, and unique to new jersey: one member of the "board of chosen freeholders."

here is the closest voting venue to our place: the dennis o'brien elementary school in dover, new jersey. it was quiet in there when we went this morning. also, no campaign paraphernalia in the school premises can be seen unlike in the philippines.

goin' greek

Miss Iggy on top of the White Tower of Thessaloniki, longingly looking over the city and wondering where she could eat.

Because Thessaloniki is a port city, the fish and seafood are delivered fresh to the restaurants. Very yummy. Olive oil and feta cheese are everywhere.

The Greek sweets, on the other hand, are verrrry verrrry sweet. The most famous sweet pastry is the baklava. Miss Iggy, however, ordered something else:


She pointed at the menu full of Greek alphabetical characters and got a super sweet crepe filled with nuts, white chocolate cream, syrup and nuts.


Greek coffee. A richer version of the regular mocha drink.

which musical?

miss iggy can't decide which broadway musical to watch. mel brooks' "young frankenstein" seems perfect for halloween, though.

for our faithful departed

miss igorota takes a solemn moment to remember our faithful departed on all souls' day.