Michi Photostory

June is my husband’s birth month and as usual, he always prefers a simple celebration. I suggested a staycation or beach outing habang bakasyon pa kami but he doesn’t like it. So to celebrate his milestones, we ate at Buffet 101 International Cuisine. I think this restaurant has been around for almost a decade, my husband has tried this restaurant for the nth time already but my son and I just recently tried it.



Buffet 101 International Cuisine just opened a branch in Alabang Town Center last June 2018 so it is additional buffet restaurant for those who live in Southern Luzon. We did not make any reservation so we went to Alabang Town Center as early as possible, only to find out na 11AM pa pala bukas ng Mall. By the time that we reach the restaurant pang #8 na kami sa reservation and 11:30AM pa daw ang start.

Read: List of Buffet Restaurant in the Philippines


Buffet 101 restaurant still looks new, I like the well-lit interiors of the restaurant. They have tables for couples, family, and big group and you have enough space to move around. They serve a lot of foods naman, they have Japanese, Chinese, Italian, and Filipino Cuisine. The rate includes unlimited foods and drinks already.







They have a Birthday Treat Promo but I was sad when I found out that their promo is 3+1, we’re just a family of three so even if it was my hubby’s birthday hindi kami pasok dun. In other buffet restaurant kasi, if you will eat on the day of your birthday kahit +1 adult lang, FREE na yung birthday celebrant. And I also learned that my son is over 4’5ft na pala so adult rate na rin siya. Waah! How I wish, by age yung rate nila and hindi by height.


But since it was my husband’s birthday, deadma na muna sa rate. We’re here to celebrate and enjoy the food. Just like other buffet restaurants, they have something for birthday celebrant too, so they greeted my husband and gave him a complimentary cake. Natawa ko sa free cake kasi isang kagat lang yata yun. But anyway, it is the thought that counts.

I think I have to accept the fact that I always need to stay in a hotel before flying back to the Philippines, just to have peace of mind that we won’t miss our flight. The thing is we need to ride Ferry Boat just to reach Trondheim and boat schedule is unpredictable especially if it is a holiday.

Read: Flying Back Home

So I decided to fly to Oslo day before our Oslo - Doha - Clark flight and booked a hotel near the airport. We did this two years ago, we stayed in Radisson Blu Aiport Hotel in Trondheim day before our flight. After our Scandinavian Trip, I immediately booked our flight from Trondheim to Oslo without checking the rates of Radisson Blu Oslo Airport so I was really surprised when I saw their rates.

Read: Radisson Blu Airport Hotel in Trondheim Norway 
SAS Scandinavian Airlines Experience
Cochs Pensjonat in Oslo


Radisson Blu Airport Hotel is so expensive pala, I thought they have the same rate of Radisson Blu Airport Hotel in Trondheim. There are two hotels that you can choose from if ever you need a place near Oslo Gardermoen Airport. You can stay in Radisson Blu or Park Inn by Radisson. I checked the rates of both hotels and there is only minimal difference when it comes to price. I chose Radisson Blu Airport since I already tried their hotel in Trondheim so at least I know what to expect.

Read: Glimpse of Oslo Gardermoen Airport

The price of the room depends on your preference, of course, I chose the standard room because we only need a place to sleep on. Aside from that, you have the options of a room only, room with breakfast, prepaid booking or booking with free cancellation. I compared all the options and I chose prepaid booking with breakfast for NOK1543.50 (PHP9,460.95).

Tip: To save money, I joined Radisson Rewards because there is a different rate for the members. The rate above is already a discounted rate. You can be a member for FREE.


Fast forward to our trip, after getting our luggage, we went straight to the hotel. Radisson Blu Oslo Airport is just in front of Oslo Gardermoen Airport so locating it is not a problem. It is near the bus station, train station and of course the airport. This hotel is a nice place to stay if you have an early flight or late arrival. It offers a conference room, lobby lounge, restaurant, and Fit4Flight wellness center.


There is a covered walkway on your way to the hotel, my booking is prepaid but they still require a guaranteed deposit which will be canceled if you have no additional charges. We arrived 5:30PM and it took me ten minutes to get our room key because of the long lines.


Radisson Blu Oslo Aiport has 500 soundproof rooms and suites so even we are just near the airport, you can’t hear any sound. It makes me paranoid nga kasi wala ko naririnig na ingay, feeling ko kami lang ng anak ko sa hotel. Hehehe!


This is our cozy room and now I know why their rate is different because they have better rooms. My son even said that this is his favorite hotel among the hotels and hostels that we have tried during our two months vacation in Scandinavia. Sa isip-isip ko, dapat lang kasi ito rin yung pinakamahal sa lahat ng pinagstayan natin. Hehehe!



The standard room is 22 sqm, we have King-sized bed, the bed, duvet, and pillows are soft and comfy. There is a desk table, couch, TV, in-room coffee and tea, mini bar, in-room safe, steam iron & ironing board. There is no complimentary bottled water but they have complimentary ice. You can see this ice dispenser outside the elevator.

Trivia: Tap water in Norway is potable.


The bathroom has bath tub but there is no bathtub stopper so my son was sad that he was not able to use it. For toiletries, there is shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion, soap, vanity kit, and shower cap. There is hair dryer but no bidet.



If you don’t want to get out anymore, they have room service too. The menu is available inside the room and they have 26 North Restaurant & Social Club.


Buffet Breakfast at 26 North Restaurant & Social Club 

Our room package includes buffet breakfast at 26 North Restaurant. It is open as early as 5AM so even you have an early flight, you can have a quick breakfast before going to the airport. As expected, buffet spread in Europe is limited to salad, bread, cold cuts, cheese, cereals, yogurt and few hot dishes.


They have more options compared to Trondheim branch. They have a menu too if you want to order something that is not included in their buffet spread. We stuffed ourselves with bacon, eggs, sausage, bread, potato wedges and mushrooms.






After check-out, my son and I just stayed at the room, we’re reserving our energy for our flight back to the Philippines. Thank God for FREE wifi so we have something to do while killing our time. Check-out is 12NN so we were so early for our 4:10PM flight.

Watch the video here. 

Scandinavian Airlines System is the flag carrier of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, that is why it is called Scandinavia and its popular name is SAS. If you are traveling in Europe especially in Scandinavia, SAS is one of your airline options.

Whenever we visit my mom, we always book Manila to Trondheim flight and SAS is always our connecting flight from Oslo to Trondheim and vice versa. So when I was looking for Trondheim to Oslo flight, I chose SAS too. I was supposed to book Ørland to Oslo flight via Air Leap but unfortunately, there is no flight on the day of our departure so I have no choice but to travel to Trondheim again.


So we traveled to Ferry Boat Terminal in Ørland, rode the Ferry Boat for one hour, we took the bus to Trondheim Airport for 30 minutes and travel from Trondheim to Oslo via plane for 55 minutes. There were a lot of transfers, we traveled by land, sea, and air just to reach Oslo, the capital of Norway. But if you want a scenic journey, then ride a train. We rode a train from Oslo Central Station to Trondheim Central Station and so far it is my favorite train ride experience.

Read: Oslo Central Station to Trondheim Central Station via NSB Train 

Ferry Boat from Ørland to Trondheim 
Bus to Trondheim Airport 
Flight from Trondheim to Oslo via SAS 

Read: Glimpse of Trondheim Airport

At the airport, you can see self-check-in kiosks but since there were no long lines, I chose over the counter check-in. Since I booked a separate ticket for our Domestic flight, our baggage allowance at SAS is only 23 kilos. It is a challenge for me since I’m used to 30 kilos baggage allowance. Fortunately, hindi naman ko nag over baggage.




This was my fifth time with SAS and I still remember my first flying experience with them, may kasama pa na food and drinks. But two years ago, I learned that you have to pay for your drinks and foods. Check the menu below, they accept Denmark, Sweden, and Norway currency. Since this is just a short flight, my son and I did not order anything.




We arrived safely in Oslo, we picked up our luggage and we went straight to Radisson Blu Hotel Oslo Gardermoen. We stayed there for one night before our next flight back to Philippines. It is an additional travel expense just to be sure that we won’t miss our flight.


Read: Flying Back Home
Radisson Blu Hotel Oslo Gardermoen Review

If you are a mom or dad and you have kids that already go to school, I’m pretty sure that sometime in your life, you are asking yourself “What are you going to do with their old notebooks?”. It is easy to throw out those old notebooks and just buy a new set of notebooks every school year. But of course, we all know that we can still use those old school notebooks and used papers.

Ever since my son started going to school, I always have a pile of papers, notebooks, and books. So at the end of the school year, I do my own inventory so I will have an idea of what I need to buy, reuse, and recycle. Last March, I only spent less than P400 on my son’s school supplies compared to P1431 if I will buy everything at their school bookstore. I saved money because I still have enough supplies and I will reuse most of his school supplies like notebooks.


Having said that, I always collect those notebooks and used papers that I can reuse and recycle. It is my way of helping the environment and saving money too. I already blogged about my DIY Scratchpad before, so you can check my post here on how I reuse old papers.

Read: DIY Scratchpad

For now, let me share “How to Reuse or Recycle Old Notebooks”. There are 3 things that I do with old school notebooks.

1. Reuse Old Notebooks 

After the final exam, I will get all my son’s notebooks and check if there are notebooks that I can reuse. For this school year, I reused 3 notebooks. Math, HELE and Araling Panlipunan. I just removed all the used pages and replaced the cover so it will look new.


For our Math spring notebook, the cover is not in good condition so I removed the cover, spring, and sew the pages of the notebook. Then I used cardboard to make a new cover. I was able to make two new Math Notebook.


For HELE and Araling Panlipunan, I just removed the used pages and cover it.


2. Make Scratch Paper 

My son is using composition notebooks so I don’t tear the used pages, I cut it so I can reuse the other side. You can use a paper clamp to keep all the papers, make a scratch pad using padding glue, or use a fastener. This year, I have some fasteners so I used them to make my own scratch paper. It is easier since the pages of the notebook are not uniform. If you notice, I still have a writing notebook, leftover from Grade 3 Level.



3. DIY Notebook

Since I have a lot of scratch papers, sometimes I make a DIY notebook. For those school notebooks that my son can’t reuse, because I feel that the pages are not enough, I used it. Instead of buying Filler Refill, I make my own notebook.


After removing the used pages, collect the unused pages. You can use a stapler or sew the unused pages including the cover to bind it. In my case, I just sew the paper, using the present holes as my guide. So now, I have 6 Filler Refills and I don’t need to buy anymore for my notes or journals.



This is an easy DIY project that you can do to save money every school year. I am lucky that my son reuses his school supplies.

Note: I got the pencil wrap PDF file from Pinterest. I just print the file and used it for our notebooks.