MANILA, Philippines - Filipino career woman Alma Cielo Arroyo always had a trip to Paris on her bucket list, but never in her wildest dreams did she think that it would come true.
Well, just last September, it did. She and her husband, Norman Arroyo, took that dream trip to Paris and spent their wedding anniversary in the City of Lights, together with her mother, Ma. Erlinda de Ramos, and her sister, Ma. Darlynn del Rosario. They enjoyed round-trip Business Class seats on board Etihad Airways, went on a 10-day escorted tour by Insight Vacations, with visa assistance and other travel arrangements made by Rajah Travel Corporation.
That all-expenses-paid trip for four to France was Alma’s prize for having been picked as the grand prizewinner of The French Baker’s 25th anniversary promo, “Visit Paris in Summer 2015.”
In March she got a call from The French Baker’s Abegail Siega informing her that she had won the grand prize. She told her husband about it, but that they would have to wait for the official announcement. After two weeks the formal announcement was posted on the FB page of The French Baker.
“My husband and I were together when we saw the FB post, and I literally screamed in joy! I Viber-ed my mom, who was then in the US, and texted my sister that it was official. We had won the grand prize, the trip to Paris! To think that I was even hesitant to fill up the raffle coupon because I had not been lucky with raffles,” Alma said.
They opted for a September trip, since the couple celebrates their wedding anniversary on Sept. 26, which turned out to be perfect because The French Baker’s founder and CEO Johnlu Koa happened to also be in Paris at that time. A meet-up was arranged between the Arroyos and The French Baker team in Paris. They had lunch together in one of the city’s best restaurants. Koa gave them a rosary and a bottle of Holy Water from Lourdes, where he had just come from, and then they headed for Trocadero, where they had their photos taken with the Eiffel Tower in the background.
Their 10-day trip to France allowed them to get acquainted with Paris and visit its world-famous attractions in the first three days, then off to Avignon and Arles, where the group stayed for another three days and got to experience a comfortable TGV train journey through fertile vineyards and agricultural lands, see the incredible three-tiered Pont du Gard, get introduced to the famous wine of the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and visit an olive mill in Les Baux-de-Provence to sample some of the finest olive oils in France.
For the next three days in Monaco, they visited a perfumery, drove along part of the Grand Prix circuit, walked through the old town to see the Royal Palace (where the Grimaldi family live) and the yacht-filled harbor, visited the cathedral that houses the tombs of the late Prince Rainier and Princess Grace, heard Sunday Mass at St. Vincent de Paul Church, bought some souvenirs from Monaco-ville, and walked through the streets of Monte Carlo at a leisurely pace.
“Our trip to France was unbelievably surreal,” said Alma. “It made me believe more that miracles do happen. We will forever be grateful to Johnlu Koa and The French Baker team, as well as their partners in the Visit Paris promo: Rajah Travel, Insight Vacations, Etihad Airways and Canon Philippines. We traveled in style — Business Class airline seats from Manila to Paris and back for all four of us, top-rated hotel accommodations, good food, and tours like no other.”