Mother's Day 2010

Keith surprised me by taking me to this spa in Wilson, Greenhills. The name is Ahavia Lounge Spa. For the longest time, I've been complaining of shoulder muscle pains - you know, the one that hurts when you're in so much stress? hehehe

Upon entering the spa, you are immediately greeted by the cool breeze of the aircon and the relaxing scent of peppermint oils. What a refreshing relief from the super hot Manila weather!

We tried the Western Blend. My massuese, Rochelle, was petite, but her hands were surprisingly strong. This is the first time I had someone crack my upper back. I was shocked at first, thinking that it was my spine! But, I felt really relaxed immediately after that...

Keith and I shared a couples room. Soft music with nature sounds filled the area, and it completed the whole experience. The massage lasted for an hour. I was also able to try their iced tea and chicken sandwich. Mejo matabang ung sandwich for me, but Keith was quick to say - this is a health-conscious spa, so low sodium. Ahem, ok. Hehe.

Thank you Hunny for this wonderful mother's day treat! :)

Ahavia Lounge Spa is located at 173 Wilson Street cor Barcelona St. Greenhills San Juan, Metro Manila. Call to reserve - 7440343.

Punta Fuego - Day 2

I woke up, looked at the window and saw na maliwanag na sa labas. Ginising ko ang maid and asked her to cook breakfast. When I reached for the cellphone to check the time, it said 3:19. Huwat?? Hinawi ko ang blinds! OMG, sobrang liwanag ng outdoor lights ng kapitbahay.. madaling araw pa pala! I said -indaaay patawarin mko, mwehehe!

We had breakfast at 7AM. It was a beautiful morning!



We changed to our swimming outfits, and went back to Long Beach.



It was pahirapan to make takas sa twins coz iiyak pag nawala lang ako sa tabi. When they got busy making sand castles, tumakbo na ako to where the jetski was.

It was already lunchtime, so balik na kami lahat sa house to eat. The twins love Chef Tony's popcorn.



We packed our things. It was time to go.

Harhar moments:

when carlos was accidentally pushed by bitoy off the pavement and napayakap sha sa puno.. nagalit caloy and said "dahan dahan bitoooy!!" vito was playing with the doorbell. hindi nya abot so pag tip-toe nya nasanggi nya si caloy, mwehehe. ^_^

2pm, pagdating sa clubhouse. super-init!
justin: bibili lang ako ng souvenir t-shirt
papa: tara na kasi wala na akong gas. kelangan ko magpakarga
justin: ha? eh andito na tayo?!!
bwahahaha! ^_^

We had merienda at Pancake House in Tagaytay.



Then stop-over at Paseo De Santa Rosa. It was tiring but definitely, super worth-it!

Thanks everyone for this vacation, mwah! :)

Punta Fuego - Day 1

Napansin nyo ba.. It's really hot lately? I got a taste of summer when the family went to Punta Fuego this weekend. Caloy's yaya was on day-off so ako ang yaya, who else? Hehe.

We started at 7:00AM. Reached Petron SLEX at around 8:30AM. Surprisingly, there was no traffic in SLEX.

Harhar moment: justin and leizl nka jacket and chaleko. may date ata sa alchemy. parang hindi pupunta sa beach, lol.

We arrived at Josephine's at around 9:30AM. We were here for the buffet breakfast. I feasted on bacon and egg and mostly left-overs ng twins - champorado and myam myam with dang dang (that's bread with strawberry jam). The twins loved the taho and arrozcaldo.



Photo op muna with Taal as background. Kahit scorching hot, todo pose pa rin, OMG! Hehehe

Then, we went to Mahogany market to buy beef, fish, rice, uling and spices. Punta Fuego was still one hour away. The twins slept through the byahe. We had pitstop at 7-11 in Nasugbu to buy drinks and chips.

Finally, we reached Punta Fuego.



After unpacking our things and settling down, we had lunch. There was karaoke, so anupaba? Hehe



The view from the balcony is breathtaking...



Usually, the twins take their siesta at 12NN. But today, no no no! Naloka sila sa playstation.



At 4pm, we all decided to go to Long Beach. Sinakay muna ang kayak, then off we went.



Weather was perfect and the beach was calm... saraaap!



Wrap-up time was 6pm. Carlos didnt want to leave. Iyakan blues. So we promised, tomorrow, we'll have "swimming time" again.





Pagbalik sa house, ligo then dinner. Pahinga, chikka time, karaoke and playstation. That was Day 1.

Katrina's Tagaytay

We met up with Mike and Botch coz we have planned to go to Tagaytay this evening for dinner, and some chillin' in cool weather. It was traffic in SLEX because of the Skyway extension, but we saw a lot of Decepticon trucks. That kept us amuzed, hehehe. In Laguna, we stopped by Paseo de Santa Rosa, where Keith was able to buy a gray cotton t-shirt (with a right-side pocket -his favorite shirt style) at Dockers with 50% discount. He also found a backpack in Nike which is strong enough to hold his laptop. It also has a thermal pocket for his tumbler. He got the bag at 50% off. You bet he was beaming with happiness.

We then headed to Katrina's, a resto-pub serving authentic Mediterranean cuisine, just a few meters away from Casino Filipino and Mcdonald's. We were met by the very accommodating owner and restaurateur, Trevor Roberts. That's him behind me.



He indulged us with stories and secrets of their restaurant, I am not sure if I can share them here though, hehe. Just pay him a visit, I'm sure he'll extend the same warmth and hospitality.

Our first order was a bottle of semi-sweet Infantes red wine. And since it was our first time, he suggested that we try some of their best-sellers - pizzas baked in an oven with volcanic stones, double cheese spaghetti, cottage pie, fish & chips, and apple pie. We ordered them all. For pizza, we ordered two - Chef's Special and Alfredo. Dinner was super! And cheap. For all that we only paid P2,500.





Currently, a part of the restaurant is under renovation. We will surely come back for the great food, affordable meals and cozy ambiance. BTW, they also have rooms for rent, very convenient if you've had too much to drink and cant drive. For inquiries, call 09053288425 or 09192756904.

Before heading home, we made a quick stop at Starbucks just to check out Taal and have more of that cool Tagaytay breeze. We were so full that we didnt even attempt to buy water, hahaha. Until next time... :)

On A Roadtrip

Thank God It's Friday!

After work, Keith and I met at Megamall to check out the Adidas Nike Sale at the Megatrade Hall. He was looking for a backpack for his laptop. I said, "What! Another laptop bag??" He then tried to explain that he needed a sporty bag for his laptop "para naman hindi halata sa mga mandurukot".. Roll eyes. Okay fine. We browsed throught the items, but didn't find anything interesting, so I pulled him out and told him I was hungry. While we were trying to decide where to eat, we saw Dulcinea. Grabeh, I missed Dulcinea! Last year, they shutdown there branches in Megamall and Galleria, and I thought I would never see them again. I am so happy they are back in business! Keith ordered tuna sandwich and our favorite fruit shake. I ordered churros con chocolate, my favorite comfort food in the whole wide world! Hehehe.

Boracay ~ Day 3

I woke up, still sleepy, and checked my wristwatch. It said 6:07am. What! It was our last day in Boracay and we were leaving at 9am to catch our 1pm flight in Kalibo. So I jumped out of bed, hurriedly packed all our things and ran to D'Mall for that last minute pasalubong shopping. Good thing, some stores were already open, and I was able to grab souvenirs at 8pcs for P100. When I went back to our room, Keith was still asleep. I woke him up and said we needed to take our breakfast if he still wanted to tour White Beach one last time.

As expected, breakfast was yummy. I had the usual cornflakes and milk, scrambled egg, bacon and rice. I also had coffee and some oranges. After breakfast, we went to the concierge to ask if we can leave at 10am, instead of 9am. While they were calling Southwest Tours to ask, a man approached us and said he was there to pick us up. What!! He said the bus was leaving at 9am because there are many people in Kalibo airport that day. So we said okay and asked if we can just pack our things and that we'll come back right away.

So, we went back to our room, and instead of getting our things, we grabbed the camera and ran to White Beach. We took our final dive and swam and took photos of the beach, the island, the boats, etc. Then, we went back to the hotel, took a quick shower and said goodbye to the staff at Grand Boracay. We will definitely stay here again! Definitely!

And so off we went to Cagban port, to Caticlan, then Kalibo airport, and back to Manila. The plane trip back home was a breeze. After my parasailing experience, I was no longer scared of flying, hehe. We had lunch at Miggy's Place near the airport, and while waiting, we took pics of the ricefields beside the resto.

So long Boracay, until next time! :)



Check our Boracay pictures here: http://travel.webshots.com/album/572420732OjMhNP

Boracay ~ Day 2

It was 6am. I woke up Keith to take some sunrise photos. He reluctantly agreed, hehe. We went to White Beach and we were surprised to see some dark clouds over the island. But, God is really good, coz after breakfast, the sun was out again.

Our complimentary buffet breakfast was super sarap and there were plenty of food to choose from. I had cornflakes with milk, my fave. I also had pansit, fried bangus and omelette which is prepared as you order. I also had coffee, pineapple juice and some orange slices. Ang takaw talaga, hehe!

At 9am, we went reef walking. We went to station 1, where the pick up and drop off station for all water activities is located. We hopped a speedboat, which dropped us off Angol. After the orientation from our dive master Eric, Keith was first to go. When it was my turn, I suddenly became nervous and I totally forgot what our dive master just taught us. I had three attempts going down coz I couldnt equalize. I was at the point of backing out, but the thought of an angry Keith made me decide otherwise, hahaha! With the dive master's help, I was finally able to reach the bottom, to join Keith who was waiting anxiously. I gave him a thumbs-up sign to say I was okay. :) Here's a tip: chew gum. I think it will help you equalize.

I didn't know fish love pandesal, hehehe! We fed them three times. And while we were feeding them, the dive master was taking our pictures. Feeding the fish was a relaxing feeling. Our dive master even caught a fish by his hand and asked us to hold it. I didnt have the courage, so I just rubbed the tail. It was an awesome experience! This has got to be the best water activity ever! And at P500 each, it's a bargain. For the digital underwater pics, we paid P500. For reef walking inquiries, contact JayR 09238308162.





After reef walking, we were shuttled by a speedboat back to station 1. The weather was starting to get really hot, so we decided to have some fruitshakes at Jonah's (station 1). Keith had avocado shake, while I had mocha shake. There was also a tattoo booth inside Jonah's. We decided to get one. Keith had "three stars and a sun", while I had the tattoo artist do a freehand design on my back. We paid P200 for both.



It was already lunchtime, but we were still full. We decided to do Parasailing - not for the faint at heart, hehe. We passed by Diamond Water Sports (station 1), and inquired. They charge P1,000 each for 15 minutes. We said okay. We hopped on a speedboat to bring us to the parasailing dock. There, we rode a two-engine (bigger) speedboat. The crew gave us a waiver to sign, I didnt even read it. Then, they asked us to join them on the deck and strapped us in place. There's no backing out now. One of the crew said, wave your hand like this if you want to go down. That was the only orientation we had and the next minute I knew the big parachute was already pulling us up up in the air. I screamed, "Hunny kung hindi lang kita mahal hindi ko to gagawin, aaaah!"





Parasailing suspends you 500 meters above sea level, and that is super high! So high you can see Bulabog Beach, which is on the other side of Boracay. You can also see Mt Luho; practically the entire Boracay island. You can also see how green the ocean is, and you'll know the black spots are coral reefs. Actually, once settled, it gets a little boring. Hahaha. It only gets exciting when the wind pulls you up/down, left/right. After a few minutes, we were being pulled down. Parasailing is an extreme sport that I am willing to do only once, haha. Try it!

After getting off the speedboat, we didnt have the appetite for lunch. We went back to the hotel to swim at the pool.

At 2pm, we went back to White Beach to find a restaurant where we can have a light meal. Keith required a beachfront location coz he wanted to swim afterwards. I wanted to eat some crabs, so I suggested the Crab House at Escondido. It was located near the Church so I said great because it was Sunday. We took a tricycle and the driver said Escondido was walking-distance from the Church. Upon reacing the Church, there was no mass, so we offered our prayer of thanks. After that, we headed for Escondido. However, the street going there looked rural, and Keith didnt want to pursue. He wanted beachfront, remember!?

We walked back to station 2 and it was difficult to decide where to stop. We ended up at Red Coconut. Keith had burger and mango shake, while I had banana split. Keith and I needed to get that tan. We used their benches to sunbathe. I was thankful we stayed at Red Coconut because most of the guests were foreigners and I wasnt so conscious of my stretch marks and big belly because I know they do not care, ahehe.

After swimming for I think 30 minutes, we decided to go back to the hotel. I asked Keith to go ahead while I do some pasalubong shopping. When I went back to our room, I caught Keith watching showbiz balita, the Katrina-Hayden scandal, ahahay.

It's dinnertime once again, and we have decided to eat at Aria (station 2). We had some red wine and quattro stagioni - pizza with a selection of four different toppings (aria, boscaiola, napoli and frutti di mare). Super sarap, and the spicy olive oil was perfect with our pizza. After consuming our 8-slice pizza, we transferred to the tables along the beach and sat on these big pillows. For dessert, I had belgian waffle from Cafe del Sol, which is Aria's sister company.



Just a few steps from where we were seated, was a group of kids, asking donation for their sand sculptures. When one kid approached me, I said okay but on one condition - please write our names. He did, and charged me P5 for each letter, hehe. I didnt know if he was serious, afterall he only asked for donation. So I obliged and gave him P50. He was super happy.

We decided to do some bar hopping. We strolled along White Beach but didnt find any good spots, so we decided to stay at Hey Jude. I ordered frozen pineapple margarita, while Keith had a mojito. Man, my margarita sucked! After 30 minutes, we transferred to Bom-Bom and Pat's, where there was a man with a reggae hat, singing Tagalog love songs. He kept saying, "thank you all you beautiful people" and was laughing to himself in between songs. I think he was high on drugs or something. So as soon as Keith finished his tequila sunrise and as soon as I finished my mango shake, we left.

That was Day 2, and boy, we were exhausted!

Boracay ~ Day 1

I wasn't able to sleep, I woke up 4am and ate breakfast. No, I was not excited! Hehehe. Since our last vacation two years ago (honeymoon in Pangloa), Keith and I have been busy with work, the twins and managing the household, so this Boracay trip is really something to be excited about. We left the twins and the yayas with my in-laws, to make sure we get that much needed R and R. Oh, did I mention it's Keith's birthday today? :)

At 6am, we left for the airport. We got to PAL terminal 2 after 30 minutes. We checked-in our baggages and went inside the terminal. Our flight was 8:30am. We bought some coffee at The Tinder Box, and waited- in anticipation, LOL.

Finally, we boarded the plane but waited atleast 15 minutes on the runway, to give way for the other planes. Weather was perfect and you could clearly see the islands below. I had biscuit and tea for snacks. Overall the flight was smooth and touchdown was perfect.



We reached Kalibo at around 10am. We boarded a bus serviced by Southwest Tours. The bus was new and we sat comfortably, looking at the sceneries outside. We reached Caticlan at around 12nn. We boarded an outrigger boat headed for Cagban Port in Boracay island. From there, a service van took us to our hotel. We checked in at Grand Boracay Resort, received our welcome drinks and went to Room 104.

Grand Boracay Resort is located at station 2, and one of their gates lead you to D'Mall, making White Beach very accessible. Since it is non-beachfront, we had the privacy that we wanted. The place was also very peaceful and quiet. Staff were accommodating and hospitable. Just perfect!





So after securing our things, we went to Gasthof (station 2) for lunch. We had baby back ribs, calamari and rice. We were careful not to order tap water bcoz of the water problem in Boracay, so we asked for Sprite and bottled water. Lunch was yum yum yum!

We strolled along White Beach and enjoyed the spectacular view of the ocean. I asked Keith if he wanted to go to the Dead Forest (station 3) to take some pictures. He said "ok, lets give it a try". Since we didnt know where it was, we decided to take a tricycle. When I told the driver where we were headed, he didnt know the place. He hollered to his driver-mate who said "ahhh Bella Flores! sa station 1!". Teka, artista yun diba, hehehe. So we scrapped that idea and went back to the hotel.

At 4pm, we took a stroll along White Beach. The sun was up and it was really really hot! We took a dip at station 3, Angol area, where there were only a handful of people swimming.

At 5pm, we went to the Red Pirates Pub (station 3) for our scheduled 1-hour sunset cruise. There, we met Raymond and Arthur, the coolest paraw sailers in Boracay, who sailed us through White Beach, passing by Manny Pacquio's mansion, Shangrila and Puka Beach. We exceeded 1 hour, but they only charged us P500. I really recommend the Red Pirates for island hopping or sunset cruise. Don't forget to bring some beer, it will make your paraw sailing much more enjoyable! For inquiries, contact Jen at 09152030790.





It was already 6:30pm. We went back to the hotel to change and prepare for dinner. I decided to bring Keith to station 1 for some seafood buffet. On our way there, we passed by Willy's Rock and posed for pictures at the Grotto. We had dinner at Seawind, where their buffet offered oysters, grilled seafood like prawns, tuna, blue marlin, squid. They also have a pasta and dessert bar. OMG, I ate a lot!



Happy Birthday Hunny! :)

On the way back, we stopped by Bamboo Lounge, who had two fire dancers performing for the crowd. We also took a pic by a sandcastle, which I think is a required souvenir shot if you are going to Boracay, hehehe.



After that, we called it a night. :)