The Quest for Bollinger

I helped a friend who is in abroad buy a special champagne in the name of Bollinger, pronounced /Bo lan zhay/. I learned from my friend that this is the favorite champagne of James Bond. Naks.

This is the first time I heard of this champagne. I went to 5 different supermarkets with a printout in tow, and most of the store clerks gave me the "i do not know what that is" kind of look. I also went to 5 different specialty wine shops, but they do not carry the Bollinger. It is so rare, I was lucky to find the only shop in Manila that sells it. Thanks to my friend, Amanda, who referred me to them. :)

I had to ask my partner-in-crime, Mau, to accompany me to Yakal Street in San Antonio Makati because I am not familiar with the place. Our destination was Tita Nia Wine Cellars. They have several branches, but it is only their main office that carries the Bollinger Champagne Special Cuvee, and one bottle costs P6,000. Huwaw!

For that price, you would think it is packaged beautifully. But no. I was surprised to find out it does not have a box. So we had to get a wooden box, which costs P300, to carry the exquisite Bollinger.

Before leaving the shop, we authographed the signboard for the Miss Mouton Cadet 2010. Wala lang, echos lang, hehe. This signboard will be shipped to France.



I promised my friend I would wrap the present in silver and blue packaging. Mau and I went to a gift wrapping store, and decided to get a silver and blue ribbon instead. Here's the outcome:

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.

EMMA

Like I have told yah Keith is going gaga with car audio set-ups, and today we went to Venice Piazza at McKinley Hill to watch the 2009 National Finals of EMMA (European Mobile Media Association). We were joined by RJ and Peen.

We let the boys enjoy the show, afterall Peen and I could not relate. Bwahaha. We decided to have some chikka time, so we went to Mcdo, our all-time fave fastfood chain. I was craving for their crispy fries and hot fudge sundae. Natapos na ang chikka and all, wala pa din text from the boys. 7pm na so we went back, and told them we want to change venue nah puhleeez.

We convoyed to Boni High Street and had dinner at Kabisera.



Keith and Don Vito Corleone



I cannot divulge the chikkas for that night. You just have to ask Peen yourself, hehe *wink!

It's confirmed

Bennie is leaving.



As his parting words, he shared with us some strategies one can use to climb up the corporate ladder. Here they are in no particular order:

· C-O-N-F-I-D-E-N-C-E
· Self-Motivation
· Accept Additional Tasks
· Know what your boss is doing
· Prove Your Worth: Get Some Attention
· Build Rapport
· Have a Vision

Bennie has a great character. He is kind and very approachable. He never lets you feel that he is the big boss. Bennie is intelligent and has a very good business sense. It is sad to see him go, but as you know, everything happens for the good. So as he goes, we continue to stay positive! :)

Wordless Wednesday

So, what did you do on V-Day?

Last Saturday, Keith and I had dinner at my parents' house. It was potbless and we were in-charge of ice cream. We brought vanilla and avocado, which is now becoming a family fave.



After dinner, we met up with Keith's friends at Quattro in Timog. Sinalubong namin ang V-day here. Nkkaloka coz there was a dating game, lol.



On Valentines Sunday, the twins and I heard mass at the chapel; Keith was still asleep. After lunch we went to my in-laws'. Around 6pm, Keith and I made takas, and we went to Serendra. Super dami ng tao hanggang Boni High Street, nkka-lokah! Ikot ikot muna kame, finding a spot that's not crowded. Keith was hesitant to light his yosi which he bought from the waiter in Italianni's for P100 a pack, bwahaha. It was a rip-off, super mahal. And no, it was not blue seal noh. We had dinner at Cupcakes by Sonja. It was my first time here. Walang tao dito coz people usually just take out their goodies. It was masaya, bonding moment.



We also stopped by this mini-concert in the middle of High Street. Papano, Keith is going gaga with all this vroom vroom audio set-up thingie. Being the supportive wife that I am, I agreed to watch and listen. Well, to be honest, I didnt try to analyze the musical chords or what, I just enjoyed the music :)

So that was Valentine's for us. :)

Feast of Sto Niño

Keith and I went to San Beda to attend the annual Pista ni Sto Niño. I didnt know what to expect, but I was happy to meet with my friends who promised to join the procession. Mendiola was closed, so we parked the car malapit sa Kambigan, and walked our way through the street that housed 5th street, 4th street, 3rd street - you know the rest. We met Peen and RJ at Mcdonald's. I just had lunch at home but I couldnt stop myself from eating those hot, crispy, golden french fries!

We heard the church bells of Our Lady of Montserrat. The procession has started. Weather was perfect - no sun, no rain. I watched in amazement as I saw girls in white and blue uniform (definitely not San Beda) wearing shoes with 2-in heels, anuvaaah! Kids were strutting their stuff. One would think you were in a fashion show and not in a procession. We waited for our queue coz alumni had to walk after the students. While waiting, I saw several people holding this odd-looking red stick. I was inggit so I told Keith I wanted one too and asked him how much. He said sandali lang, and after a few seconds he came back with a red stick in his hand, awww :)

We positioned ourselves right behind Sto. Nino. While walking, Keith said, tinataas ata yan - referring to my red stick. I looked at the people and yes, nka-taas nga. I said, huh? baka magkakulani ako dito?! Bwahaha. And so we walked, praying the rosary as we passed by the church of St. Jude, Malacañang, TIP, Teacher's College and back to San Beda.



Sto Niño.



Rj, Popeen and Moi (holding my flower stick).

Before leaving San Beda, we passed by The Abbey, otherwise known as Our Lady of Montserrat, constructed in 1926, it's really a sight to behold. We wanted to get married here, but during that time it was bawal, thanks to manila archbishop cardinal Rosales.

Keith and I had dinner at Gerry's in Tomas Morato. We met Dong there and made chikka until 10:30PM. Masaya the bonding moment... Until next time! :)