— Insights of Over 30-something mom

Archive
travel

I just got back from Singapore a little while ago and I miss the place already. I miss the Singapore vibe. I especially miss the food. I miss the helpful Singaporeans and all the people I’ve met. Yes, even that silent, always frowning cashier at the front desk of the hotel. He’s quite the character. He must have above normal testosterone levels to be always acting that way. I’m not really sure.

Anyway, here are two photos of the Singapore skyline while at the Marina Bay Sands last night. They’re re amazing.

Read More

Eversince MG’s school ended, I’ve been trying to come up with ways to keep her entertained. We’ve gone swimming five times already. We’ve gone malling much too many times. We’ve eaten out more than enough. So what else is left but to travel. We’re going to Singapore last week of May. It would be our first out-of-the-country trip together and I can’t wait. But before that, I’ve also scheduled short out-of-town trips before school resumes this June.

So as of late, we’ve been to Bataan, Subic, Quezon, Laguna and Batangas. There’s still Clark in Pampanga scheduled third week of May. I don’t know if we can go up to Baguio still but I really want to.

Anyway, during our last trip, we ended up joining the Tsinelas Festival in Liliw, Laguna. What was originally planned was just a driving tour with a stop-over at significant landmarks around Laguna towns. We stopped at Pila to take photos of the old houses, Nagcarlan to see the underground cemetery and finally at Liliw to eat at Arabela.  We were surprised when we arrived a festival was actively going on.  It was the annual Tsinelas Festival of Liliw to celebrate the town’s main product and livelihood.  There were a lot of foreigners and people from Manila.  We would have stayed longer if we had known that there was a fiesta but since our main goal was to eat at Arabela, we did just that and after,  joined the festivities for a bit.

WARNING: photo-heavy

 

laguna

 

ancestral houses

old houses in Pila, Laguna

 

laguna

 

underground cemetery in Nagcarlan

 

 

mime artists?!

 

LECHON, ever present in fiestas

 

liliw laguna MG and Juancho aboard the tsinelas float

 

old church

 

MG & Juancho inside the Church

 

liliw laguna walking to Arabela from the Church

 

liliw laguna waiting for a table at Arabela

 

Juancho

 

Tricia

 

my sister

 


MG

inside the resto

 

liliw laguna

Amazing mountain view

 

Hope we go this route again in the near future. The town is beautiful and charming, the view is amazing and the people are warm and friendly.

Read More

Last week after having lunch at Antonio’s in Tagaytay, I decided to visit my sister and her kids in Laguna.  It was just a 45-minute drive from Tagaytay to Sta. Rosa and traffic was light.  My sister was still sleeping when we arrived so my niece and I had enough time to plan a night swimming.  We knew where we would go.  We knew what we’d bring—chips, drinks, towels, swimsuits, dinner.  In fact, we brought everything except the dog, oven and bridesmaid dresses.   Of course, as soon as my sister woke up we left immediately.  All my sister had to do was brush her hair, her teeth and wash her face.  Everything was taken care of by me and my niece.   When we arrived at Ponderosa, we had the pool all to ourselves.   Imagine that.  The last time we went night swimming was summer last year.  There were a lot of people and we just had one part of the pool.  It was also fun but not as fun as this time.  We talked and laughed without a care in the world.  No one would hear us, anyway.

It rained a bit that night signaling an end to a great bonding time with family.  I hope we could do this more often.

 

Ponderosa
 

ponderosa
 

night swimming
 
night swimming at ponderosa
 

racks at paseo sta rosa laguna
 

ponderosa
 
 

Read More

antonio's in tagaytay

This photo was taken last Wednesday when we had lunch at Antonio’s in Tagaytay. We were just exploring and taking photos of the place after eating. The place is amazing. I wish I had a place just like that near Metro Manila. So I could escape the hustle and bustle of the metro whenever I need a break.

Happy weekend. Hope you all have a good one.

Read More

Since it was summer, we were quite excited to go to the beach.  It was extra pressure for my niece whose classmates and friends have all changed their Facebook profile pics and posted their best summer photo.  She was the only one left with no summer pic.  And just because her mom can’t be relied on to take care of her children’s affairs,  I decided to take them out to the beach even if it meant extra expense for me.

 

So last Tuesday with smiles from ear to ear, we drove all the way to La Luz Resort in Laiya, San Juan, Batangas.  It was almost a 3-hour drive minus the stop-overs we had to make to pee and stuff.  The sun was at its hottest but what the heck, it was summer and we were on our way to some fun in the sand.

 

We arrived just in time for lunch.  There were so many people leaving but a lot were also coming in.  By the way, you must avail of the full-board meals that the resort offers because bringing of food is not allowed.  More than the beach, I was actually more excited about the food.  For 1100 pesos, guests are entitled to buffet breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner with drinks included.  It’s cheap.

 

We had lunch first before we checked in to our room, rested for a bit and then went to one of the cabanas which were lined up for guests to use.  My niece took advantage of the sun and sunbathed until her skin was red.  But she was all smiles because she got what she wanted.  A summer photo with tanned skin.  And my nephew, MG and I got what we came there for…TO RELAX & EAT!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read More

So we just got back from our one-day vacation out of town.  We had so much fun.  We ate.  We swam a bit.  We talked.  And we ate some more.  The place didn’t have a TV which is a good thing.  I got started with my reading again.  No TV also makes you do some crazy things.  Like the photo above.  Doesn’t it remind you of the movie Royal Tenenbaums?

 

By the way, I got the date wrong again.  I will post more photos soon.

Read More

Today was gloriously hot. Imagine sweating doing nothing. It was like the house was one big sauna and there was not one area in the house that was cool enough to just sit down and relax. So we opted to drive around with the aircon in full blast. And to make the day productive enough, I decided to do some errands I’ve been putting off for days now.

 

So it took me a good 3 hours to finish everything. It felt good to know that I’ve accomplished many tasks today. I even went to the bank and actually waited for my queue. It’s a miracle I even set foot in the bank. I hate going to the bank. I don’t even wanna know who invented the banking system because I surely hate him. Lining up in the most dangerous place on earth {IMHO) is not in my favorite things to do. I have this fear that the bank would get robbed and I’m in the middle of it. Don’t you just hate when that happens? So I avoid going to the bank and I make excuses not to go there if the need arises.

 

Anyway, we’re off to La Luz Resort in Laiya, Batangas tomorrow before the onslaught of vacationers.  Just one day to relax with the sun above and the sand below us.  I know it’s gonna be a perfect day.  I just know it.  After this super duper hot and tiring day, I deserve a break.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger... Read More