ABOVE RIGHT, The famous Tagaytay attraction, Taal Volcano.
We wanted a cool Christmas, so we hied to Tagaytay for the Christmas holidays.
We drove early Saturday morning of December 24th, after attending the last segment of the "simbang gabi".
SLEX was heavenly - no traffic, but the best part was that the Sta. Rosa exit, which had been previously covered in the news as clogged with holiday travellers, was deserted.
It took us just an hour to reach Tagaytay. Right away, we felt spring-like weather, hovering between 14 - 16 degree celsius.
First item of the day upon reaching Tagaytay was breakfast at Antonio's. The famous restaurant was about two kilometres from the Aguinaldo Highway, and one has to drive down a narrow, sloping one-way lane. 
But upon reaching Antonio's, we forgot about the strenuous drive, because the place boasted of lush garden amidst a sprawling property. We were led to the breakfast area - a huge house decorated with antique tables and furniture. 
ABOVE, Antiquity displayed at the Main House in Antonio's Bed and Breakfast.
We chose to dine al fresco. The breakfast selection
was wide, and the prices were quite steep, but there was bottomless coffee, so I was quite happy with my pancakes and bacon.
After breakfast, we toured the place. In the main house, there was a display of photographs of the families of the owners - the Escalantes of Bacolod.
BELOW, a lone canary inside a souvenir shop at Sonya's Garden. Opposite, found at Bag of Beans, love birds and budgies.
Next stop was Sonya's Garden, which was even further from Tagaytay proper.
Here, our sights were treated to more greenery - plants and flowers and a beautiful trail, with a convenience store selling herbal and other health products. In the inner sanctum was a bakeshop, where we bought raisin bread and other pastries.
Although I've gone to Tagaytay several times in the past, it was my first time to visit the Caleruega Church. We heard the midnight mass at the renowned Our Lady of Lourdes where they had a "salubong."
We tried the 
famous Tagaytay Bulalo for Christmas dinner, and for Christmas breakfast, it was at Bag of Beans breakfast buffet.
ABOVE, a delectable selection of sweets at Bag of Beans, part of its breakfast buffet, which cost 399 pesos per person.
Pre-lunch was at Mushroom Burgers and lunch at Leslie's, where apart from its delectable food, was a breath taking view of Lake Taal.
We then headed to the Pink Sisters' Chapel and the last stop was the Good Shepherd's Convent to buy goodies - ube halaya, macapuno/nata and pulvoron.
I must say the macapuno was super delicious - the coconut was chunky and right to the bite, and the syrup was not sweet at all, and thick, it almost clung to the macapuno. A bottle of macapuno was 160 pesos.
ABOVE, Interior of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Church.
On 29th December, we went to a dinner cruise offered by the Sun Cruises Tours.
Actually, I preferred the cruise run by Prestige, but upon reaching the MOWA complex, we were told by security it had been scrapped a long time ago.
So, we drove to the Cultural Centre Complex and got barely in time for the six o'clock departure; the exact location of the docking area was behind the Folk Arts, beside the Jumbo Palace.
We went to the dinner/cruise not for the food, but for the experience of seeing Manila Bay up close.
The ship was called MV Spirit of Manila with lower and upper decks, where passengers partake of a set course dinner with entertainment. It cost 550 pesos per passenger for the dinner and cruise.
The night proved pleasant. The weather was cool and breezy, and Manila Bay was quite handsome that evening.
As the boat sailed, I remembered the times when my father used to drive us Sunday mornings to Luneta at Dewey Boulevard, and took us to a boat ride of Manila Bay.
After the cruise, we headed to some club dancing.
In the olden days, our family used to trek to our home province of Nueva Ecija to celebrate Christmas day. Then everyone grew up - some got married, others left for abroad and so the celebrations changed venues overtime.
But the New year tradition of gift giving (Kris Kringle) survived.
Where to make merry this holiday? I'm in town so it'll be in town.
In our clan, Christmas Day celebration is limited to one's inner family, but New Year's Day is spent with the entire tribe - siblings, cousins, children, nephews and nieces, in laws, grandchildren and house crew.
Choosing the venue for a New Year's get together depends on whim. Last year, we were at Fontana's in Clark. Picking the host or spot depends on size of the house - there should be enough space for kids to run around and activities to be held (eating, playing and gift giving).
Hosting a New Year's day party, or any family party, for that matter, is tedious and tiresome.
One's got to clean the house, prepare the china and cutlery, think of entertainment, and bring out tables and chairs, enough electric fan, and make sure every one's comfortable.
Few weeks ago, we hosted the twin birthday celebration of a nephew's son and my mother's, so we're exempted from the New Year's party this year. Good thing is, whenever there's a family get together, it is either pot luck, or there's pooled money or someone would sponsor the event.
So, have yourself a Merry little Christmas NOW! Stay safe.
We spent two nights and three days on the island of Boracay last week.
Boracay, the number 2 tourist destination in Asia, second only to Bali in Indonesia, is one of several islands comprising the province of Aklan in the Visayas.
Was it breathtaking? Yes! Was it idyllic? Yes!
According to Toots and Cesar, who were with us visiting from Arizona, Boracay is better than Hawaii.
Where we stayed, at 
Station 2, the beach had the
finest white sand your bare feet could stand on. The shoreline of Boracay is long and pristine. The waters are of an
amazing aqua blue. And the sun was friendly when we were there.
We stayed at La Soleil, a Mediterrenean-inspired hotel, fronting the beach. Buffet breakfast was included in our package, but we opted out of dinner because we wanted to savour the different cuisines along the resort. There were Filipino buffets heavy on grilled seafood, Mongolian, Chinese, Japanese, Greek, Italian and Korean food everywhere.
Fresh fruit shakes, buko juice, and wines of varying vintages, and of course, beer were sold and consumed along the many restaurants and bars dotting the beaches. Cocomangas, an institution in Boracay is still in operation, so is Charly's and the always full Nigi Nigi which is patronized mainly by international tourists.
The frontage of Boracay Regency at night was full of locals who were trying to catch the live performances of a nightly band. We saw fire dancing and by the waters, there was a group lighting lanterns and letting the night air carry the contraptions. It was lovely!
RIGHT ABOVE, Crystal Cove, one of the islands featured in an island hopping package.
There was a quarter moon hovering when we were there.
Booking a vacation to Boracay seemed difficult at the start. While still in Canada, a sister queried if we'd like to join them for a vacation. She arranged everything and quoted me a price, which to me seemed steeped. Then much later, she told me it was sold out and I should book
it myself.
When we finally decided to tag along to Boracay, I turned to the Internet searching for good deals and packages. WOW Philippines proved to be a dud; it had an enticing internet ad but when I called its sales office whom I specifically asked for a particular hotel, (La Carmela), I was made to wait for one full day, (with emails back and forth; calls mainly initiated by me) and at the end of the day, being told that my booking was for another hotel.
Of course I abandoned this lousy travel agency, and searched other package providers. Then I decided to book the airlines first and then the hotel afterwards. Booking the flight was another story.
ABOVE, hats - everywhere you go.
There were tons of internet sites which would tell you of airline sales, but I decided to book directly and on-line with airphil express. Its sales office (via telephone) would charge a higher fee. It's better to do it on line.
Next comes the hotel. Whenever I found a hotel, I checked the customer reviews. For instance, I found out that several hotels which carry the names of franchise-hotels had no connection whatsoever with the international chains, such as the Boracay Peninsula.
I decided to book La Soleil because that's where my ot
her companions were staying. My sister's agent told her it was sold out. Through tedious searching, I found a travel agency which had La Soleil rooms available at much lower prices, even lower than the Hotel's own website prices. The agency is called asia travel.
But the cautious, cynical soul in me started to work, especially after I saw news about a local travel agency
which duped several vacationers out of amazing Palawan vacation packages which proved to be fake.
I started to call airphil and La Soleil (checked whether asia travel was legit).
Finally there was the thing about transportation transfer, from Caticlan to the hotel and back. Searching again, I found there were providers like Southwest, which charge about 800 - 900 pesos per passenger, and take you through all the transfers, from airport to Jetty Port to your hotel, which includes baggage handling. And there were tons of blogs telling about independent transport transfers which would cost much less.
On the whole, the flight was okay with minor delay, the transfer to hotel was uneventful, the check in was quick.
RIGHT ABOVE, Cocomangas, an institution in Boracay. It's featured in the Magic Sing karaoke.
On our second day, we took the island hopping package which included the 16-foot deep immersion to see underwater creatures, the brief snorkeling experience and the trip to the Crystal Cove which was magnificent.
Any vacation would not be complete without dancing, so we tried the La Soleil Disco, but soon found out the younger crowd were content drinking their beer and wine, listening to musi
c and talking/texting. But these did not prevent us from taking the dance floor no matter how briefly it was.
At the end, everyone had a tan - the youth among our group, and the more matured folks - all the same flavours and hues of the Boracay sun.
Right, Pearls of Boracay. Peddlers of pearls will tell you they're licensed.
RIGHT, a hardworking Pinoy selling ice cream and popsicles, in the middle of the sea.
ABOVE, the clear, green and blue waters of Boracay display this school of small fish.
famous Tagaytay Bulalo for Christmas dinner, and for Christmas breakfast, it was at Bag of Beans breakfast buffet.
