Cool Christmas

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.