My husband and I went to Manila last April 14 for purposes of medical check ups. Aside from the check-ups, we got to repair some of our second home fixtures too: like the garage gate, toilet, etc. I also had my small gardens restored. People may think what a tedious time we had. But no.....
The first weekend in Manila, my children brought us to Tagaytay. The whole family including the nannies stayed at Kimberly Hotel. The hotel site did not have a panoramic view of Taal lake and the volcano, but no matter because we got to get a good glimpse of the famous view anywhere, like while eating lunch at Josephines (their fried tawilis was really good), while on the road and when we took our lunch again at Army Navy. At night, after a full supper at Bag of Beans, we went to SM carnival beside Taal Vista Lodge. At the carnival, my grandchildren enjoyed the kiddie rides, while we adults enjoyed a good, cool and relaxing evening atmosphere by walking about and mingling with the gaiety of the merry rides and booths and company.
In between seeing our doctors, my husband and I watched three movies:
1. Oblivion - At the Gateway with 30% senior citizen's discount. We watched the movie at night with Emil, Martha and Marion. My mind was kind of challenged by the futuristic view of the concept of alien-domination, computer controlling system and cloning of human beings and other outcomes.
2. Olympus is Taken - Lucas and I watched it with my high school chums Anita, Corazon, Imelda and her husband Arthuro on a designated free senior's citizens' movie day which was a Tuesday afternoon at Robinson's Magnolia. But a few of us forgot to bring our free movie booklets. We haggled awhile with the cinema personnel to get in without them, but eventually we still had to get the passes from Quezon City Hall. Thankfully though, it was a blessing in disguised because Lucas was able to replace his lost id with a new one and subsequently got all his discount privileges too. The movie Olympus was more of an action/thriller, but a no brainer. I like Oblivion better.
3. Iron Man 3 - My son Emil had Ayala free movie tickets for the whole family including one for my sister Helen on my second Saturday weekend morning at Glorietta. Free tickets also came with free snacks composed of Wendy's cheese burger and Lays chips and dalandan juice. I enjoyed this movie tremendously as you can see from my previous posting :)
After the Iron Man 3 movie date with my family; Lucas, Helen, Martha, Marion and I met with my friends in the afternoon at Magnolia Robinsons and together we attended a lumpia party at my brother Wilson's house. My brother generously hosted the party for me and my my high school girlfriends. My sisters Imelda and Jeannette also came along. We had fun listening to my brother's long playing music collection. We danced tirelessly too and ate a well prepared hearty meal with all the side dishes and sweets and cold treats. It was also a memorable day for catching up with old Cotabato stories and memories. Many thanks to my brother Wilson for the hospitality.
The next Monday, Imelda, Arthuro, Lucas and I went on a double date to watch Abbamania concert at Resorts World. We were all excited. We took pictures of ourselves and the beautiful area. We had fun with the photo opt. Excitedly, we arrived the theater early and took more pictures. When the concert began, I so wanted to stand up and sway and dance with the music. But the audience were old and kind of reserved, so I just moved and swayed on my seat except for that time when the singers told us to get up on our feet. Hahaha!
Not contented with ourselves, my friends Anita, Imelda and I (except for corazon) and our better halves met again on Friday. Imelda and Arthuro treated us to a merienda at QC Sports Center. They were (still are) members of the sports facility. I ordered palabok and maiz con yelo. They're good. Yumm...remembering the delicious snacks makes me drool all over! Then we went to Rustan's Gateway to shop.We tried on several clothes. Imelda took pictures of us. We posed with the boutique apparel, pretending to be models. We had quite a blast laughing at our own expense and some of the funny dresses too; while the husbands patiently chatted and waited for us girls to finish. At the end I bought two blouses and a pair of shoes while my picky friends did not buy anything. We had a late supper at nine pm at Mu Noodle Bar at Wilson Street, San Juan. Imelda took more pictures and posted them on her facebook account.
The next day, Saturday, I left with my daughter Marion for the 87th birthday party of Mr. Chua Cheng Piao at the Chua's family resort at Tagaytay (Tagaytay again!) Lucas stayed home to rest. He was getting sleepless, unaccustomed to the many hectic activities. So my daughter Marion and I, we hitched with sister Helen and her boys to MH Resort at Alfonso, Cavite. I met my aunts Josefina, Araceli, Violeta at the party. Several cousins were there too: Gina, Joanne, Boyet and Ferdinand. At dusk, a beautiful soprano/tenor concert was held at the living room. There were two sopranos, 2 tenors and a pianist. Their voices were more powerful than the last chamber concert we attended there.They had also a a better line-up of repertoire, but regretfully one of the sopranos committed a major mistake. Yet, it was a nice show altogether though. After the concert, special Japanese food were served to very hungry guests, prepared by chefs from shangrila hotel. My brother Wilson arrived with 4 special delicious Cebu lechons (all the way from Cebu). It was a night to remember but how I wish I could have spent two nights instead of one to enjoy the beautiful Chua's family resort entirely. Sorry, I was not able to take pictures to capture the moments spent together with my siblings and our other relatives and our amiable hosts, the Chua's family members.
So you see, after all, I did have a grand vacation in Manila! And thank God that my husband and I emerged to be in good health too!!! Until my next escapade again...............see you soon............
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