I'm slowly going back thru all our photos from our vacation. It's taking awhile to blog and share them as I arrived in Sydney with a nasty flu which doesn't want to go away (probably due to fatigue as well). Anyway, I'm feeling much better this week and I'm looking forward to going back to work tomorrow.
One of the things that I looked forward to when we went to Manila was to meet some of my blogger friends. The online world is such an amazing place. I've met so many wonderful people thru blogging, plurking and tweeting.
I would have loved to meet all my online buddies but with a hectic schedule, I'm thankful that I got to meet a few of them.
Xingkit was my first meetup. We met in plurk and then when our ka-plurks moved to twitter, we continued our chitchats there. Thru our exchanges, we found out that we used to be a part of the same yahoo community (Weddings@Work). We're not sure if we had an encounter there but we are happy we met somewhere in the blogosphere. She blogs about her mommy adventures and the funny little milestones of her cute daughter (whom I've met too!).
I don't know whether it's the longevity of being tweethearts but the moment we saw each other, it was as if we've been friends for a long time (ang daldal namin haha). She's so friendly that even my mom liked her!
We had lunch at Sbarro and we both love their Baked Zitti. We found out that we are somehow neighbors (her place is like 10 minutes away from where I live in the Phils). It's a comfort that when I visit the Phils the next time, it will be easy for us to see each other again.
Meeting Jane and Julie was like meeting old friends. The minute they arrived at UCC Cafe (Podium) for afternoon tea, we hugged! Like Xingkit, I met them via plurk in 2007 and from then on, we have plurked, tweeted and visited each others' blogs.
When it comes to blogging, Jane and Julie are two of my idols. I'm truly amazed at how dedicated they are when it comes to blogging. Jane blogs about her journey as a yogini, personal thoughts and what's hot and new in the Philippines. Julie blogs about her personal thoughts, interests, passion in special education and homeschooling. She's also a photography enthusiast like me.
When bloggers get together, we can't help but bring out the thing(s) that make our existence in the blogosphere possible. Here's me and Jane, tweeting while chatting.
Jane and Julie introduced me to this delicious dessert at UCC Cafe. I forgot the name but it had apples, apple syrup and cinnamon. I loved it!
Special thanks to Julie for giving me a pearl bracelet. Really sweet and thoughtful of her. I now consider this a friendship bracelet.
I met K when she visited Sydney a year ago and hit it off so when she learned that I will be visiting Manila, she invited me to have lunch and catch up. We've been tweetmates since last year thanks to our common friend, Lena.
It was lovely to see her again. I hope she visits Sydney again soon! Like me, she loves to travel and has a passion for photography.
We had lunch at Bizu Patisserie and I had this yummy pasta with Chorizo.
Two meet-ups in one day. After our lunch with K, dinner was spent with three more blogmates/tweethearts: Tintin, Bea and Twistedsavant. Our dinner was one of the funnest dinner I've had with friends. I don't know if it's because we've been tweetmates for awhile but even if we've come from different worlds, we just hit it off like we've been "barkadas" for a long time. No awkward moments, just fun and laughter all throughout the night.
We had dinner at Kanin Club and enjoyed the sumptuous dishes we ordered. My favourite that night was the Seafood Kare-Kare.
The sweetest thing was being given this Banoffee Pie from Banapple. My heart melted when I saw what was written on the cake (awww). I knew I wouldn't have time to dine at Banapple but thanks to Bea and Tintin, they made it possible for me (and my family) to enjoy this super delicious cake.
Dyanie is another sweet soul I met via plurk. She blogs about her travel and food adventures. We met for early lunch at Bonchon so my Husband and I can have a taste of this famous South Korean-based fried chicken franchise restaurant. Dyanie is like a younger sister to me. Even if she's offline, she keeps in touch by sending me text messages.
Bonchon Chicken is delicious, however, it is not as juicy as other fried chickens that I've tried.
Dyanie gifted me with a Red Velvet Cake from UCC, which my Husband and I enjoyed for dessert after our hearty lunch.
Kenny is another longtime blogmate. It is a wonder how thru our blogs, we got to know and inspire each other. I love how she writes her thoughts, milestones and mommy anecdotes. I admire her passion for collecting the most number of Starbucks Citymug that's why a few days before I left for Manila, I asked her what citymug from Australia she'd like to own.
However, she surprised me by giving me two mini Starbucks citymugs too! Kenny is a joy to be with. She has a bubbly personality and her stories are funny and entertaining.
And another surprise was that she wrote about our meetup here. Awww, so sweet!
I always tell my family how blessed I am when it comes to finding friends online. Other than sharing a love for the blogosphere, I meet people who are genuine and inspiring.
After my holiday in the Philippines, I'm more in awe of our Filipino bloggers. Given that the internet speed in the Phils is not as fast as other countries, I admire the patience and dedication of Filipino bloggers who blog and share their life and knowledge online. Now more than ever, I'm thankful to all my Filipino readers. Maraming maraming salamat! Saludo ako sa mga Filipino bloggers!
...were spent in the company of loved ones and of each other, having a good time, going back to places that we love and eating delicious Filipino food.
The moment we came back from Seoul, Korea, we were always on the go. I owe this blog a lot of updates but the last two weeks of our vaycay were very hectic. For now, let me start with a few photos of our last days in the Philippines.
22 April 2011. Lunch at Haze's place where we got to visit her lovely home and meet her beautiful family. I was in awe of how happy and sweet Haze's family is. We love them...and we love the delicious feast they served us--all Filipino favourites--Kangkong with lots of garlic, Laing, Ensaladang Mangga and Stuffed Bangus.
23 April 2011. My clan's reunion (mother side) at Lopez, Quezon. It was the biggest family reunion I've ever attended. Believe it or not, all the people on this photo below are related to me. Some of them I know, most of them I don't, but it was great to be able to see them.
When in the province of Quezon, I always make sure I bring home some Longganisang Lucban, one of the yummiest sausages in the Philippines.
24 April 2011. Easter Sunday celebrations with both our family. To make Easter Sunday memorable for our family, we treated them to "KAOS", a theatrical show at Resorts World.
We had lunch at Crisostomo, one of my great Filipino restaurant finds at Newport Mall. We stayed at Resorts World the whole day and as we were about to go home, we found out via twitter that our friend Curt was also there. So we tweeted and texted and finally found him! Such a happy coincidence that ended our beautiful Easter celebrations.
25 April 2011. Had coffee with my High School Friends at one of the newest (and still being completed) places in the metro, Centris Walk (located at Quezon Avenue, Quezon City).
Not everyone was able to join us but it was good that I was able to say goodbye to them before we left for Sydney.
26-28 April 2011. Strictly rest and relaxing at Boracay Island with the Husband. All we did in Boracay was eat, sleep, walk and swim.
Beautiful Boracay sunset. This was my view when I was having a massage by the shore. The island has immensely changed but the beach is still a beauty.
28 April 2011. Back from Boracay during lunchtime. Just rested for a few hours and then off we went to Antipolo Church in the afternoon. One of my devotions is visiting this church everytime I'm home for a visit.
29 April 2011. Our last Friday in Makati. Our friend Vince invited us to have lunch at Circles, Makati Shangri-la.
Dinner was at Mesa (another favourite of mine), Greenbelt 5, with two of my gorgeous "Hanes" ("Hane" is my term of endearment to my friends).
We tried the Boneless Crispy Pata and it was deliriously sinful. I loved it!
My friends Armi and Nessy are also my coffee buddies so a date with them will never be complete without coffee. Nessy ordered the La Pinay Crepe at Cafe Breton and I loved it! Truly Pinoy because it had ripe mangoes as fillings.
30 April 2011. Long lunch date with our friend Agnes at Via Mare. From appetizer (Tokwa't Baboy and Arrocaldo) to mains (Vigan Longganisa, Arroz A la Cubana) to dessert (Bibingka), we caught up on what happened in our Korea trip and Agnes' future KL-SG trip.
Dinner was at Max's near our place and it was solely to meet with one of my dearest Hanes from college, Beejay. I missed and love this girl!!! We did a lot of reminiscing and catching up and of course lots of laughter to go with our kwentos.
1 May 2011. Trip down to memory lane. We devoted the day to visiting our respective alma maters. We visited where the Husband graduated from college, University of Santo Tomas (UST).
The Husband felt proud that he was able to visit UST especially that it is celebrating its 400th year this year.
After lunch, we visited my alma mater, St. Paul University Quezon City (formerly known as St Paul Quezon City). It was a Sunday but I was grateful that the kind-hearted guards let me in.
I felt very sentimental and a bit teary-eyed when I saw my school, especially when I saw this building (photo below). It used to be where the Psychology Laboratory was located. The Psych Lab was a witness to lots of happy and challenging times we (my classmates and I) faced during our college years.
My Husband and I realized that it is never too late to be a part of each others' past. We may never know how our lives were before we met, but sharing our memories during college years and bringing each other to places that meant a lot to us made up for that.
We ended the day by having dinner with my parents at Eastwood Mall.
My parents treated us to huge and fat crabs at BluFish.
2 May 2011. Day-out with my Mom. My Husband spent the day with his mom and brother while I spent the day with my Mom. We hung out at Megamall: shopped, pigged out (Sbarro for lunch and Dads for Meryenda Buffet) and had some pampering. This was us getting foot spas and our nails done.
As usual, we ended the day at the mall with yummy dinner at Orchard Road. (Yes, that's me in my new hairdo! I had a haircut after my pampering session).
3 May 2011. Farewell lunch with our family at Gerry's Grill. We spent the whole day with them since it's our last full day in the Phils. After lunch, we just hung out at Figaro (one of my favourite Filipino cafes) and had dessert.
Dinner time, we were surprised by my mom's friends and my goddaughter at home. They came by just to say goodbye to us. How touching!
It's not easy going back to these photographs right now. My heart still aches from being away from my family, friends and the things I loved about the Philippines. However, going back to these photos also makes my heart warm and thankful. Our vacation is truly wonderful and has left us with memories we will always cherish. WE ARE GRATEFUL.
We want to thank EVERYONE who spent time with us, gave us thoughtful gifts and for just seeing us. THANK YOU for making our Philippine vacation memorable. Thank you for all the love. We love you ALL.
