November 25, 2006 (Ortigas) - Skimming across a google alert email this very early morning, I came across the news that the Taal lake volcano spewed mud. (I fell asleep and woke up on the office couch so the first step is a checking of emails of course! who cares about washing faces?).
I have been quite remiss in not writing down about the second day of my most recent visit to Tagaytay.Since I am so forgetful nowadays, I've resolved to try re-capturing how I spent the November 12, 2006 (Saturday) of my life. I have posted pictures of that day somewhere here on the site, so they present a more complete visual representation of how the day progressed.
November 12, 2006 (Tagaytay)...........
So where was I? Oh yeah....the last time I wrote about this visit... I said I went off to sleep in the cold, fresh air of Tagaytay, and to the sound of a goat bleating sporadically.
The next day...I woke up to the sound of....uhm...cars? trucks? vehicles?...whizzing by....on the main road...
You thought perhaps I'd be saying something like waking up to roosters crowing or the mooing of a cow or the baying of a dog? No sirree! Inexorably, a crowded metropolis Tagaytay is going to be by the look of things. Maybe not in the next 5 years, but I've learned not to underestimate people and their steady conquering of the untouched land....*grin*
Sir B added a personal touch to his hospitality by texting me about breakfast (yours truly was ensconced with a pillow and blanket, and Sir B was probably puttering about the house - hmm..I only found out later he is also the janitor of this lovely place..so maybe he was already cleaning? hehehe). Although it sounds as if his home had rooms scattered from one end of the castle to the other its not that really. We are just high-tech people, see? (^_^)
Breakfast is one of my favorite meals of the day. To start the day right, we drove off to have breakfast at...where else..but "Breakfast at Antonio's" (I thought it should have been named Breakfast at Tiffany's you know...as a tribute...to the movie)...
A couple of guys were apparently touring around on their motorbikes (not Harley-Davidsons though) and were just coming out of the restaurant. The place brought to my mind the patios or porches (?) of Southern US plantations, with screens and ferns and high ceilings. I was more interested in their menu so I took the whole scene at a glance and plopped on a chair immediately. After sharing two omelettes (spinach and feta cheese for me!), I had my own sweet crepe (I think it was apple and cinnamon for my order) and cup of tea (English breakfast naturally, but no milk this time), and then we set off for Sonya's Garden.
Wow! Wow! Wow! Aside from the wonderful scents emanating from somewhere on the property, the blooming flowers and flowering shrubs (?), as well as the rustic cottages, there were also quaint shops and structures strewn about (bakery, open-air function room and cottages with pillows and mats, shop selling scents and other natural stuff were what I could remember).
The place was conducive to meditation, and the tinkling of the water plopping and splashing was one of my favorite sounds. A bit expensive for my pocketbook when I got their listing of rates, but good enough for me to say that I would like to come back someday to try it out and have the whole enchilada of experience in staying at this place, even if its just an overnight stay.
Since Sonya's (see pictures posted) is a bit far from the madding crowd we drove back to the main road and passed on the roadside a place called Residence Inn. We did not go inside anymore but If I recall correctly, this was one of the places I visited when I had my first ever visit to Tagaytay..all the way back in 1995. The R.I. is still around, with its zoo and other offerings. I remember I had a picture taken with a male peacock (its tail displayed in lordly splendor). Well, the particular peacock is probably not around anymore, but this is my third visit to Tagaytay and I can certainly appreciate how the place has not really changed that drastically.
Our target after Sonya's Garden was the Cliff House. Remember the shirt?
The shop selling the souvenir shirts was finally open, and I bought the same t-shirt which I had seen Sir B wear the other night. While I liked the other shirts of Malang and BenCab (like the one of a man playing a guitar, with a cigarette dangling around on either his lips or was it his other hand?), I thought this was the most colorful and attractive shirt of the lot. A whopping P400 for a large tshirt is not conducive to buying in volume such goods hehehe...not even as Christmas gifts for the whole bunch of people I know. So, am a Scrooge in that aspect (^_^)
I took more pictures of the nude sketches in the shop (from the outside this time because it was forbidden to do it inside the shop, I wonder why?) and the fog-strewn area surrounding Cliff House. Sir B then drove us off in the other direction. We passed by enthusiastic hawkers peddling boat rides on Taal Lake. I would have been tempted too, but with the fog and not-so-sunny weather, I didn't go for it. Besides it takes the better part of the day for the trekking and the boat ride to really appreciate it.
We passed by Crosswinds. See pictures posted on this. Basically talked to an agent of Brittany Corp (they have Porto Fino in Alabang, check out their site - www.britanny.com.ph if I am not mistaken) and and we went on a tour of the place. With numerous pine trees and gentle slopes, it was a peaceful setting..reminiscent of some Swiss mountain/Heidi-inspired story. I enjoyed going around, but considering my present circumstances, I'd really rather be living in the city.
We visited the pool area while there was a light drizzle of rain. I took more shots of the place, had an exploratory talk with Jackie the agent (sounds like a spy story ha?) and then Sir B and I proceeded to have coffee at where else? Starbucks.
Since I am on serious campaign to get all 21 drinks in exchange for their planner/diary/trick-the-customer-into-buying-more item, we carted off hot drinks and some snacks. I wandered out afterwards to look at the lake and volcano.
*Sigh* I just couldn't get good shots enough to satisfy myself. Probably a more talented photographer or a more sophisticated camera would have done wonders with the scenery that time, but it just wasn't meant to be.
Older people like yours truly have to rest from such rigorous activities *cough, cough*, so we went back to the house and I had my siesta (a luxury) while Sir B practiced on his set of drums. I took more shots of the interior of the house....I really liked their shiny wooden floors wherein even flies probably slide off the floor to bounce off the legs of their furniture.The cleanliness and orderliness as well the funkiness of the decor was something to think about back on my bed as I dozed off.
There was photo exhibit at the Festival Mall of the Ayala-Alabang club of photographers by 6 pm so we ran off afterwards to view the results of this particular group of people. Sir B had earlier plonked a poinsettia (we both had trouble with its proper pronunciation hehehe) plant in the car and told me it was a gift since I apparently had no Christmas tree. I thanked him happily for this since I especially love its colors and it saved me having to buy christmas decoration, however I was a bit apprehensive....aren't poinsettias supposed to grow into trees? *imagines 4 foot tall tree in 24 sq meter condo)....oh dear....
(tbc...Festival Mall exhibit of photos and going back to Manila the next day...)
