Frannywanny

Here are 5 FUN things you can do during your weekend getaway at Pico de Loro Cove , Hamilo Coast ! First: Head over to the Beach Club to enjoy the sun, sand and water! We got there late in the afternoon to enjoy the cool wind while waiting for the sun to set. During weekends, expect to see a lot of families relaxing by the beach and around the pool area too. I also checked out the Sun Coral Cafe which had a Mediterranean buffet that evening. Since Mom wasn't a big fan of burritos and tacos, we skipped this and headed to the Country Club instead. As we enjoyed the sunset, my family and I had some drinks and snack while bonding. I ordered the homemade Prociutto and Arugula Pizza which has a very thin-crust and they were very generous with the arugula. However, I find the pizza to be a bit on the bland side so I added a few drops of hot sauce to perked up the taste. While dad had his beer and mommy her Buko juice, Pan and I had our Mojitos ! I loved this! It was very

Summer is HERE!!! While the weather may be pretty contradicting at the moment, April is just a few days away and I am definitely crossing my fingers for sunshine-y days ahead. A travel bug attracts other travel bugs. Your entries to my recently concluded Crumpler giveaway contest just made me more excited for summer knowing that we're all raring to head out to various domestic and international destinations in the coming weeks! For those who are still planning their fun summer getaway, check out the 7th FLOW Surf Yoga Samba Weekend Retreat on April 28 to 30 at the Aliya Surf Camp in Baler, Aurora, Philippines . This is an exciting 3-day weekend that will surely spark your spirit and leave your body and mind relaxed and revitalized. I'd say this is what most of us need at the moment. ;o)

"Wellness is a state of mind..." - Chef Teresa Loob, Terazzas de Barako Once in a while, don't you just wish you're outside of the city. Away from the stress, the hustle and bustle and the endless worrying? This is one reason why I love taking weekend trips as it allows me to relax and recharge myself for another busy week ahead. I also love taking in the cool fresh air and enjoying the beautiful sceneries that nature has to offer. I'm lucky that I just got my quick break recently. It was upon an invitation to visit Terrazas de Barako in Lipa , Batangas that I found myself on the road with Paul and fellow blogger Richard and his lovely family . Initially, I thought the ride would take more than 4 hours which was why I packed my bag with a fully-charge iPod Touch, a book, a huge bottle of water and some crackers. I was ready for the long drive battle! I was surprised though that it only took us a little more than an hour and a half to reach Lipa coming from

What's a visit to Boracay without going on a food trip? In my opinion, Boracay is one of the best places in the Philippines where you are assured of really good food. As more and more tourists flock to Boracay on a yearly basis, the island has turned into a gastronomic destination where you won't only see seafood paluto stalls but a mix of International cuisines from Italian, Hawaiian , Mexican and a lot more! After all, nothing beats enjoying the cool breeze, listening to the waves splashing on the shore and enjoying plates after plates of delicious food. Contrary to my past Boracay visits where I normally fill up the entire day with non-stop resto-hopping, this time I had all my meals at Don Vito Ristorante Italiano , the in-house restarant of Boracay Mandarin Island Hotel , which gave me a very pleasant experience that I believe deserves an entire blog post on its own. Let me share with you a short food journal of my recent Boracay trip: Day 1 - Lunch As soon

It wasn't my first time to dine at Cafe by the Ruins . In fact I've been there every single time I visit Baguio and my experience gets better in every return. My first was with my family a few years ago when we went up to Baguio for a quick business trip. Dad wasn't so happy with his all veggies and no meat platter but Mom, Pan and I quickly fell in love with the organic-feel of the restaurant, I think that was also the first time I had red rice. A year after that, I returned with Paul and my former boss D for a work-related trip. My boss introduced me to their Kamote bread and cheese spread which was so good that I even bought a loaf home for my family to enjoy. Every year, Cafe by the Ruins has always been part of our travel itinerary. It's then pretty much a given that I've included Cafe by the Ruins again when we returned to Baguio this time with The Food Club . Aside from Paul and I, our friend Grace was also raving about the restaurant. This definit

You can't have it all... At first look, we all fell in love with Forest House 's interior. The cozy log cabin feel, the pretty bed and breakfast rooms and the big fireplace that will greet you as you enter the main dining hall. It was a perfect hang out spot in a cold place like Baguio City . This is the reason why it is also highly recommended that you make a reservation as the place easily gets filled up despite arriving early at the restaurant. It was our second time to dine at Forest House and this time Paul and I know better. It was after waiting to get a table for more than thirty minutes during our first visit that we realized that it's best to give the restaurant a call as early as possible. This time, sure we got a table but they can't fit us in the main dining hall anymore and we were placed at the annex which was far from where most servers were. Thus, we had a really hard time looking for a server, ordering our food and worst, waiting for our bill.

When we finally got to Baguio a little past 12 noon, the first thing we did was to look for a place to eat. Our three little passengers were starting to verbally express their hunger already so we all kept our eyes on the road in search of any of the restaurants included in our list. Thankfully, we immediately saw Hill Station which is located very close to SM Baguio . I've been reading a number of good reviews about this new restaurant and was quite excited to try it. After securing a good parking spot, we all made our way towards the basement of Casa Vallejo , an old hotel that closed down last 1999 and was revived recently and was made into a small bed and breakfast place. The ambiance was very pretty giving a traditional Filipino feel. At the entrance is the bar area with an old wooden (yet working) piano where I ended up playing a few songs later on. We walked further in towards the main dining area and I love the heavy wooden chairs, the comfy looking couches and th

When The Food Club went up to Baguio a couple of weeks ago, we stayed at Hotel Elizabeth which is located very near Mine's View Park. Since we were a big group, we were given four different rooms to fit all of us in. The families of 4 each got an Executive Suite each while Paul and I had the Deluxe Room (Php. 4,256 published rate) which was just perfect for the two of us. In fact, I find the room to be quite specious as we get to have our own balcony and a medium-sized bathroom too. In lieu of an air-conditioning unit, they have a ceiling fan installed in every room too. The TV set have cable and the best part is, you get unlimited Wi-Fi access not only in the lobby but even at the comforts of your room. Each room has a mini bar where we always get our daily complimentary stock of Bottled Water. On top of that, we were welcomed to help ourselves to coffee with a couple of packs available for us to consume for free. Don't you just love the view from my room? :) Pa

The Food Club went on a trip again and this time we went up up north to Baguio ! It was actually a first for our kiddie companions namely Lauren, Kei and Ken and I truly had a great time playing tour guide not only to our three little travelers but to the rest of the group too. Baguio is approximately 240km away from Manila. Thankfully, the road heading to Baguio is now better as we pass through the provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Pangasinan and La Union before the slow ascend up the zigzag road of Marcos Highway . While my mom and sister would always complain about the long drive up, I actually enjoy it every time we get the chance to visit Baguio...I guess it's just me and my love for geography. We left Manila around 6AM and after a quick breakfast stop in Pampanga, we arrived at Baguio a little past 12 noon making it just in time for lunch. I will be sharing more stories about our food adventures in my succeeding entries but for now I'll give you a low-down

Paul has been going back and forth his hometown these past few weeks. During one of his visits, he found himself eating at Everybody's Cafe with his mom and little did he know, this marked the start of his love for.... fried crickets . Yes, you read that right. While he actually can bravely take in all sorts of exotic dishes such as Turtle Soup, Fried Frog Legs and a lot more, I don't think Paul really imagined the day that he would be having a spoonful of fried crickets with rice and meat. Since then, he has been craving for more thus the reason for our impromptu visit up north for lunch at (where else?!) Everybody's Cafe . To be honest, I wasn't as excited as him knowing that we are to dine at a restaurant that serves all sorts of local delicacies / exotic dishes. As you may all know, I can be a pretty picky eater and not a big fan of anything beyond the usual pork, beef, seafood and chicken. Still, I went there with an open mind and a growling tummy so I was q

We all had a very busy summer. Some flew in and out of the country, others got busy at work while I..created a BIG event . Thus this trip was very much awaited by every member of The Food Club namely: Jane and Chris , Richard and Irene , Abet and Joan , Ro and Peter , Carlos , Trixie , Paul and yours truly . After all, I was already day-dreaming about lounging by the pool while bonding with my dear friends. We all stuck by our proposed time schedule to be able to make the most of our trip and to be able to have more time to bond with one another. We all agreed to meet up at 830AM to load our groceries and drinks and to begin the not-so-long drive up to Tagaytay where we all agreed to stop for lunch before heading to Punta Fuego where we will stay for the night. While thinking of where to eat, Jane and I decided to try Amoroma as I've heard a number of raves from my boss. He told me they serve "real slices of black truffles" and that was in fact the magic word

To find out what hot in Boracay, just follow the throngs of crowd outside or around a particular establishment. Take Hawaiian Bar-B-Que for example. During my first trip to Boracay a few years ago, Paul and I attempted to dine there but eventually gave up due to the long waiting time given to us as there were just a lot of people waiting to be given a table too. As mentioned earlier, Boracay is the perfect place to enjoy seafood , fruit shakes and barbecued meats and Hawaiian Bar-B-Que seems to be the place to go for a slab of juicy ribs and meaty beef. Luckily, on our next visit, we didn't have to wait as we made sure to get there early. Thus, our party of 7 were immediately given a long table inside the restaurant away from the scorching heat. My sister's friends took care of ordering our meal as some of them have already dined at Hawaiian Barbecue before. We were just happy to sit back and patiently wait for our food to be served. Thank you C, Y, K and R! Our Meaty

Mexican in Boracay? I know it may sound weird to eat Mexican food in the beach as what normally comes to mind are platters of fresh seafood, fruit shakes and perhaps some grilled meats..but we're in Boracay and the choices are endless in this amazing island! Thus, right after we landed and rode the ferry to the port, took the trike to Station 1, checked into our resort, settled down and admired our rooms, we then attended to our growling tummies and headed straight to Mañana Mexican Cuisine for lunch. It was my sister's first time in Boracay last July and I was determined to make sure she enjoys. We're both huge fans of Mexican cuisine thus the endless supply of tortilla chips and salsa at home. It was a good thing that Mañana is located just a few steps away from Astoria Boracay , our home for the next three days in Boracay. It was way past lunch hour yet the place was packed. That's how life is in Boracay, people becomes less time-bound and they eat, party a

If there's one thing you should not miss when visiting Boracay is to look for the best fruit shake in the island. Sure, almost all restaurants have their own versions of fruit shakes but only one remains to be the BEST and for me, that's Jonah's Fruit Shake . During my first visit, I fell in-love with Jonah's Choco Banana Fruit Shake , true it's loaded with sugar and calories but I didn't care..my day in Boracay is not complete without a glass of Jonah's thick chocolate-banana shake. Each sip was just so rich and creamy, I just want to lie under the sun and daydream while sipping on my fruit shake.

It was the shortest trip that I've ever had to the island of Boracay . We arrived at 1AM due to a delayed flight and a minor car accident on our way from Kalibo to Caticlan. We got to the resort at 1 and was only able to sleep after satisfying our stomach with some light snacks. Still, we were up as early as 8AM to make it to breakfast and to be able to maximize our one and only day in Boracay as we were scheduled to fly back to Manila first thing the next day. *phew* Hectic schedule, I know. Breakfast at the resort was pretty forgettable that my sister and I decided not to torture our stomach with food that barely met our expectations and to just head straight to the island to grab a good breakfast in the island! We're lucky that fellow bloggers Melo , Bong and Ryan decided to join us and with Melo, being the Boracay experts we knew we were in good hands. Melo's an experienced traveler (you should hear his stories!), a chef and a talented photographer and he suggest

It's April and summer is finally here! With the fast rising temperature outside, more and more city folks are heading out to the beach! Speaking of beach getaways -- I was pretty blessed to be able to go to the coolest summer destination in the country last year -- this is the beautiful island of BORACAY . Not only was I able to visit it once for my honeymoon, I returned for a brief stay a few days before we bit 2010 goodbye. The vibe and weather was different when I first went there in July and returned in December. For one thing, the island was more quiet during July with windbreakers lining up the shoreline. It somehow ruins the beauty of the island. I also noticed that there were a lot of algae during my first visit which I do not like the sight and feel of whereas none was seen last December. However, it was way more crowded and harder to grab a table last December as it seems like half of the Metro Manila population all decided to spend their holiday in Boracay too. Eac

I'd say old habits die hard...and so does this almost half-a-decade-long tradition. It has been almost 5 years since Paul and I have been traveling to his hometown in Angeles, Pampanga every February to watch more than a dozen hot air balloons fly up in the sky. In the past years though, we manage to book a hotel room and spend the night in Angeles giving us sufficient time to wake up just about the right time before we should head to the Clark Air Field to catch the sunrise. This year, we took the more challenging option which is to leave Manila at exactly 3AM to be able to get to Clark by 5. I guess word has really spread far and wide about this yearly event that we were faced with a bad traffic jam from the entrance of Clark up until the parking lot of the Air Field. At 430AM there was already a long line of cars filled with excited passengers hoping that they will make it inside on time. We finally found our parking spot at 530AM and thanks to Richard and Irene who got tick

From our amazing 8-hours stay in Bacolod , my sister and I took the ferry to hop over to Iloilo . Growing up, we've been hearing a lot of great stories about life in Iloilo from my sister's long-time yaya . She's an Ilongga and her stories about life in this province and the freshest seafood that you can find stayed in our minds for years. Truly, food is truly a great motivator for us to keep on traveling. So off we went to this province in the Panay Island in the Visayas region one weekend. Prior to our trip, we did our research and initially booked ourselves at the Sarabia Manor Hotel which is a popular hotel in the city. It is very big and usually the choice for business meetings and workshops as well. The hotel is also located along a very busy main road making it very easy should there be a need for you to hail a taxi to go around. However, we both found our room a bit old. The smell was not very fresh, the aircon quite noisy and some of the toilet fixtures are

This is a very delayed post, as more and more great finds were discovered, my Visayas Invasion entries were pushed further and further back. It was when fellow blogger Jane asked me about my Bacolod trip that I remembered that I still have a lot of stories waiting to unfold. This was a spur-of-the-moment trip with my sister as we took the weekend off to hop around three different provinces in just three days! Our itinerary was to fly in to Bacolod and explore the city in just a day, take the boat out to Iloilo to spend our first night there, speed off to Guimaras for a fun full day under the sun and fly back to Manila via Iloilo. This was our dream itinerary and we were so happy that we have fulfilled all of the things that we've both wanted to do in this trip. Let me start this series with my Bacolod story. We literally just had 8 hours to spare in Bacolod to make it to the ferry boat that will take us to Iloilo. Here are Five Amazing Things that you can do in Bacolod