Our Weekened Getaway @ Tagaytay (a.k.a. My Post Birthday Celebration)

As mentioned in my previous post, hubby and I were planning to have a weekend getaway in Tagaytay. And thank God it pushed through! The weather was terrific that day despite some rain showers during the week. It was a great gift for me.

I was so excited the day before our trip that I wasn’t able to do anything at work. Hehehe…I actually just searched for places to go in Tagaytay. I have been there many times and I wanted to go somewhere we both haven’t been to. Unfortunately, there was not so much choice for us since we will be commuting and most of the unexplored sights in Tagaytay can only be reached if you have your own vehicle with you. Oh well, since hubby and I are together in this trip, it really didn’t matter anymore. So, without further ado, here’s a rundown of our last weekend’s experience:

FRIDAY, JUNE 12;

It was a holiday but we opted to wake up early so that we could already get ready for our trip. We left our house at around 9:00AM. Tagaytay is very much accessible to public transportation and we have a lot of options to choose from. We decided to take the SLEX route. From Alabang, there are vans tgoing to Tagaytay. Fare is 65 pesos each. Not bad if you ask me.

When we reached Tagaytay, we still didn’t know where to eat lunch. So we decided to explore the nearby restaurants. And we decided to eat at RSM Lutong Bahay. It’s one of the famous restaurants in Tagaytay known for their Bulalo and the magnificent view of Taal Volcano. We ordered Inihaw na Liempo, Baked Tahong, 3 cups of rice, 1 mango shake. All in all it cost us 655 pesos…expensive!! but the food was great. Though I was a bit disappointed because there was an ongoing construction and the workers walking around were really distracting and it destroyed our view of the lake. So I guess it was not worth it.

After our sumptuous, but not really lunch, we decided to head off to Mushroomburger. I know, I know…we just ate lunch and here we are preparing ourselves for some more food action. Hahaha!! Since both of us wanted to have a taste at the famous Mushroomburger (yeah, we’ve been here many times but we haven’t tasted this famous burger yet…losers, eh??), and the place was actually out of our way, we decided to go there first.

We ordered Mushroomburger Royal, Mushroomburger with Chees and Spaghetti. It cost us 179 pesos. Whoa!! We were barely in Tagaytay and it already cost us almost a thousand pesos!!

After our Mushroomburger trip, we went back to Olivarez. Unfortunately, we didn’t know that the terminal was so far from the rotonda. We planned on buying chips and water at 7-11 sana. Kaso sabi ni manong, bawal daw magbaba…hmp! So we asked the driver to drop us off at the nearby mercury durg store where we bought some chips and water. And then we decided to ride a tricycle instead. It cost us 50 pesos.

Our next stop was at our reserved room where we plan to stay for the night. We reserved a room at Keni Po. The name was actually a Kapampangan term (I’m a Kapampangan), which means “dito po”. I haven’t been there before but since the reviews are good, we’ve decided to reserve a room for us. The room cost 1500 pesos since it’s a holiday. But on ordinary days, it’s just 1200. There is also a small pool inside their vicinity. So that was a plus for us. Upon arrival, we were greeted by the attendant and checked-in at once. We were in Room A. The room was small but nice. It was clean, not mabaho, and we were even provided some toiletries!! We decided to rest for a while and watched tv for a few hours. After resting, we then decided to start our afternoon journey. We first had our pictures taken at the small garden located at the back of Keni Po.

The landscape was simple but nice. We also had a glimpse of the pool.

After the pictorial, we headed off to Picnic Grove. We’ve been here many times but it seems like a sin not to drop by…hehehe... there were a lot of people inside when we arrived. A lot of kids flying kites, families having their picnics, lovers having some “alone” time. It was such a nice scene. Very much different from what we’ve seen a few years back (also on my bday). But it’s really sad that the palce was no longer that attractive. The cabanas/cottages were a bit run down, the main office (big nipa hut at the center) was already old and torn down. The facilities were primitive! Their only selling point is the great view of Taal Lake. And also, they have a new attraction, the Zip Line and Cable car. I would’ve loved to try it but since I’m carrying my precious baby, I can’t try it yet…maybe next year…hahahha!!

We spent a few hours there. We were just people-gazing. We ate our Mushroomburgers – for me I think it was just so overrated. There was nothing special about it. it tasted like ordinary burger (except for the fact that it was mushroomburger…hehehe…). We planned on going to People’s Park but I decided against it later because my aching feet might just spoil our fun.

When we were both tired from watching people, we headed off to Tierra De Maria. I have been here only once, when ate Jobeth introduced as to the place. So I told Jake that it would be nice if we could drop by and say a little prayer. The palce was full of people. We prayed for a while and then headed back to Keni Po.

By this time, it was already starting to get dark. We watched tv, and then ordered our food from the hotel’s room service. Their meals was really affordable. We ordered Pork with Oyster Sauce, Garlic Kangkong and Sinigang , extra rice, coke. Total Cost: 305. The food tasted good! It was not haphazardly done, and the presentation was nice.

After dinner, I was really exhausted that I decided to lie down for awhile, wile hubby watched NBA. I got so sleepy already that I told my hubby that it was time for me to close my eyes…hehehehe…and when I woke up, it was already morning!

We didn’t have plans in the morning so I asked my hubby to accompany me to the nearby Colette’s store to buy some pasalubong. I bought Buko Pie, Uraro Cookies, Caramel Tart, 2 Espasol. Total Cost: 405.

We were about to return to the hotel when we saw a nearby Gotohan. Knowing that Jake loved lugaw/goto, and that we were both starving, I asked him if he wanted to eat. And so we did…the lugaw as not perfect. Pero pwede na din…our order: 1 Lugaw with egg, 1 Goto with Egg, 1 big water. Total Cost 79 pesos.

Upon returning to the hotel, we decided to take a dip by the pool and see if we can tolerate the coolness of the water. And I’m glad it was tolerable! It was not freezing cold and we had the pool to ourselves! We had some pictures taken and after an hour, we headed back to our room.

After dressing up, we deciede to just have our lunch in the hotel, so we ordered Tocino with egg, Danggit with egg, reheated sinigang from the previous night, and mango juice. Total cost: 178. I was so hungry then that I forgot to take pictures of our food. I was so full that I just wanted to sleep again…hahhaha!!!

We decided to extend our stay for 2 hours more. So we had to pay 200 pesos for that. At 2pm. We checked out and then we headed off to Manila.

Our trip was just short, simple but sweet. It was nice to take some time off from all anxieties in life and just have fun. It was also great to spend quality time with my hubby. The weekened was great. And I’m looking forward to having another getaway with my hubby and soon with our baby. =) (see more pics at www.dashingjake.multiply.com)