An Ordinary Day spent with an Extraordinary Person

On Saturday, April 10th, Ariel and I decided to go on a date around our home town of Kawit, Cavite. Our plan was to revisit an old hangout - Island Cove - to play bowling. That was actually our first date back in January 1999. Back then, we used to play bowling a lot. We thought it would be fun to play again after a long time. We were sad to know that the bowling lanes have now been converted into a ballroom. So we just decided to hang out at the Fishing Village, have snacks, share drinks and just enjoy each other's company. We picked a table by the river bank with a view of the floating huts. There were very few guests at that time so it was generally quiet. We could hear the constant chirping of the birds, and a gentle breeze caressed our skin. After about 2 hours or so, we decided to head off to the Aguinaldo Shrine, but not before snapping some photos of the fishing village.

This is cottage 18 - our wedding date

The pedestrian bridge at the entrance of Island Cove

We were disappointed to discover that the shrine closes at 4 pm so we missed it by almost 2 hours. Nonetheless, I thought it was a great opportunity to take photos of the exterior of the shrine, as well as the plaza in front. There were lots of people in the plaza, mostly local kids playing around, chaperoned by either parents or grandparents. After a while, a group of young adults came, each with a DSLR on hand, so I figured that they also want to take photos of this historical site. Ariel took a quick nap while I went around taking photos.

This statue of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo greets visitors from the parking area into the shrine

Our history books tell us that this is the balcony where our independence was first proclaimed and the Philippine flag first hoisted

Ariel took a nap while I snapped some photos

We waited til nightfall to take this shot

The prerequisite souvenir shot

It was already past 7 pm when we got home. Our helpers were not yet back from their day off and we didn't have a key so I just walked around to take photos. Then we went into our bahay kubo and hung out with our dogs.

Ariel's First Birthday

If life begins at 40, then Ariel just celebrated his first birthday last January 28th. We weren't able to take time off from work on the day itself but we were able to take Friday off. So on Thursday night, we drove home to Cavite to start our weekend a day early.

We got up late the next day, and just enjoyed a quiet morning in bed - reading, catching up on facebook, and playing computer games. By the time we were ready to drive to Tagaytay, it was 11am and we were famished.

Our first stop was Antonio's Grill. It was my first time here, Ariel's second. It has a very casual, shabby chic ambiance. The restaurant was furnished with white tables and chairs, similar to Antonio's but more mainstream. The screened windows were wide open, letting in the cool Tagaytay breeze.


Ariel ordered the squid sisig.


I opted for the crispy vegetable omelette which I really enjoyed.


We also ordered fried hito with burong dalag, sago't gulaman for Ariel and sugarfree calamansi shake for me.

After our filling lunch, we walked to Starbucks for coffee. Nowadays, I had to be content with decaf, non-fat latte with sugar free vanilla.


Ariel went for his usual cafe mocha, this time with a shot of mint since he loved the seasonal Peppermint Mocha which is no longer available.


We checked in that the Nurture Spa by 2pm. Last time we were here was at least 5 years ago and we stayed in the Ifugao hut. This time, we booked the Forest View aircon room. Our room was deep into the Nurture Spa compound, past the pool and outdoor treatment area. The interior has an Asian minimalist look. It was furnished with queen-sized four-poster bed, side tables, and a solid wood armoire (not seen in the photo below).


There's also a dresser table with mirror. A double door opens to reveal the "forest" of lush greens and trees right across the creek. To the left of the double door is the toilet and bath enclosed with capiz curtain.


I would have preferred more privacy for the toilet, although the capiz shells add charm to the room.


There's a bay window by the tub that offers a gorgeous view of the forest.


There was no TV in the room which was perfectly ok with me, but of course, Ariel would have preferred to have one. Good thing he brought his PSP and laptop to keep us entertained.

By 4 pm, we were ready for our first treatment - a 30-minute facial at the outdoor treatment area.


It was a bit breezy and chilly in the outdoor area but the ambiance was very relaxing.


Ariel and I enjoyed the facial. Our face was slathered with sweet honey (I had to keep myself from licking the honey!) and then gently massaged by the therapist. Our skin felt so smooth and supple afterwards.


After the facial, we decided to go around to take photos.








I got a chance to play with my lensbaby.


Ariel played while I took photos around the area.


This is the pool, and above it is the main dining area.


We were blessed with a beautiful full moon that night. I later found out that it was called the Wolf Moon - which pertains to the first full moon of the year.


We had dinner at 6:30pm in the main dining area. It was very cold! Ariel started with a cup of mushroom soup while I opted for the Asian salad. Then Ariel had the lechon with rice for his main course. I opted for the cream dory fillet with steamed veggies.


Dessert, which I skipped, was banana cake with chocolate syrup.


After dinner, we just rested until our scheduled massage at 8pm. Our package included one hour of Magsing-Irog Massage which we "upgraded" to 1.5 hours. Our therapists knocked on our door at 8pm and took us to the treatment area, right across our room.


There were two massage beds in the treatment room. Soft music was playing, and a minty scent lingered throughout the room. There was a separate shower and bath area for treatments that require soaking and/or rinsing (e.g. Body Scrub) or for those who want a shower prior to the massage.

The massage was very relaxing and before we knew it, Ariel and I dozed off. It was almost 10pm when we took the few steps from the treatment area to our room. I fell asleep right away, while Arie played with his PSP until the battery died.

We woke up at 8am and opted to have breakfast first before taking a shower and packing up. Ariel ordered a Filipino breakfast - tapsilog - while I chose my usual healthy, protein rich vegetable omelette. Ariel wasn't so happy with his food, but I certainly enjoyed mine and made sure that I complimented the cook.

Just before we checked out, we took a few more souvenir photos in our room.


We checked out at noon and decided to have lunch on the way. We stopped at Santi's where I picked up some veggies and cheese, then at Gourmet's where I bought some of their bottled laing, cherry tomatoes and a couple of potted herbs. Then we stopped in a plant nursery shop in Silang where I bought 3 sacks of garden soil for my herbs, and a pine tree which Ariel will plant in our yard.

Our last stop before lunch is Ilog Maria Honeybee Farm. I've been hearing about this place so we decided to check it out. We bought some oils, soaps, teapot, oil burners, lib balm, nail and cuticle balm, Royal Jelly and Honeybee Pollen.


We roamed around the area and saw the wooden boxes that house the honeybees.


They have a nice toilet that is shaped like a bee hive.


Inside, the toilet bowl is surrounded by a nicely arranged garden.


After Ilog Maria, we had a quick lunch at Recuerdo's. Ariel ordered Dinuguan, and crispy shrimps. I got the Chicken Inasal. It was a simple but very tasty fare.

Then it was time to relax back at home.

Baguio 2006

I just unearthed these old photos from Ariel's hard drive and realized that I didn't have prints of these photos. It was a memorable trip for us as this was only the second time that Ariel and I drove to Baguio together, the first time was the day after our wedding and we stayed only for two nights before we left for our honeymoon in Palawan.

Anyway, we were supposed to go with my family. However, typhoon Reming was supposed to hit the country and my parents, brother and his then fiance was afraid to take the trip and backed out at the last minute. We just recovered from the Milenyo flooding and we were also apprehensive to leave. However, by 5am on November 30th, Manila still had very clear skies. Ariel and I decided to wait it til mid morning. By 9am, there was still no sign of the typhoon so we decided to drive up north. We figured if the typhoon catches us, we can stop and spend the night somewhere. Anyway, we got to Baguio mid afternoon and the weather was great. We later found out that Reming hit Bicol and spared Manila and Cavite.

It was a very relaxing trip for us. I brought my beading supplies and just made little accessories and embellishments. Ariel and I stayed in the Coke Baguio House most of the time.


We went out a few times to have lunch and dinner. This was my favorite photo from the trip and it was taken at Cafe by the Ruins.

It was already very cold specially in the morning. We enjoyed waking up late and staying in most of the morning.

Ariel played the guitar while I made beaded embellishments.

We cooked rice and Spam for breakfast. We love eating at the breakfast nook.

On our third day, we went to Tam-Awan village.

We explored the hiking trail and worked up a sweat.

Then we relaxed at the Baguio house. That evening, when we plugged in the laptop, there was a loud pop and then all lights went off. Ariel grabbed the flashlight (thankfully, we bought one on our way to Baguio) and told me to stay put as he would go down to look for the circuit breaker. Scenes from horror movies flashed in my mind. So I told Ariel he's not leaving me alone in the room. I went down with him and located the circuit breaker. Within minutes, the lights were back on again.

We took photos of ourselves. This was back when we relied solely on our P & S for photos. Most of the shots were grainy, but I love them all.

We also got in touch with Eric and invited him and his mom over for dinner. We ordered pizza and just enjoyed a quiet dinner at the house.

On our way home, we stopped by Isdaan in Gerona, Tarlac for lunch. No nice photos from there, only fond memories.

Overall, a fun trip. We were both glad we decided to push through with it.