Tuesday, September 22, 2009

CEBU REVISITED









I never thought that I will be able to squeeze my Cebu vacation from a very tight schedule. The purpose of going home is to mingle with my relatives whom I have seen ages ago. Fiesta of Sto. Tomas de Villanueva was commemorated last Sunday, September 20, 2009.



Day 1: September 18, 2009, Friday





We fly via Cebu Pacific at around 1:30 p.m. The promo we availed was Go-Lite. Supposedly, our schedule was 8:00 a.m. but the airlines has policy that the boarding gate closes 45 minutes before departure and passengers should have already checked-in 30 minutes prior to departure. Unluckily, we arrived at around 7:30 a.m. at NAIA Terminal 3, so we were technically late for boarding. We paid Php 17,000.00 as penalty charge. What a way to earn profit...





But with as the saying goes, "there is a purpose for everything." And how lucky we are because we bumped into Mr. Gabby Concepcion, one of the Philippine's finest actor. I never thought that Mr. Concepcion is very warm and accomodating. He even pose for a picture with my mom, sister and myself.



We took our lunch at Mr. Donut by buying their sandwich or turnovers. I grabbed a bite of Tuna turnover and bottle of mineral water. We also purchased 14 packs of Kopi Roti Coffee Bun as take home to my cousins and relatives. Well, after 6 hours of waiting, we were about to board the plane bound to Cebu.



Upon arrival we visited our cousin who owns a cellphone shop at Mandaue. Dinner time was spent by eating grilled liempo, chicken and chorizo along with pochero at Neoneo Grillery.




After the sumptuous dinner, we checked-in at Jacinta Pension House in preparation for our Bantayan Island trip the following day.



Day 2: September 19, 2009, Saturday



We woke up at around 4:00 a.m. and checked-out of the pension house. Our uncle drove us to Ceres Bus Terminal so that we can go to Hignayan Port and ride a ferry on our way to Sta. Fe Beach Club. It was a 2.5 hour trip from the terminal to the port.


We checked-in at Sta. Fe Beach Club resort. I should say, the hotel is affordable.



We rented a boat so that we can have some island hopping.




The view was really breath-taking especially when we went to the neighboring island. The island is not yet fully developed. My cousin told me that it is a Virgin Island. What a way to relax by watching the tranquility of the beach. We also had lunch by the island. It was really a feast because we had grilled liempo (pork belly), fish and crabs, plus a pot of rice to partake.




I was able to get a glimpse of the coral from the boat.




This is the Sugar Beach. It was named so because the sands are sugary in texture.





We also went to Ogtong Cave, also in Sta. Fe. It is a pool that is cave-like in structure. But we did not stayed long because we have to go to our cousin and have dinner with him.




Day 3: September 20, 2009, Sunday




We checked out at Sta. Fe Beach Club at around 8 a.m. But we also had a photo op inside our hotel room. Then we fetch our cousin and take the ferry bound to Hignayan Port.



From there we rented a van from the port to my mom's hometown to attend the Fiesta.






It was another feast. There is lechon, hamonado, baked macaroni, fish and shell fish. There are also some desserts served not only to us but also our guest.





We left our ancestral home at around 10 p.m. and we checked-in again at Jacinta Pension House to call it a night.



Day 4: September 21, 2009, Monday




We woke up at around 7:00 a.m. to pack and freshen up. We have to check out at around 9 a.m. to go to Magellan's Cross and the Sto. Nino Basilica.




There are so many devotees lining up to get the glimpse of the Sto. Nino.






Before boarding, we went to Park Mall and took our lunch at Joven's Grill and Seafood. The service is buffet so I was able to eat well. In fact I did not took my dinner upon arriving to Manila because I'm really full.




At around 2:00 p.m., we checked in at the Mactan International Airport. We arrived ahead of schedule @ around 5:05 p.m., 10 minutes in advance.





The Cebu experience is worth relaxing. I never regretted every single minute of it. I was about to upload some pictures and update my blog, unfortunately our computer hardware crashed therefore giving me a luxury to publish my experience only now...




Monday, September 14, 2009

LONGER NEW MOON TRAILER PREMIERES @ MTV VMA 2009

Finally, the sequel to the much awaited Twilight Saga New Moon was launched at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards (VMA) last night. In the 3rd installment of the 2nd Stephenie Meyer bestseller, other casts of the much awaited-movie already made their appearance. Summit had already released the 1st two New Moon trailers.

Here are some of thescreencaps of the much-awaited movie.( Photo credits courtesy of: MTV.com)

The Volturis: Jane (above, played by Dakota Fanning) and Aro (below, played by Michael Sheen)

The Cullens: Alice Cullen (top, played by Ashley Greene) and Edward Cullen (below, played by Robert Pattinson)

a broken-hearted Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart)

Bella, the adrenaline junkie: (1) being guided in a motorcycle by Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) (2) riding the motorcycle with Edward appearing in a vision and (3) a scene after she jumped from the La Push cliff

To view the entire trailer, go to the New Moon Trailer @ MTV.com


Sunday, September 13, 2009

MY OWN BRAND OF HEROINE



I was first hooked with Twilight. I first saw the film before reading the book.



Then my U.S.-based relatives sent me via balikbayan box the 4 Twilight series entitled: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn.




I am currently reading Breaking Dawn.



And now, there is New Moon coming soon in theaters.

Here are the trailers of the movie. Courtesy of http://www.youtube.com

Twilight - Released November 21, 2008
Cast: Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan and Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen




New Moon - to be release on November 20, 2009
Cast: Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan, Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen and Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black

Saturday, September 5, 2009

ANOTHER LONG WEEKEND

Looking forward to another long weekend. September 7, 2009 was declared a non-working holiday as tribute to one of the religious leader who will be laid to rest. Then, September 21, 2009 was again declared a holiday because it commences the Ramadan, a Muslim tradition...And I am looking forward for my Cebu and Tagaytay trip...so by then I can update my blog more often.




After another long hour of work, I look forward to this long holidays as a rest day...Because I believe that I deserve to rest and to sleep longer hours so that I can recharge my battery as I look forward to another day of work after that. For me, work is fun and challenging. My job requires me to go from one place to another and meet new set of personalities. It involves a lot of pressure and major responsibilities but at the end of the day, I find it fulfilling. So, I should be thankful that I have work to look forward to...because it is really a blessing.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

WANCHAI & LONG WEEKEND


My family had the cravings of eating Chinese last long weekend. Since my mom was tired and wants to have a rest from the culinary world, my brother decided to order some Chinese dishes from Wanchai Restaurant. We called them to have our orders delivered.



Here are some of the dishes that we partake and their corresponding prices:


2 orders of siomai: 4 pcs/order @ P60.00



2 orders of kutchay, a veggie-filled dimsum, one of Wanchai's specialty: 3 pcs/order @ P60.00


1 order of Wanchai's small birthday noodles, good enough for 4 person @ P195.00/order


3 orders of Wanchai's special Tai Pao, a siopao good enough for 2 people @ P60.00/order

What a nice way to enjoy long weekend with Chinese dishes @ Wanchai Restaurant...Enjoy!