29 November 2010

I have told time and time again that my mom isn't a fan of my cooking. This year was a good year for me as far as food is concerned - my mom has slowly embraced my cooking, and I am happy that I already got her approval.

Weekends are usually the days that the family doesn't get to eat great foods at home because weekends are the days when we either go out to eat, or have something delivered. As usual, none of us went to the market, so when I asked mom what to cook for lunch, she just told me to cook the ampalaya (bitter gourd / momordica charantia). It's not a vegetable I normally cook, and with mom not giving exact instructions what kind of dish she wanted, I just raided the fridge to see what's available.

I saw some thigh fillets and some shrimps. My mom and I both have high cholesterol levels, so I discarded the shrimp heads and just use the meat. I sliced it in small pieces, and one of the thighs I deboned and skinned. I sauteed it in some onions and garlic, and using little water to cook the chicken meat, I then added thinly sliced ampalaya rings, and some vermicelli noodles.

When I served it, mom gave the "hmmmm...." and when she tasted it, she exclaimed, "Oh so delicious!" I could only say "thank you" because I was really surprised.

Mom really loved the dish, that she went to the market to buy more ampalaya and shrimps for me to cook again for her packed lunch in the office. Ohhhh so touching! I am really happy my mom is slowly becoming my fan. :)

Happy New Year, everyone!

*** Jenn ***

When K and I were planning our 14 day holiday, one of the places he suggested was Puerto Galera, as it wasn't that far from Metro Manila. It was a place that already lost its luster, but because I still haven't set foot there, I agreed to the idea. While making my own research, I found out there were different entry points to Puerto Galera - Sabang Beach, Talipanan Beach, and the White Beach; the most popular of the three. I knew K didn't like noise that much, so we chose to go for Talipanan Beach instead.

While reading up blogs about different trips made to Talipanan Beach, I got to read one saying there is a waterfall nearby, which the tourists can hike up. When we arrived in Puerto Galera, the resort had a service for a toured guide to the falls. At first I thought we can just hike there ourselves, but knowing the fee wasn't much, we decided to get a tour guide.


Our guide told us we can get there in 45 minutes if we were quick. I told him we weren't in a rush and we can take our own pace as we also would like to savor the moment and the view. Hiking there wasn't an easy thing... we had to cross a stream of water every now and then, and hold on to boulders and tree roots for leverage. Halfway along the way, I kept asking the guide if we were there already because I was getting tired and I was a bit worried about K. Actually, somewhere along the way, I was telling myself I didn't want to continue anymore (especially when we reached the part that we had to pull ourselves up a vertical mass of land) and just be contented with this little falls-like bodies of water, but I thought we were already there; K wasn't complaining at all (as he had training in mountain climbing), and I would really regret it if I didn't push myself to the reach the destination.





An hour later, we reached it.. finally! It wasn't as majestic as the other falls, but it was a real waterfall, and I really loved it! Recalling the experience I just had made this falls all the more close to my heart because I really exerted a whole lot of effort just to get there.


I told our guide that K and I planned to stay there for at least 30 minutes, just to savor the moment. We busied ourselves taking pictures and just exclaim how wonderful it was that we chose to stay at Talipanan Beach so we could see it.


I don't know how to swim, but I didn't pass up the chance to take a dip in the water. Under the falls, there was a catch basin, and since my clothes were wet from sweat anyway, I didn't see a reason why I cannot dip. I hoped to walk to the base of the falls, but water was a bit deep (I normally get scared when waters reach my chest area). I just content myself dipping in the basin. It was so refreshing!

We paid p200 (usd5) for the tour. We were actually happy we opted to get a guide, because no way we could find the route to the falls by ourselves. Getting down was much difficult for me, and funny as it may seem, I used my butt to go down. Well, I just sat on the ground and from that position, I reached for a sturdy ground using my legs. It made my walking shorts dirty, so somewhere, I asked for a little stop over to go dip in the water and rinse out some of the soil in my bum area. :) Oh yeah, it was indeed a very great experience.

Seeing a real waterfalls? A check in My Bucket List.

*** Jenn ***

26 November 2010

In 2008, I decided to go home a day before K traveled back to England so he can have the full day for himself - checking places and doing things he might want to do alone. For this year's holiday, we both decided to be together until the last day so we could really maximize our time together. It was our last day, but since his flight was at 7PM, we figured we would still use the morning til lunch time to check some places near the area.

We had our breakfast first at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (again). Although we had the same choice of coffee, we had a different kind of meal to go with it. He had the roast beef sandwich, while I went for the Eggs Ben. It had a slice of turkey ham, and as funny as it sounded, this was my first taste of turkey. :)




Ayala Museum. We went back to the hotel, packed all our things and checked out. We left our luggage at the concierge for a while, since we didn't want to roam around with it. We took the taxi to the Ayala Museum, because I knew he would enjoy it. When we arrived, we saw a lot of school children doing their field trip, and the staff of the museum asked us if we could visit in the afternoon because we might not enjoy the museum when there were kids making a lot of noises. We told that we didn't have any choice but to handle the noise because we only had the morning to check the museum. As their way of compromising, the museum staff gave us the resident tickets (50% off the normal tickets), which made K and I happy.

Photographs weren't allowed inside (we were asked to leave our things at the baggage area), so what's inside the museum was something etched in our memory. There were four floors of different displays, and of all the displays, I was most fascinated with the "Gold of Ancestors," a collection of different gold jewelry worn by rich, powerful Filipino people many centuries ago.


Greenbelt Chapel. After a great trip at the museum, we walked around Greenbelt area, and made a quick trip to the chapel where I said my prayers. 90% of my prayer was about my endless gratitude, and 10% about us having a safe trip back to our own homes. K is actually an Agnostic, but we respect each other's stand about religion, and I was really happy that he came with me to each of the Catholic churches, chapels, and shrines I wanted to see.


John and Yoko - Greenbelt 5. It was time for us to eat lunch, and when I saw the entrance to Greenbelt 5, I dragged K to a restaurant called "John and Yoko," as I felt it was something we have similarities to. Well, John is an European, and so is K; Yoko is Asian, and so am I, so in a way we were like John and Yoko, too. K told me, "I can't be John... I can't sing," which made me answer him with, "I can't be Yoko as I am not Japanese, but I am sure you get the idea of it." Hahaha. We had our own choice of food, but we shared this dessert (Tempura Banana Split).

We quickly hailed a taxi back to the Great Eastern Hotel, and the heavy traffic caused K to feel worried and anxious. Of the 14 days we were together, it was the only time I lost a bit of my temper, and I was really sorry that I voiced out what I felt at that moment. Well, if he was feeling irritated with the traffic, he wasn't the only one feeling that, and me hearing his moan and groan made me feel irritated. After a few minutes of total silence in the taxi, he held my hand and said sorry, and although I was still irritated, a few minutes more made me held his hand back and said sorry as well.

He needed to be at the airport by 4PM, and it was already nearly 2:30PM when we reached the hotel. Luckily for us, we hailed a taxi that had a very nice driver... I told the driver K had to be at the airport as quick as possible and the driver told me he will do his best because traffic was really heavy. Inside the taxi, K was still apologetic, but he did tell me that him on the road to the airport eased up the anxiety a bit. I gave him a smile (which meant everything was alright), held his hand until the taxi reached EDSA, where I asked the driver to drop me off. From there I walked to the other side and hailed a bus home.

K sent me a text message nearly 5PM telling me he was already at the airport. Another round of apologies from him, and he also told me that if he could get 100 pesos for each time the driver would say, "shit traffic," he'd already be a millionaire. Hahaha. Well, when I got off the taxi, I did tell the driver to take care of K and make sure he gets to the airport asap, so in a way (I thought) the driver felt he was responsible for K getting his flight on time. Well, all things said and done, K still had an hour to "kill" before his plane took off.

Fourteen days went by so fast. I couldn't believe that our months of planning has already came to the end... but regardless whether K and I had some short misunderstanding, or we encountered a major problem when my camera caught sand by the beach shore, it was a holiday filled with so much memories that I will forever cherish. As much as I am happy to be with him again, I am so thankful I got to meet him, and have him in my life.

I hope he comes back again real soon.

*** Jenn ***

25 November 2010

Before sleeping the night before, I gave Fernan (the man who drove for us on Day 06) a text message asking he could drive for us again. We were a bit hesitant because we were staying in a different hotel, but, we will never know unless we text him, right? We received a positive response, and on that note, K and I slept soundly.

Day 13 started with a breakfast at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. The Great Eastern Hotel has a buffet breakfast, but we didn't like their selection, so this was a great alternative. When it comes to coffee, K and I were different people - he liked it black, I liked it latte. Despite the many differences we have, he and I just jive and that's one of the great things about us. We can be our own selves and still be together.


Sarao Jeepney Factory. Fernan arrived at the hotel at 9AM, and I instantly told him that we wanted to visit the Sarao Jeepney Factory in Las Pinas City. This was the one place K wanted to visit, and I just couldn't allow him to stay here in the Philippines for 14 days and not see even the shadow of it. Honestly, I didn't know how to get there, which was why I was constantly praying for Fernan to be available so I can leave it up to him to look for it.

It was quite a long drive, so we were happy to have found it. K was like a kid in a toy store when we arrived. He kept on exclaiming, "This is so good..." and I was a happy woman seeing him like that.


Bamboo Organ Church. Since we were already in Las Pinas, I received a text message from my brother telling us to go to the Bamboo Organ Church as well. It is also one of the churches I hope to see, so I told Fernan it was our next destination. I was so amazed when I saw the church.. and it was a good thing that we checked this other room, which was the church's museum. They gave us a tour in the place, even letting us go to the choir loft, which gave us a close view of the bamboo organ. The best part of the trip, one of the staff playing the bamboo organ for us. We captured a video of it, but we were asked not to post it anywhere, so I won't. :)


Baclaran Church. From one church to another, we then went to Baclaran Church. So many people there, and the floors were slippery, so we didn't stay for long - just enough to let me say my prayers and take some pictures.


Burgoo - SM Mall of Asia. For lunch, we went to the SM Mall of Asia. I hoped for us to eat at Bigby's, but it was near the bay area, so we just went somewhere near - Burgoo. This was the most expensive food place we visited, but I did enjoy my lunch. I had Chicken Diane, which tasted really, really nice.


Philippine Air Force Aero Museum. While traveling to the hotel from the airport the day before, the taxi passed by the PAF Aero Museum and brother told us that he really wanted to see it. Since the SM Mall of Asia is just near, we gave it a visit, too. I love this museum. I truly enjoyed the pictures and artifacts that was part of the Philippine history.

It was already late in the afternoon when we finished, and since the driver's fee is for 8 hours only, we decided it was time to go back to the hotel.


Sicillian Express - A. Venue Mall. Come dinner time, we went to the A. Venue Mall again, and the very cheap prices at Sicillian Express drew me in, but we weren't at all amused with the whole dining experience. This one - the baked fish - was my dinner, and it looked really pale, so I took some of the pomodoro sauce where the bed was sitting and decorated the fish with it to give a little color.


Stage Coach Saloon - A. Venue Mall. We wanted to eat desserts, too, but the bad experience made us go to a different food place. We just had desserts at the Stage Coach Saloon, and we really liked it.

It was our last night together. K was extremely quiet the whole dinner, and it made me worried. He told me he was just sad that the holiday was about to end, and I wasn't sure, but I think I saw him teary eyed.

As always, he ended the night with a message of gratitude, a hug, and a kiss. It was sweet.

*** Jenn ***

24 November 2010

While on the jeepney going to Jaro Church "yesterday," I noticed that there was a church a few steps away from the inn, so I asked K if we could go to the church first before we eat breakfast. The church opened early, and even if I was able to say my prayers, we weren't able to take that much pictures because a group was praying the rosary, and we didn't want to cause them a little distraction.

After church, we went to Madge Cafe for our last cup of coffee, and because they also serve rice meals, I went to eat heavy breakfast as well. I went for fish this time, eating meat dishes for many days made me miss the taste of fish.




La Paz Public Market. Madge Cafe is located inside the La Paz Public Market, and since it was our last day there, we decided to walk around. The market place is one of my favorite places - I love the smell, dirt (floors can get wet and slippery), and the noise.

We only have about noon time (because it was the check out time) at the hotel, so we really have to be sure we (or I) got it all covered before we leave.


Museo Iloilo. We weren't able to go inside Museo Iloilo yesterday, so after fixing ourselves, we went there. Unfortunately, there was a school field trip, and we saw that picture taking wasn't allowed inside (people who take pictures will be fined 500 pesos), so we left.

My biggest agenda for the day was to buy my sister a t-shirt and to buy myself a key chain (it's my travel collection). We were told at the Madge Cafe that we can check out Diamond Shopping Center at the downtown area, and finding it was a bit tricky - K and I walked so long... and we didn't even find one. The nearby Gaisano Mall had some, but the printing of the shirts weren't that good. It was pat 11AM already, so we quickly went to Robinson's Place instead.


Bong Bong's Delicacies - Robinson's Place Iloilo. I quickly went to the Bong Bong's store to buy the other set of food items I wanted to take home. Again, I was surprised with the amount I had to pay, but it was okay.

I knew there was a kiosk selling t-shirts in the mall, so even if it was so expensive, I still bought it because if I didn't, I am sure my sister would be really sad.

We scrambled to get out of the mall and back to the inn. Once there, we quickly showered, packed our things, settled the bill and took a taxi to the airport.


Iloilo Airport. Our flight was at 3PM, but because the airport was quite far, getting there as early as possible would work to our advantage. There, we ate lunch, and checking some shops I was able to find a key chain that made me really, really, happy.

We boarded a few minutes before the actual time of the flight, and although the plane didn't take off right away and that we stayed in the air near Manila because of the air traffic, we still touched down earlier than the ETA. Happy!

My brother met us up at the airport. He knew I was carrying two boxes of goodies, and knowing I still have two days with K, he realized it would be best for him to take the boxes home because I might have a difficult time carrying it all when it was time for me to go home. Brother went with us to the hotel, because finding a bus going home was difficult to do at the airport.


Fluke - A. Venue Mall. We put all our things in the room first then the three of us (K, my brother, and I) went to eat dinner. K wasn't able to eat proper lunch (he only had a cup of coffee), and we didn't want to send brother without letting him eat first, so we figured us eating together would be a great thing to do. Fronting the hotel was A. Venue Mall, which had quite a few choices to eat at, and checking different menus, we decided to eat at Fluke. Craving for more fish, I went for fish and chips.


Great Eastern Hotel. After settling down a bit, brother decided to go home because mom was alone in the house. K and I encountered few minimal problems with the room, and although it made us annoyed, we still slept soundly.

I really didn't realize brother would do something like that - traveling to the airport just to pick up the boxes was something that touched me really. I knew my brother was someone who didn't like going out and doing errands, so I was happy to see him. Well, even if we update our Facebook and we exchange messages everyday, twelve days of not seeing a family member made me miss them.

Buying all the things I need to while in Iloilo, having a safe flight, and seeing my brother were just blessings I was happy to receive. God is really so good.

*** Jenn ***