Floridablanca

November 1, 2013

I rarely look forward going to Pampanga as it is practically an extension of Manila for us. we go here at least once every quarter ata and it has always been the same.

sure the travel is much faster and more convenient and we now have better mobile phone signal + wi-fi + cable; but beyond that there really is nothing much else left to do. (oh no, I'm starting to sound like my younger siblings na!)

#agileworking Pampanga style

over the weekend however, whilst there was work to be done (which addresses my issue on the lack of anything to do) I was able to see our home town in a really different light, unintentionally, haha

Floridablanca Town Hall

I went along with my parents to Floridablanca, which was just right next to Guagua, the town Mama grew up in. they had to buy some things at the market, and I badly needed to get meds naman for my colds

while waiting, I walked around muna and made my way towards the church. I know I had mass in this town a decade ago pero I couldn't remember if this was the same one.

I only got to take photos from my outside since it was already quite dark na. I already applied some filters in the one I took below just to make it more visible

this was the San Isidro Labrador (St. Joseph the Worker) Parish Church pala which was built in 1867 and it was actually considered a heritage church... sweet!

actually just before we reached the town proper itself, we also passed by this house below:

reading about it when we got home, it turns out to be another historical landmark, this time in the form of an ancestral mansion

this house was referred to pala as the Bahay na Puti or the Alvendia House

it is presently owned, preserved and maintaned by the Justice Carmerlino Avendia Sr. -- galing!

since we only passed by it, there was only so much info I can get. so I made a mental note to make sure I get to go back and have more time to spend in this town and see what else I can discover!

speaking of, just before heading back to Guagua, I chanced upon this Coke-branded bicycle --pretty cool!

looking forward to where else my feet will take me!

Tagaytay - Cavite Weekend

October 20, 2013

I never seem to get tired of going to Tagaytay especially when with the family. the last we were here was for a distant relative's wedding and prior to that was our mini-reunion gathering at Bag of Beans.

this time we were meeting up with a family friend from Japan who came to visit. originally I thought we were just dropping by her relative's place in Amadeo. yun pala first on the agenda was an early lunch in Tagaytay.

I've always thought Leslie's was overrated. the last I ate here was with Jeff's former colleagues in DSI. but that was in another branch in Batangas. after that we'd often go to Green ATS na for our bulalo fix. so this was technically my first time at Leslie's Tagaytay

first look

I have to say consistent talaga sila sa ambiance. it had a the woodland type of vibe which was  similar to the one we ate in before.

what's unique about this one though is of course the scenic view of the Taal lake, which is no match for the other bulalo places, I have to say

whenever we get to go to a bulalo place. I only have 2 requests - syempre bulalo and fried tawilis

for a group of 8, we ended up ordering for 10 people. haha. apart from Bulalo and Tawilis, our meal also included Fried Kangkong, Ensaladang Mangga, Inihaw na Liempo, Ginataang Kalabasa at Sitaw, Fried Chicken and Leche Flan -- that was really a mouthful!

our photo below was a before shot. so you could just imagine how fuller we looked post-meal

by this time the fog had started creeping in. thus the view of the lake now gone

and after what probably was a 3-hour lunch, we then set off for Amadeo to visit Tita Menchie's relatives

here are some shots of the place:

side trip | backyard pineapples
taken from my IG account @jobnacpil

the property was actually within a golf course as they were the ones looking after the place.

it was quite a laughter-filled afternoon sharing stories and making plans about future trips back to Japan. we even ended up taking home bunches of banana, papayas and cooked-ube.

nothing beats a day spent with family and friends :)

Leslie's Tagaytay
Aguinaldo Highway Crossing
Silang West, Tagaytay

Angeles Day Trip

August 31, 2013

I wanted to go to Nayong Pilipino. period. haha.

thoughts of our old 'field trip' site came to mind one day and since then I've been nagging Jeff to go to Clark, Pampanga to visit the new one.

so, one Saturday, with nothing planned and with a half-hearted road trip partner on tow, we headed for Clark!

both our families were from Pampanga, but we've not ventured on this side of the province on our own so it was an adventure in itself trying to get there.

sa awa ng Diyos we got to Clark naman with just basic directions we found online.

and thankfully, Clark was funded enough to have generous amounts of signboards to lead us to our destination.

Nayong Pilipino was built on the site of Clark Expo pala. but it was at least close to a decade na since I last came here so it was like coming to a new place altogether. may SM Clark na rin pala.

I learned from other blog sites that the entrance to Nayong Pilipino was only Php 50/head. so I thought all along that if the place turns out to be mala-La Mesa Dam, I wouldn't mind so much. but when we got there they charged us na with Php100/head. (100% increase!) they charged pa Php20 on top of that for parking. so I expected to really get my money's worth!

when we got there, there was hardly any people. not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing :|

I was only able to take a map of Nayong Pilipino from the ticket counter when we were about to leave so we wandered mindlessly all throughout the tour.

our first stop was the Maranao House.

I really digged the architecture and the details/decor of the house. I wonder if there were houses which look like these today.

next to the Maranao house was the entrance to the Orchidarium

it seemed like a new installation or I guess we were really just off tangent if there as a prescribed order on how to go around the whole tour. :|

this was our 2nd landmark pa lang but Jeff was quite bored. he was already creating sarcastic hashtags such as #besttripever or #funweekend to use when he posts photos of us here.

hindi naman halata from his smile diba?

walking further past the Orchidarium, we reached the Land of Legends

first stop was the Aeta Village

not only did they sell Aeta instruments/tools but they were sold by our kababayan Aetas themselves. I ended up buying a small bow and arrow set, while Jeff got a musical instrument for his niece

adjacent to the Aeta Village was the Ifugao Village naman

here they showcased variations in the huts/houses depending on the tribe

glad I got a chance to go up to one of the houses. reminded me a lot of the old hut we had in Pampanga ;)

here's the other row of Ifugao houses and of which featured some cool wooden statues underneath

next stop was the Kalinga Village. beside it was a replica rin of the rice terraces

from the Land of Legends next comes the Land of Heroes naman

it was a compound of house replicas of our national heroes

first stop was Mabini's House

Mabini's house actually featured interesting history about Pampanga and artifacts on its first settlers.

beside this was Rizal's House (top center photo) but we didn't go inside that na

at the middle was the Heroes Plaza

this was probably my next favorite spot after the Maranao House--Aguinaldo's House

here kasi they had a showcase of old-century stuff such as the old rocking horse and a high-wheel bicycle -- pretty neat huh!

here are some more photos of the Heroes Plaza/compound including a tiny replica of the Kalesa

after the Heroes Plaza was the Fountain + Barasoain Church 

since Jeff and I got to go to the real Barasoain church na last year, we didn't really linger around the place na

I particularly liked the Bandstand though (left photo) and it would have been cool if they opened the lagoon for visitors to boat around in

while we were in this area we saw some posters about a Cultural Show that was happening in the early afternoon. however since it was quite hot that day and it didn't seem like there was much to see around -- we didn't see the point of staying until then

just before leaving, we passed by the Outdoor Amphitheater

and statues of Maria Makiling, Malakas + Maganda and Lapu-Lapu

eto na ba ang sinasabi nilang Cultural Paradise?

I think a lot has to be done to really achieve that vision for Nayong Pilipino. I don't think Philippine culture/history can be summed up by just two main attractions i.e. Land of Legends and Land of Heroes or by showcasing heroes homes.

I think we're better than that as a people/nation and I feel ashamed especially since a number of the tourists we were with that day were foreigners pa naman. is that all that we are as Filipinos?

sure didn't think that I got my money's worth. and I feel terrible for the bus load of preschool students who arrived just when we were leaving.


well if there's one thing Clark is known for -- its the Duty Free shops.

with rumbling tummies we set forth towards the shopping area and chanced upon Parkson Duty Free

we didn't really plan on buying anything but we were just keen to look around. it was nothing too special naman, except for the grocery portion. yung clothes pa parang walang original. duty free shop ba talaga ito?

Jeff goofing around

across Parkson naman was Clark Liberty. the space was bigger but the content was nothing better compared to Parkson.

we also came across this rundown Duty Free shop which sold Adidas and Van Heusen stuff. hindi na kami nag-effort to check it out. haha.

since it was close to 3 pm and we've still not had lunch we headed out of Clark and into Angeles in search of Angeles Fried Chicken

all I knew that time was AFC was near Casino Filipino and that didn't work well for Jeff who was more the precise kind of traveler.

sa awa ng Diyos (ulit) and after asking at least a couple of Kapampangans, we got to AFC!!

i first heard about this from a former colleague who shared it was mala-KFC daw.

I expected a more carinderia type of place kaya I was surprised to see how inside the resto had a more "intimate" dining vibe. I expected a more-KFC feel. hehe. 

so... time to taste the 'heavenly' chicken

we got the 3 pcs. set of regular chicken + coleslaw + rice (Php 145) a pitcher of iced tea (Php 99), chopsuey (Php 145) and a cream of mushroom soup (Php 75)

in fairness sa chicken - mala KFC nga. even yung gravy and yung coleslaw. I liked their iced tea too ha. another thing they're known for. pati pala their soup was good, and it didn't taste like it was made from Knorr. haha

however, I don't think its the kind of resto na dadayuhin mo yung place just to eat here. buti na lang I can always go to KFC if I'm craving for that type of chicken :)

over-all I think it was a fun trip naman. it was exciting enough for me to figure out how to get to these places rin kasi. however, other than learning how to get to Clark/AFC there was nothing else that satisfied that thirst for learning/experiencing something new. 

just the same, wonder where will our feet take us next?

Nayong Pilipino at Clark Expo
Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga
https://www.facebook.com/nayongpilipinosaclarkexpo

Parkson Duty Free / Clark Liberty
Claro M. Recto Highway
Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga
(045) 599 2700

Angeles Fried Chicken
1992 Marlim, Angeles City

(045) 322 4448

"Last Minute" Tagaytay Trip

July 27, 2013

while this was trip was planned ahead, due to the heavy rains last Friday night, it was nearly postponed and I only got confirmation lang early Saturday morning that we were pushing through na.

first question when we all got together was of course, where to eat lunch. haha. normally Jeff and I would go to Green ATS for our usual bulalo fix. 

Mam Noki suggested we try the restaurant at Tagaytay Econo Inn which was recommended to her by a friend. kaso since the place was right on the tip of the road up Tagaytay, medyo lumampas na kami and we decided to try another place she suggested: Bali Seafood Paluto Restaurant

she got to go there recently and the food was good daw there. I guess masarap nga siguro talaga kasi we saw JLC there with his crew

our orders finally came: Fried Tawilis, Nilagang baka (haha dahil mas mahal ang Bulalo), Baked Tahong, Pinakbet and Fresh Buko Juice

timely rin na dumating ang trio na ito. while we were not too fond of these singing groups, it was impolite to shoo them away, so after 2 songs, we gave a tip na rin so they can move on to the next table na haha.

a glimpse of the huts within Bali Seafood

over-all the food was good naman. particularly liked the tahong and the pinakbet. enjoyed the fresh buko too.

Taste Him daw :p

our group selfie

we then went to Summit Ridge to check out some shops

foggy much

but we ended up at the arcade

first up: hoops!

team effort!

then the Star2Ball 

hit that!

after hundreds worth of tokens we got 96 tickets all in all

96 tickets = 5 chocolate candies

hundreds of them in one pack haha

since that turned out to be quite tiring, we decided to go some place else where we can just chill

we were already near the intersection when Mam Noki suggested we check out Breakfast at Antonio's

really like the whole feel of the place

medyo hindi lang sustainable ang menu nila haha

since we still were pretty full from lunch, dessert time!

Chocolate Chips waffle, Brownie and New York Cheesecake

really enjoyed the desserts we had and looking forward to having a full breakfast meal the next time we get to go!

next stop was Mahogany Market!

fresh produce

cheap beef!

my parents requested for fresh buko and got pretty big ones for 15 php each. Jeff bought veggies and meat for Nilaga. Mam Noki and Charlie got a week's worth of meals ata, while Katie got packs of Tawilis

and when we've completed our market errands, we went to the newest Starbucks branch in Tagaytay

the location was quite steep but had excellent view of the lake

Taal lake

Katie's photo shoot

yummy Chocolate Chip Cookie sandwich

had a really great time catching up with GW friends :) looking forward to the next trip for Team Siem Reap! hopefully soon!