A visit to Tagaytay won't be complete without a side trip to Nuvali. The boys always insist on feeding the kois. Parking is free and I think you have to pay 10 or 15 pesos for the fish feed. There are also other activities kids can do in Nuvali like biking and riding a boat.
Next side trip was the Philippine National Police Academy. The boys got to watch PNPA cadets practice for their upcoming alumni homecoming.
We arrived in Tagaytay shortly after 12nn - still too early for the 2pm check-in at the hotel. We have heard a lot of good reviews about the small eateries in the Tagaytay market so we decided to have our lunch there. We ordered bulalo, kare-kare, chicharon bulaklak and 1 liter of mountain dew. Masarap nga. Service was fast. The waitresses were very eager to please. Fruits were served for free too. We paid less than P600 all in all for our meal - the left-overs of which we had for dinner too. I'd prefer eating there than in Leslie's anytime. In Leslie's, because of the crowd, your order arrives more than 30 minutes after, the soup is not properly heated (at the palengke, they serve the soup in a chafing dish with a burner so that the soup is always hot), the meat is not as tender, soup is not as tasty, at ang mahal pa. And I think many people agree with me - we saw many SUVs parked at the market, many people eating at the many stalls there. People go to Leslie's, mostly, just for the ambiance, I think. But you can get that same view almost anywhere in Tagaytay! The only downside to eating at the market is the many street vendors asking for your attention to buy this or that.
We were billeted in Potter's Ridge Hotel - thanks to Arn's colleagues for the free accommodation. It is a nice hotel by the ridge with a nice view of the Taal Volcano. I spent the rest of our afternoon alternately reading and sleeping while the three boys played Wii.
past-time nilang manggaya ng decors, statues, etc.
view from the restaurant at the top floor
going downstairs to our room
bed 1, araw is swimming
couch inside the room
bed 2, boys playing wii
Before sunset, we decided to go out and have coffee in Bag of Beans. We wanted to try their Alamid Coffee but we found out that you would have to pay for one whole bag (small bag costs around P1K), then an additional P50 to have a cup of coffee brewed - Arn and I both thought that's a little too much for a cup of poop so we ordered Kapeng Barako and White Choco Mocha instead. Gael, the cheese monster, ordered the usual grilled cheese sandwich. We also ordered an apple pie to share and raisin bread for take out since we heard that Bag of Beans' version is better than Baguio Country Club's (and it is! but we still like Palaganas Bakery's version best).
Since the boys were tired and did not get to nap, they slept early that night. Arn and I spent the rest of the evening watching the Swedish versions of The Girl with A Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire while drinking Mudslide and eating the leftover chicharon bulaklak.
We availed of the free breakfast of the hotel the following day. I had vegetable omelette while Arn had daing na bangus. We ordered and paid for the boys' breakfasts - chicken adobo for Gael and tapa for Araw. We ended up paying more for these two meals than for our lunch-cum-dinner the day before! ( Pero dahil libre naman ang accommodation, sige na nga :)
After breakfast, we headed off to Caleruega to hear Sunday mass at the Chapel of the Transfiguration.
Then, lunch at Sonya's Garden. While Sonya's Garden is always a must-stop for us every Tagaytay trip (we love their spanish bread!), this was Arn's and the boys' first time to dine at their restaurant. We had a leisurely lunch - we arrived at 11am and finished eating at around 2:30pm. Masarap lahat! Arnie, the non-veggie eater, had a lot of salad refills. Gael, the cheese monster, enjoyed "accidentally" opening the cap of the parmesan cheese container and eating all those small mountains of cheese na natapon "raw" on his pasta. Araw, the picky eater, also ate a lot during that lunch. He even requested na patagong maitake out ang mga turon. Marunong ring pumili ng masarap ang mga anak namin.
We paid P610 each for adults, kids are at 50% off (+ service charge and VAT).
the various toppings for the pasta, and the choice for dips and spreads for the whole wheat sesame bread
dessert: chocolate cake, turon, matamis na kamote and tarragon tea
Pictorial around the compound after lunch
Before heading back to Manila, we gave in to our boys' requests to fly kites and ride horses at Picnic Grove. You can buy a kite for P100 (ours was free from Jolly Kiddie Meal), and rent a horse for P150 per hour (or P300 if you want to ride the horse at their Adventure Trail).
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