Philippine Adventure: Day 11 & 12 - Stranded

Day 11 - 9 September, 2008 (Tuesday)

It has not stopped raining since the Monday night sudden downpour. Most of the streets around Metro Manila were reported to be underwater. Flashfloods and landslides in some parts of the country hit by typhoon Mace were also reported. Tsk, tsk. Very sad.

And so, in account of rain, I just stayed home. I was also nursing a cold after being drenched in the rain the previous night. Sigh. Not a good time to be sick. My vacation is almost drawing to a close.

- o0o -

Day 12 - 10 September, 2008 (Wednesday)

The Cookies' day started around afternoon. My Cookie and his Ahia picked me up, then we went to pick up his Mama from Quezon City. It was still pouring outside, and when we got there at around 2 pm, we decided to have lunch at the North Park restaurant in Banawe. They said, it is the pioneer branch of the popular Chinese resto. And true enough, food there does fare better than from the branch we frequently visit at the Glorietta in Makati. We ordered for their signature dish Toasted Noodles, Salt and Garlic Pepper Squid, Yang Chow Fried Rice, and Lapu-Lapu Fillet with Tofu Hotpot. It was a pleasant meal.

After that late lunch, we started to head for Makati. It took us around 3 hours to reach Makati. Well, with all the rain and flood, it is but normal in the Philippines. But finally, we got to Makati and proceeded with our little shopping spree.

My Cookie got his Mama a Panasonic Washing Machine. After appliance shopping, we went to the grocery to buy our Singapore supplies. We shelled 1.5K PHP for the groceries, and there are still a couple more items that we need to get. It's just disappointing why the SM Hypermart didn't have the stock for these items. And so, we still need to scout other supermarkets for it. I intend to complete this task before Friday. Otherwise, there won't be anymore time to get them.

When the grocery adventure was done, dinner was served at Heaven 'N Eggs. It has been a while since the Cookies were there. And they have already changed the theme of the walls. The cute angels were replaced by an Eiffel Tower landscape. But the swings were still there! Hurray!

Here are some snaps. ^_^

The Cookies on the Swing at Heaven 'N Eggs. The banner in the background is of eggs with wings. Cute! :))

Shobe and Mama in matching white blouses on the Swing. :))

Philippine Adventure: Day 10 - MOA Day

It's another shopping adventure for the Cookies. This time it is at the SM Mall Of Asia in Pasay City. I've only been to the MOA a handful of times and I don't remember ever seeing the entirety of the mall for the North Wing to the South Wing. Usual, we just stay at the central area - the Main Mall.

A little shopping until we got hungry. Lunch was served at the newly opened TGi Friday's at the Entertainment Mall of MOA. We had tons to eat for lunch - For starters, Three-For-All. I loved the Loaded Potato Skins. When we return to SG, I will attempt to prepare it. *wishful thinking* For the entrees, we had Filipino Liempo, half a slab of Baby Back Ribs, and Chicken and Shrimp Pasta. Too bad, we loaded up really quickly that there was no more room for dessert. Sigh.

At the entrance of the restaurant, they have a life-size statue of Wonder Woman, which was screaming for a photo opp! Hehehe...

And there is another cute little statue of an astronaut at the other exit. Here's a photo of my Shobe with the cute thing. Hehehe...

We all had a hearty laugh while my Cookie snapped this photo with my Samsung G800.

Even the usherette at the TGiF entrance podium found our little antic with the cute statue amusing. :D

This will definitely be a nice primary photo over at Friendster. Hahaha...

Some more shopping, until it was time to head for home. On our way out of the mall via the department store exit, we saw a church. At first my Cookie and I were debating if it is the church that used to be standing in the middle of still a vast area occupied by MOA now. When we got to the church, it indeed was that church - Shrine of Jesus, The Way, The Truth, and The Life.

And since it also happened to be Mama Mary's Birthday, we went in to hear mass.

After the mass, it started to rain. And the rain continued until late last night. If not for the rain, the entire shopping expedition would have been perfect. ^_^

Philippine Adventure: Day 9 - Family Day

We were invited to have lunch at My Cookie's Ahia Alvin's in Las Pinas. It was a long travel coming from Caloocan, but it was a worthwhile trip as everybody had a blast. My Cookie's three nephews have grown since the last time I've seen them in December last year. The youngest one - Adriel, now runs around on his own. And he is the cutest, with such a sweet smile and curly locks. ^_^ But, of course, as all babies are built, they just cry out so loudly and drive you out of your wits.

After lunch, during that idle hour, we played around with the camera and had some photo sessions.

We also strolled the SM Southmall for a quick shopping spree. And when our lunch of chicken barbecue had all been digested, my Cookie and I went for some pasta break at Sbarro. It has been a while since I had some Sbarro pasta, and how the prices has risen. We shelled 300 PHP for half servings of spaghetti and meatballs and baked zitti, plus two large cups of raspberry iced tea.

After refreshments, some more shopping, until it was time to meet up with the Mama and the others. Before heading home, we had a feat of playfulness and agreed to go for a quick roller coaster ride at the Storyland. Hehehe... It was a nice treat for us - Mama, Ahia Alvin, the Cookies and the kids Alger and Gelo.

It was already late when they brought me home, and we were all tired, but it was surely a fun day for everybody.

Philippine Adventure: Day 8 - George and Pia's Wedding

Congratulations, George and Best Wishes, Pia!

It is a wedding to be remembered indeed. Everything was well-planned and organized. And for this, congratulations are also appropriate to all who worked behind the scenes.

My Cookie is the Best Man and so we had to be at the Hotel Inter-Continental Manila early for the photo sessions as well as for some last minute stuff.

At 4 pm, 6 September 2008, it was time. The ceremony was officiated by Bishop Ted Bacani at the St. John Bosco Parish along Arnaiz Avenue in Makati. The Bishop gave the couple wonderful advices on married life and everybody sure found them worthwhile.

The reception followed at The Blue Leaf. The place was also wonderfully decorated. And the tables were nicely setup with pretty centerpieces.

The food catered by Albergus Catering was also great. I specifically loved the roasted beef and mashed potato ensemble. A wide choice of desserts were also setup including a choco fountain. ^_^

As part of the reception programme, a short video clip of the couples pictures were shown. It was a lovely collection of photos. George and Pia look so good together, and they picked the nice outdoor with pretty water and landscape as the venue for their pre-nuptial photo sessions.

For the entertainment, the newly-wed couple gave their guest a treat with a slow dance as part of their grand entrance. All the guests were surprised when Pia dipped George instead. Hehe... George's young nephews and nieces also rendered an upbeat dance number for the guests.

As the wedding party drew to a close, the Matron of Honor, the Best Man (that's my Cookie), the couple's parents and the couples themselves gave their speeches.

Again, Congratulations to the newly-weds. It is such an honor to be part of this special event in George and Pia's life. Hopefully, we'll see little Georges and Pias soon. ^_^

More photos over at my Friendster account. :)

Philippine Adventure: Day 7 - Pampered

Went to the salon to pamper my feet in preparation for tomorrow's affair. I availed of the footspa service as well as a pedicure. My shobe went with me.

After the pampering, a quick trip to the Chowking fast food right across the streen from the salon for some take away. I had the Bihon Guisado and Siomai. I passed for the halo-halo as we already had it last night at Sentro.

So, I guess I am all set for tomorrow. ^_^

I promise to post photos from the wedding.