Travel

Baguio Birthday Weekend: Panagbenga at Hotel Elizabeth

March 19, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 2 Comments

A week after our Hotel H2O staycation, the boys and I headed up north to spend my birthday weekend in Baguio. Coincidentally, our trip also fell on the parade weekend of Baguio’s Panagbenga Festival, the annual fiesta of the city. I was excited to be in the City of Pines during their most festive season because I really had a great time at Panagbenga years ago, and also because the strawberries in Baguio are the plumpest, juiciest, and sweetest during this season.

We left for Baguio bright and early on a fine Saturday morning!

We had lunch as soon as we got to Bagiuo, and right after we proceeded to our hotel. We arrived a little after 2PM, just in time to check in. Unfortunately, we were advised by the front desk that the room we were supposed to stay in hadn’t been cleaned yet because the previous occupants were stuck in traffic and still weren’t able to check out. They apologized and served us coffee and juice at Cafe Flora, the hotel restaurant, while we waited. Luckily, since we were there during Panagbenga season, there was a lot going on at the hotel lobby and so we didn’t really mind waiting. They were showing movies on a wide screen at Cafe Flora, there was a cultural presentation at the lobby, and a design your own cupcake activity for the kids.

We finally got to check into our room at a little past 3PM. We booked a Deluxe Single Room through Agoda, and it was the perfect size for our small family. The room was fairly simple, but was really clean and smelled nice. Being that we were in Baguio, there was no airconditioning in the room, and instead we had a nice big window and a ceiling fan to keep us cool. I love that the three of us can still fit into one big bed. At the rate that our little MrC is growing though, it won’t be long until we’ll be forced to spend on an extra bed for him.

The Deluxe Single Room comes with the following basic amenities:

Queen-sized bed
21″ Cable television
Telephone
Ceiling Fan
Electronic safety deposit box
Vingcard/Electronic door locking system
Mini-bar refrigerator
Imported sheets
Covered duvet/comforter
Private toilet and bath with hot and cold shower
Hair dryer
Coffee / Tea maker

In the room

Before heading to the hotel, we had lunch at Cafe by the Ruins.

In the bathroom

Bathroom. Me in the mirror. Behind me is a closet.

Our room came with buffet breakfast for two at Cafe Flora on both days. We didn’t mind paying for an extra buffet coupon for the little boy since the price was super reasonable. They have a pretty good spread with rice and several viands, bread, pancakes, soup, salad, fresh fruits and cereal. They also offer juice and coffee with your meal. I wasn’t able to take photos of the buffet because there were a lot of people dining on both mornings and I didn’t want to be a bother.

Our first morning in Baguio was the day of the float parade along Session Road. I had absolutely no plans of braving the crowd at Session, and so I was really happy that the hotel was projecting a live feed of the parade on their big screen during breakfast.

Breakfast on our second day in Baguio. — Having breakfast while watching the parade.

MrC's breakfast plate. — MrC’s breakfast plate.

With a guitar made of flowers at the hotel lobby. — With a guitar made of flowers.

We took a few more photos of ourselves goofing around in the room before we head out to do what we planned that morning.

A week before our Baguio trip, we stayed overnight at Hotel H2O.

I think that the prettiest part of Hotel Elizabeth is the garden in front of the hotel. That and the small cluster of gazebos located out front as well. Everything looked so picturesque from the street that we had to take photos there after we checked out, before we set off on our long journey home.

View from the garden fronting the hotel.

Hotel Elizabeth-11 — We literally parked on the driveway just to take photos.

Hotel Elizabeth-12 — Thanks for a wonderful stay, Hotel Elizabeth!

+Points
+ Super helpful staff. They even gave me a map when I asked for directions.
+ Clean and comfortable room.
+ Good selection of breakfast items in the buffet.
+ Secure basement parking.
+ It’s on the quiet side of the city, so you really get to rest.

-Points
– I can’t think of any! I really enjoyed staying at this hotel. We’ll be back for sure.

Hotel Elizabeth Baguio
# 1 J. Felipe Street corner Gibraltar Road,
Baguio City
Phone: (074) 619-0367
Fax: (074) 442-3940
Central Reservation: (632) 912-2691 & 912-8000
Email: reservations@hotelelizabeth.com.ph
Tweet: @hotelelizabeth
www.hotelelizabeth.com.ph

Sleeping with the Fishes at Hotel H2O

March 17, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 2 Comments

Luca Brasi isn’t the only one who sleeps with the fishes. We’ve (literally) done that too, twice! Actually, the first time it was with fish, and the second time we were surrounded by jellyfish. Both were really fun staycation experiences we’ve had at Hotel H2O in the Manila Ocean Park complex.

Baguio Birthday Weekend: Lunch at Cafe by the Ruins

March 2, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan Leave a Comment

Welcome to Baguio! We finally arrived after six hours on the road.

The drive up Kennon Road left us all hungry so we decided to grab lunch before checking in at our hotel. Straight to Cafe by the Ruins we went, much to the delight of Mr C. He and I have fond memories of this place from many years ago. Back in 2005, we discovered that I was pregnant on the morning of a work trip to Baguio. Cafe by the Ruins was our last stop on that trip, and we knew we had to face reality once we got back to Manila.

Fast forward a few years, and there we were again, waiting to be seated with the little boy who traveled with us by tummy all those years ago. The lunch crowd was starting to pour in and there were about five groups in line before us. At that moment, I was extremely thankful that my son can sit quietly with a book or magazine, and that I bought him the new K-Zone before we left Manila.

Reminds me of myself at that age with my Sweet Valley Kids books!

Visit Isdaan in Tarlac en route to Baguio. Read about our visit to their Laguna branch.

I decided to look around a bit while waiting instead of taking the seat that was offered to me. After all, we’d already been sitting for several hours in the car. I honestly don’t remember what the place looked like when I last visited. In my mind though, things look pretty much the same.

Panagbenga2013-17 — View from the parking lot

Panagbenga2013-13 — Jam and other stuff for sale

At the waiting area, there's a wall with posters and announcements about activities around Baguio — At the waiting area, there’s a wall with posters and announcements about activities around Baguio

One of my fave restaurants north of Metro Manila is Xtremely Xpresso!

I came back and the boys were still reading

We were finally seated after about fifteen minutes at a table on the second floor. I liked it up there because it was bright without being too bright (I have glare issues), and not as busy as the downstairs area. The only thing I didn’t like was that the floor shook whenever someone walked by. I’m not used to being on shaky second floors, and the movement made me a bit dizzy.

Panagbenga2013-23 — The upstairs dining area

Panagbenga2013-24 — Al fresco dining, view from the top

Panagbenga2013-22 — Indoor dining, view from the top

I’m so happy that my favorite thing to eat at Cafe by the Ruins is a fish dish, perfect for my no-walking-meat-for-lent-mode. I ordered Ole Nick’s Open Face Tuna Sandwich, while the boys split an order of Bagnet with Sinigang Soup. I got worried that we might have a hard time with the kid when I realized that they serve red mountain rice and not white rice. Thankfully, he liked the red rice and he finished his entire plate. This is great because I love red rice, and I think it would be nice if we switched to mountain rice or brown rice once we move into our own place. Wishful thinking, planning, hoping and dreaming. 🙂

Ole Nick's Open Face Tuna (Php 190.00) — Ole Nick’s Open Face Tuna (Php 190.00)

If you can afford to waste a little time on the road, visit C’ Italian Dining in Pampanga.

The little boy's very own plate of red mountain rice. (Php 25.00) — The little boy’s very own plate of red mountain rice. (Php 25.00)

Sinigang Soup Sour vegetable soup. Comes with the Baguio Bagnet meal. — Sinigang Soup
Sour vegetable soup. Comes with the Baguio Bagnet meal.

Baguio Bagnet (Php 300.00) Crispy friend pork belly served with bagoong (shrimp paste) and tomato relish. — Baguio Bagnet (Php 300.00)
Crispy friend pork belly served with bagoong (shrimp paste) and tomato relish.

+Points
+ Great ambiance!
+ Attentive servers. It was easy getting their attention even from the 2nd floor.
+ Big servings
+ Food is great, as always!
+ Lots of parking available

-Points
– There’s was a bit of a wait for a table, but it’s probably only because we were there during a really busy season.

Cafe by the Ruins will always be one of my faves in Baguio. We don’t get to go here every time we make a trip up north, but I’m really glad we got to visit this time. I’m also super happy that my little boy loved their food. I’m definitely including this place as on our “must-visit list” for our next Baguio vacation.

Cafe by the Ruins
23 Chuntug Street,
Baguio City, Philippines
(+6374) 442 4010
cafebytheruins@gmail.com
Mon – Sun: 7:00 am – 9:00 pm

This is the second post in my Baguio Birthday Weekend Series. Please also check out my other Baguio Birthday Weekend Posts:
* The Long and Winding Road to Three Days of Family Fun

PS Check out these great blog posts about Cafe by the Ruins on Our Awesome Planet and Go! Jackie Go.

Baguio Birthday Weekend: The Long and Winding Road to Three Days of Family Fun

March 1, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 3 Comments

My birthday weekend was spent in Baguio with my boys. The trip couldn’t have been scheduled at a better time – February 25 was declared a special holiday for schools so the kiddo had no class, plus it was the weekend of the Panagbenga parades. Panagbenga is Baguio City’s annual Flower Festival. I had been to Panagbenga once before, about 8 years ago, for work. This trip was our first long road trip involving just the three of us, and we were all really excited.

First photo of the trip. Oops, the little boy can't be seen! — First photo of the trip. Oops, the little boy can’t be seen!

The flash was so bright! Lol. Off we go!

We left a little before sunrise on a Saturday. I knew that there was a parade scheduled early in Baguio that day, and that the Hot Air Balloon Festival was happening in Clark. I had a feeling that we’d hit heavy traffic if we left too early. I may have been right, since our drive was steady and traffic-free.

Roadtrip Retrospective: Laguna-bound!
[Read more…] about Baguio Birthday Weekend: The Long and Winding Road to Three Days of Family Fun

Togetherness at Laiya Coco Grove

February 10, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 3 Comments

It’s been pretty quiet on the blog so far this month. That’s because I’ve been quite busy. Aside from the blessing of new clients and new projects I’ve also been spending a lot of time with family. My cousin and her husband and kids came home from the US for a few weeks, and all of us cousins have been getting together for fun Togetherness Sessions.

Last weekend was the big outing for the year, a trip to Laiya Coco Grove. Usually my cousins and their families go to Boracay over the holidays and we get left behind because of work or school and prior commitments. This year, since a lot of us are working, and since the trip got moved to January instead of the Christmas season, we opted for just an overnight beach getaway that didn’t involve flying.

After weeks of planning, we ended up at Laiya Coco Grove simply because the tree houses looked so cute on the website. Mr C and I went there about 8 years ago, and I remember the place being nice and quiet and quaint. You can tell from our old photos that the trip happened before we became parents, at a time when I actually had some sort of waistline. LOL.

Read about our first ever trip to Laiya Coco Grove

We drove to Batangas bright and early on a Saturday morning and arrived at the resort before noon. Our rooms were available early, which was great. We all got to settle down and freshen up before lunch. Mr C, the little boy and I shared a tree house with my mom, my sister and her boyfriend. I noticed as we walked from the reception area to our tree house that there were a lot of ongoing renovations in the resort.

The Tree House That Laiya Coco Grove Built

January 24, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan Leave a Comment

My second beach trip for the year is coming up in a week and a half, and I’m really excited. Our first was last January, right at the start of the year. We visited my dad’s Fishville in Cavite. Two weekends from now, I’ll be off to Laiya with my cousins, our moms and our families and significant others. It’s one of the trips I included in my list of places I’m excited to visit this year. My family spent a few days in Laiya for Chinese New Year last year (that’s a blog post I still have not got around to writing), and I’m excited to be back there this year with an even bigger group. We’re only staying for one night though, but that’s okay. It’s definitely going to be fun, and a welcome break from life.

I think this year we’re staying at Laiya Coco Grove, in a tree house along the beach. I’ve been there once before, in 2005 if I remember correctly. I’m looking forward to going back there to see how the resort has improved over the years. Their website definitely looks more put together than before, and I was told that there’s a pool now. Back then, only half of the place was operational. What I do remember is that they had really good food. Hope it’s still that way.

I actually unearthed some old photos from that ’05 Coco Grove trip when I cleared out my Multiply account late last year, and I thought it might be fun to post them here. And then I’ll share new vacation photos when we get back, along with more info about the place. So without further ado, I present to you ancient vacation photos from several years and many pounds ago. Haha!

This was our first time to go out of town together sans family members. — This was our first time to go out of town together.

How’s that for Throwback Thursday? Isn’t the place cute? What are your vacation plans for 2013? Have you gone anywhere since the year began? I’d love to hear from you!

Much love and happiness,

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