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Vacation

Our Frog-Less Weekend at Villa Escudero Plantations and Resort

December 16, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 5 Comments

Last November, the Cuyugan and de Jesus families came together at Villa Escudero for the grand wedding of Ate Baban and Kuya Cy. Both families had been looking forward to this wedding, and of course for the fun togetherness time we would all be spending with each other. I have been to Villa Escudero several times before, but I’ve never stayed there overnight so I was excited about the experience, but there was something that I was really anxious about. The title of this post is actually a major clue as to what my big hangup was. Lake + plantation/grass/forest = FROGS. Yes, I am admittedly 100% afraid of frogs.

No frogs here

 

Mine is not your ordinary froggy fear. I would say that mine is rather extreme, and involves a lot of cursing, crying, hyperventilating, and possibly pinching/dragging/slapping/pushing the poor unfortunate soul who is with me whenever a frog makes its presence felt. And this doesn’t just happen when I see a frog. Fear triggers within me whenever I hear the croaks, see them on TV or in photos, even when I am simply made aware that, yes, there are frogs in the area. I actually skipped dissection in school because I freaked out and cried. In case you were wondering, there is actually a long childhood story behind this fear that I will maybe write about eventually.

No frogs here, either

 

Back to our weekend vacation, which was, thankfully, frog-free despite our second night there being a rainy one. We arrived late in the afternoon of Friday, after a very easy drive with very little traffic. We stayed for two nights, and our Sunday morning drive home was quick and easy too, thanks to the Pacquiao fight that day. We all really enjoyed our stay, and now I’d like to share with you my five favorite things about our weekend at Villa Escudero Plantations and Resort.

 

1. The Room

The only time I felt the presence of frogs was in the evenings, when their ribbit-ribbits rang out from the mangroves across the lake. I knew that they were far away, though and I was able to ignore them. We also stayed in an airconditioned room, so I was spared from having to endure an entire evening of froggy serenades. Some might say that staying in an aircon room totally defeats the purpose of being out there, so close to nature, in a place that is naturally beautiful. To an extent, I agree. I also have to say that the non-aircon rooms are equally beautiful as the ones we stayed in. It also is cool and breezy at night, so the large ceiling fans in most of the rooms really do the trick. But for my own peace of mind, I am so glad that we were in an airconditioned suite.

The funny thing is, I just realized that I have only one photo of our room. It’s not a very good picture, and the room was messy and I think it might have been taken accidentally. I’m also walking through the door at that very moment and, well, it’s really an unflattering shot.

Please ignore me in this photo

 

We were on the second floor of the Gumamela Suites, a large cottage with a total of four rooms in it. Each room can be booked separately, or you can opt to rent the entire Gumamela house like we did, if you are a big group. All in all, I think we were 9 adults and 2 kids, and we still had enough space to squeeze more people in. The rooms look exactly the same, except that we had a queen bed upstairs, while the downstairs rooms had twin beds. The rooms downstairs had a bigger alfresco space, with a dining area as well as a balcony with a hammock. All rooms also had a daybed with a pullout, and there were additional daybeds out on the balconies.

Here’s little CJ, relaxing on a hammock (This photo belongs to Cy de Jesus)

 

2. The View

The great thing about having a balcony is that it offered us a magnificent view of the lake. It’s so relaxing, just lounging on the day beds and hammocks, watching people paddle by on bamboo rafts, and just enjoying the stillness. It’s a big, welcome change from the chaos that we face every day in the city.

From our balcony with a view
The Pavilion, as seen from our rooms (This photo belongs to Cy de Jesus)

 

3. No TV!

No, I’m not crazy. I really did say that one of my favorite things about this place is the absence of TV sets in the rooms. I tend to get annoyed when my companions zone out in front of the screen and lock themselves in the room when we’re on vacation. After all, we are there to spend time with one another, to talk and take photos, build memories and enjoy each others’ company. Without a TV in sight, we had to go and find other things that we could do, and more often than not, those turned out to be things that we did together, like fishing! You can fish from the first floor balcony of the Gumamela Suite, and I think that the adults had more fun doing this than the children did. On the first night, the de Jesus’ caught a small fish, which was thrown back into the water after a quick photo op. If you don’t feel like fishing, you can go swimming, check out the museum, and just explore the grounds. There’s a lot to see at Villa Escudero, and lots of  nice places for photo ops, too!

Here’s Little MrC, fishing on our last morning at the resort
Here are Faye and Bubuy de Jesus, rafting down the river (This photo belongs to Cy de Jesus)

 

4. Yummy Filipino Food

This is a great place to bring balikbayans, if only for the yummy Pinoy dishes they serve buffet style each day. For an overnight stay, you get one meal at the waterfalls, same as the day visitors. Then dinner and breakfast are served in the pavilion, which is the same place where they hold the cultural presentation. Because we arrived late in the afternoon, we missed lunch on the first day. Then on the second day, we joined the pavilion lunch group instead of using our waterfall stubs because we were in the middle of preparing for the wedding, and it seemed like a really silly idea going down to the falls with full makeup on. You can read about lunch at the waterfalls from one of my previous visits here.

Enjoying breakfast with my mom- and dad-in-law

 

5. Excellent Service and Super Friendly Staff

One thing I look for in any place I visit is hospitality from their staff. This is, after all, part of their jobs, being that they are in the hospitality industry. I hate it when I see restaurant, resort or hotel employees who look so unhappy to be there, and are so unapproachable. The people at Villa Escudero are the complete opposite, always smiling, greeting the guests, and granting our requests. They are eager to answer questions about the food, the resort, and the available activities. The great service that they provided really helped to make our stay there extra pleasant.

Family photo!

The thing about Villa Escudero is that it’s quite pricey. You can check out the published rates on their website here. The package does include full-board buffet meals though, and you have access to the different amenities of the resort, plus you get to experience the carabao cart ride. I think that it’s worth saving up for if this is the sort of weekend escape that you are looking for – outdoorsy, but not all that rural. It’s a perfect retreat for city dwellers like me, who are too attached to certain luxuries and creature comforts to go camping, but would like to spend an evening or two surrounded by nature.

 

Villa Escudero Plantations and Resort
San Pablo City, Philippines

Manila Office: 1059 Estrada Street, Malate 1004 Metro Manila
Phone: (632) 521-0830 / (632) 523-0392 / (632) 523-2944
Fax: (632) 521-869
E-mail: info@villaescudero.com
Provincial Mailing Address: P.O. Box 4 San Pablo City 400, Philippines

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: Laguna, Philippines, Quezon, Vacation, Villa Escudero Plantations and 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!

View from the balcony
View from the balcony
Inside our tree house!
Inside our tree house!
Mr C during his Emo Boy days
Mr C during his Emo Boy days
And me in all my college girl glory
And me in all my college girl glory
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.
Mr C :)
Mr C 🙂
Out on the beach!
Out on the beach!
Payat ko pa noon no?
Payat ko pa noon no?
Looking up
Looking up
Tree house!
Tree house!

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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Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: Batangas, Beach, Laiya, Laiya Coco Grove, Vacation

Real Coffee Boracay’s Famous Calamansi Muffins

December 10, 2012 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 2 Comments

One of my friends told me not to leave Boracay without trying Real Coffee’s calamansi muffin. So on our last day on the island, Mr C and I went in search of the coffee shop after an early morning mass in Bisaya. It took us a while, but we finally found the quaint little place in one of the alleys off the beach area.

We’re here!

The first thing I noticed when we entered was how wonderful the whole place smelled. The aroma of all the goodies baking in their ovens made my tummy grumble and my mouth water! Mr C, of course, was more interested in the coffee than the pastries.

The menu. I knew right away what I wanted. That’s a first!
I actually had time for a selfie haha!
Meanwhile, Mr C took his time ordering.

While waiting for our orders to arrive, I took a quick look around the place. It has a very homey, provincial feel to it, with photos and sayings on each of the tables. The area where they prepare and pack their backed goods can be seen from the dining area, and the people who work there are really nice, and smile at customers as they come in or leave.

We shared our table with Anne Curtis…
… and Marc Nelson!
Words of wisdom scribbled on paper and displayed at our table.
That’s where the yummy smells were coming from.
I just had to get up at take a closer look. Here are some oatmeal cookies and calamansi muffins waiting for their turn to bake.
Boxes of baked muffins.
These make great pasalubongs!

I have a super sweet tooth, and so I was initially disappointed when I saw that the servings were kinda small. But after having a few bites of the pastries, I realized that they were so rich, and the servings were just right! I had an Iced Coffee because it was so hot and humid that morning, while Mr C decided to try the Real Coffee.

Real Coffee (PHP 100.00)
Brewed coffee plus a shot of espresso
Iced coffee (PHP 80.00)
Brewed coffee over ice
Calamansi Muffin (PHP 45.00)
Brownies for Sweet Lovers (PHP 80.00)
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Brownies

Our visit to Real Coffee was a good way to start our last day in Boracay. The next time we’re in the area, I’d like to try their breakfast meals and other pastries. Can’t wait to bring the little guy there too. I’m sure he would love it. In the meantime, I’m curious to try Pepper.ph’s Calamansi Muffin Food Hack. If it’s as good as the real thing, then it’s a definite win!

One for the road!
REAL COFFEE AND TEA CAFE
Station 2 (Above Sea World)
Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan
(+63 36) 288-5340
PS Don’t you think my holiday watermarks on these photos are so cute? Haha! Just sayin’!

Much love and happiness,

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Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: Beach, Boracay, Calamansi Muffin, Philippines, Real Coffee, Travelogue, Vacation


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Hi, I'm MrsC, a happy wife and mom, a help-less but not helpless homemaker, who is learning to live simply in this complicated world.

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