Day 6 and 7 of PH Vacation. Jomar's Hometown

By Celine -
This post is first of my PH vacation series:


It's Thursday - our 6th day in the Philippines and our goal for today is meet friends in the morning and off to Jomar's hometown of Naic, Cavite to spend more time with his family.

Breakfast with College Best Friend

If you've been reading my blog (I don't think anyone does), I'm consistent with the people I meet. The last time I went back to Manila, I met exactly the same set of friends. I don't have a lot of friends (like my sister, Therese or my dad) but the ones I have, I treasure dearly.

I had breakfast with my college best friend, Joanne. We went to the Pancake House at Robinson's Place - Otis. It's amazing to catch up with her and talk about career, engagement, wedding, and marriage.

With my college best friend, Joanne

Joanne and I spent 4 hours (from 9 am to 1 pm) just catching up. I'm so glad Pancake House is not busy and they didn't kick us out. Meanwhile, Jomar had breakfast and lunch with Alvin Chan (one of the Community Friends who kept in touch with us all these years).

Heading to Naic, Cavite

After brunch, Alvin dropped us off at Mall of Asia terminal. I saw a Kwek-Kwek stall and just had to eat some before boarding a public van. 


Jomar and I paid for a whole row (for 4 people) of the van which we took up to Tanza, Cavite where we transferred to an air-conditioned bus. 

Inside of the van

Taking public transportation wasn't that bad because it's not rush hour but it reminded me of why leaving the Philippines was the right decision.

Friends

We arrived in Naic at around 3:30 PM. We rested for a bit and played with Jhaira (our niece). Jomar scheduled to meet all his godchildren (inaanak). We were able to meet 4 of them - Ela, Rafaela, Kattlynne, and Kiel. 


It's always nice to meet Jomar's friends from college and all their adorable kids.

This is Kattlynne. She's 3 and we had fun building a "tower" out of bottles on the table. She looks so fascinated and proud of what we did.

Dinner with Jomar's mentor

After an hour or so, we had dinner with Jomar's mentor, Ma'am Pil. She's an inspiration and served as Jomar's mentor during his college years. She's well-loved by all her student for her honesty and genuine care for them.

Ma'am Pil and Rafaela

Family

After dinner, we spent the night in Jossel and Rose's home. We were exchanging stories with Nanay and Tatay until 11:00 pm. The following day, I woke at 6:00 am to Tatay buying pandesal and Nanay informing us that Jossel and Rose just left for work (it's a Friday).

View from the balcony.

Jhaira just woke up and we were enjoying the sunrise on their balcony. I spent the morning playing with Jhaira. She fell asleep in my lap and while she sleeps, Tatay and I were discussing married life in Canada for me and Jomar. On the other hand, Jomar spent the time talking to Shelly while Nanay was cooking lunch.

Our favourite and only niece!

After a couple of hours, I took a quick shower and was preparing to leave. The hours we spent in Cavite is always great. I leave with so much love - saying goodbye to Jhaira is tough. Though, I am glad that we're coming back in less than 5 months for the wedding.

Back in Manila

We arrived back in Manila at around 3:00 pm and was able to rest (I even took a nap) before dinner with our O&B friends.

Dinner with O&B Friends

Jomar and I met at O&B (the first company I worked for out of university). We met our friends and former colleagues to have late dinner at Eat Fresh Hong Kong Famous Street Food.

With Jewel, Carlo, and Panda

We arrived back at our hotel at 1 in the morning. Time to sleep for another long day (Saturday).

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for leaving a comment. I hope to hear from you again soon.

Popular posts from this blog

Food Trip in Camarines Sur

By Celine -
Image
Last October 2013, I was able to visit the City of Naga and below is my food trip in CamSur. Casa Moderna Freshly baked bread on a huge brick oven and some Pancit for snacks on a lazy afternoon. That's how I enjoyed the soft pastry and meaty Pancit in Casa Moderna. Currently, they have five branches all in Naga City. Be sure to visit at least one of them. Meaty Palabok
Continue reading >>

My first Philly Cheesesteak from The American Cheesesteak Co.

By Celine -
Image
Growing up in the Philippines, I only heard of the famous Philly Cheesesteak in movies or when watching Food Network. Thus, it shouldn't come as a surprise that last Satuday was the first time I tried a Philly Cheesesteak from The American Cheesesteak Co. in Vancouver. I have an uncle and cousins in Philadelphia and when I visit my goal is to try a Philly Cheesesteak while in Philly. The same way I was so estatic to eat Japanese Katsu Curry in Japan and Vigan Empanada in Vigan. The American Cheesesteak Co. Jomar and I went to St. Paul's Hospital for the last weekend of Lights of Hope and decided to have dinner here. Why? First, it's close to Granville Street where we will take the bus going home and second, I remember seeing the You Gotta Eat Here episode featuring them. Therese and I are attempting to try most of the restaurants John Catucci went to. Here's a map of restaurants the show visited in BC as of Season 5. The Philly VS New Yorker Since it's
Continue reading >>

Food Trip near La Salle Taft: Exile on Main Street

By Celine -
Image
+Joshua  has been raving that we try this restaurant along Leon Guinto Street, walking distance from De La Salle University-Manila. Last August 16 (Saturday), we (+Jomar, +Wayne, and Mitch) gave it a shot. We went there a little before 6:00 PM, and thankfully, we arrived at that time! There's a board games night (every Saturday from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM) organized by a group of people so the place could get noisy and crowded during Saturday evening. According to Josh and his friend, it's not usually like that. The Service The service is okay. The waiter who served us didn't smile at all. He also looked tired and impatient. At first, I was a bit disappointed by that, but I just told myself that it's okay. I mean, I could imagine how tired he might be running around getting and serving orders from all the people inside such a small place! Still, the service could have been better. The Food What it lacked on service, it compensates with the yummy food.  +Wayne  h
Continue reading >>