Day 3 of PH Wedding Vacation: Time with Family

It's our third day in Manila. The agenda for today is to spend time with Uncle Deo, Aunt Vickie, and cousin Stacy. They are family on mom-side who flew all the way from the US to celebrate our wedding.

Breakfast

We (Jomar, me, Ate Ro, Kuya, and Baya) had breakfast at Chowking. It's always sweet and fun to spend time with the siblings.

After eating breakfast, Kuya Lito (our ABC car rental driver) arrived, and we picked up mother from the condominium, and off we go to Grass Residences near SM North EDSA. We, finally, saw Uncle, Auntie, and cousin.

The last time we saw them was 2017 (I think) when they visited us in Vancouver after their Alaska cruise but before their flight back to California. Kuya didn't see them at that time because they're busy working so the last time he saw them was more than ten years ago during our first time in the US.

Intramuros

We drove through Quezon Avenue and Espana, saw Quiapo Church, then inside Intramuros. Jomar and I finalized our requirements inside Manila Cathedral while the rest of the group went inside the Church. I even "practiced" walking down the aisle.

San Augustine Church

We also stopped by San Augustine Church because Ate Stacy liked history and old churches, but my siblings found outside too hot, so it's just me, cousin, and Jomar who went down the van.

Lunch

By the time we got back inside the van (which is like only 5 minutes), they are hungry. We decided to eat at Aristocrat along Roxas Blvd.

We ordered so many things I don't even remember. Baya also got this giant cookie after lunch.

Cookie as big as Kuya's face

Luneta

Of course, a required visit to Luneta / Rizal Park is a must. It was scorching and of course, now that we've lived in Canada for more than two years - it feels even hotter!

My fave section of Luneta Park

We walked all the way until the next block and called Kuya Lito already to pick us up. Thank God that the van has excellent airconditioning!

Lolo Tiyo

My mom and Aunt Vickie are sisters. Grandpa died when mom was only 2 years old. Grandma died in the US almost 20 years ago. Grandma has one living brother left and my siblings, and I grew up fondly calling him Lolo Tiyo (translated to Grandpa Uncle).

We visited him at his place. He's now over 90 years old, but his memory is still sharp. He still remembers all of us.

My fondest memory of Lolo is when he helped me with my planting assignment. We were supposed to plant any fruit or vegetable that we like and bring it to school. I chose tomatoes. I didn't have green thumbs. The plant did grew but it didn't bear any fruits. I gave it to Lolo since he lived closed by. After two weeks, there were tomatoes in the same plant. I was filled with joy.

After a tiring day, we dropped off Uncle Deo, Aunt Vickie, and Cousin Stacy back to Grass Residences while we went back to Pioneer and called it a day. I'm tired yet happy.

For dinner, mom, Jomar, and I ate at Tokyo Tokyo.