posted by Jennie on Dec 11
When we left for Tagaytay last Wednesday, we really had no idea where we will stay. We just figured we will look and see and decide when we get there and that is just what we did. We went to check with a couple of B&Bs but were less than convinced so we decided to stay at Tagaytay Haven instead. We will post about our stay there as soon as we get the chance.
posted by Jennie on Sep 26
After the sweet night of bonding the night before at Mines View Park Hotel‘s Function Hall, we all were ready for a full day ahead. But first off, breakfast at Zenz Restaurant. I will be posting more of the feasting we did via our food blog soon.
The staff of Mines View Park Hotel are the most accommodating I have encountered as far as Baguio is concerned. From Sir Buddy, who, by the looks of it (I didn’t ask) might just be the head waiter of the hotel’s restaurant, who made sure that we have what we want, down to the servers, bell boys, receptionist, even the security officer. This for me is a biggie. If a hotel has the most modern of facilities but has crappy service, then the hotel devaluates itself in my head by my personal standards and it is most likely that I will not be seen in that place than otherwise.
the hubby and I at the hotel patio before we left for Strawberry Farm.
posted by Jennie on Sep 26
The bloggers trip to Baguio courtesy of Mines View Park Hotel where the hubby and I just got back home from was fab! There is just no other local place that can beat Baguio. We love it to bits. This is probably why we find ourselves visiting every year since we fell in love with it. If you are from Manila and know how it’s like to live on an average of 30° Celsius on a regular day, then you will understand why.
We have been to Baguio and back a few times and we are definitely adding Mines View Park Hotel in our list of to stay places. It is conveniently located right along the stretch of Mines View Park.
Mines View Park Hotel’s Reception Area (far back) and Zenz Restaurant
posted by Jennie on Sep 17
D-Villa Residence or more commonly known around the city as Holiday Villa was our choice of hotel to stay in Kuala Lumpur. The hubby handed me over this task even as he cannot go around the internet looking over feedbacks and all. I gave him a list of a number of good hotels within our budget and that have good feedback from customers. We booked via Agoda.com. Thanks to Dani Salasalan for the reco! I definitely would not have been able to get the same rate I did if I booked straight with the hotel or via another third party booking company. And for that, I love Agoda! 
This is the view from our room. It may just be a itty bitty slice of the Petronas Twin Towers‘s majesty all right. But it looked no less gallant from where we were.
posted by Jennie on Sep 16
When I booked our MLA-KL-MLA flight November last year, I did not have a clue how we were to transport ourselves to Pampanga where the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport is. It was a relief to learn that we can actually park and fly within the grounds of the airport for P90/day. A huge difference if one has to park and fly in Pasay, which I think charges more than P300.
posted by Jennie on Aug 3
Last Friday, July 20, 2010, I attended “Trek Around Europa,” a culminating event of the Linggo de Lingua Europa 3. It was a collaboration of the Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines and Ateneo de Manila University. The marathon activity ala Amazing Race was held at the Manny V. Pangilinan Building inside the Ateneo University campus in Katipunan.
Students from participating schools all over Manila: Ateneo, Miriam College, UP Diliman, De La Salle College of St. Benilde, Instituto Cervantes Manila, et.al. were first given the floor as they were randomly asked why they think it’s important to learn a foreign language. A handful of students gave their take, including a Chinese exchange student who shared her thoughts about the beauty of exploring different cultures through learning a second tongue. Bloggers and language enthusiasts also graced the event.
Foreign ambassadors and culture representatives of European Union who were present gave short talks as each shared their thoughts about their respective country’s culture and history as they encourage the audience to learn a second language.
posted by Jennie on Jul 24
One of Europe most diverse and picturesque nations, Spain are a wonderful country to explore. One of the reasons that it is such a varied country is that, over the centuries, Spain has been influenced by several peoples due to its location. Even today, Spain is still working on a national identity, but this is more of an asset than a drawback; homogenizing a culture only limits its offerings. Read the rest of this entry »
posted by Jennie on Jul 18
If you need to accessorize your bathroom but you aren’t into anything frilly or pink, don’t despair. There are still plenty of options for you and your bathroom. You can make it look classy and elegant while still clearly showing that a man lives there. Choose dark colors for the accessories and let them complement lighter-colored walls. You can also choose bolder colors, just to make a bit of impact. Read the rest of this entry »
posted by Jennie on May 25
Too cute! This is one of my photos of our little guy while we were touring around Zoobic Safari. My post about our adventure will be up soon. I’m still looking through the close to 1,000 photos I took from that excursion. I’m in the process of editing and resizing. If I could share all the photos here, I would.
posted by Jennie on May 11
It has been over a month since the hubby has been busy taking care of arrangements and schedule for his team’s missions trip to Africa. It is just neat that there are a handful of options now that the internet has been tapped by a lot of traveling agencies. After brushing through the district of Makati where most embassies are, he was finally contacted via email by the person who can help him out with what he needs. All the while my husband thought there was no physical embassy he could go to locally, specifically for that trip.
posted by Jennie on Apr 16
A week after summer camp is over and I’m still waiting for the hubby to take me for a spin. We have not played catch up yet. That’s something we’d have to do before he leaves for Africa in a couple of months. We do have couch times at home. But sometimes we tend to forget especially with both our crazy schedules. I will be out of town twice this week alone, to cover some press and blog events.
posted by Jennie on Jan 25
I knew I just had to blog about it when I found out for myself how easy passport renewal is done via Pilipinas Teleserv. We are scheduled to fly to Malaysia this year and we knew we had to get this done as soon as we were able. My mom who has used Pilipinas Teleserv in the travels that she has done in the last couple of years, was the one who gave me the number to call, (02)737-1000.
I was pleasantly surprised that it was not so hard to access the Pilipinas Teleserv hotline. What I hate about processing documents through the government is having to go through all its hassles. I did not have to endure it this time. I think it helped a lot that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has partnered with third party companies like Pilipinas Teleserv and 2GO courier service.
When I called the hotline the first time, I was told the things to take care of for both passport renewal and first time passport application. I need my passport renewed, while I have to apply a brand new one for my 4 year old son. Too bad, the hubby cannot avail of Pilipinas Teleserv’s services because he lost his old passport and has got to apply directly, the old school way.
Here are the requirements for passport renewal and first time passport application for a minor:
Passport Renewal Requirements
Passport Application Requirements (Minor)
posted by Jennie on Jul 4
Although our first day in Boracay was uneventful, we made sure we hit the beach the second day, as soon as the sun was up. Me and my boys headed to the beach and spent the whole day in the sun. It was so fun to be enjoying the island during the time we were there. Although it usually rained during late afternoons, the rest of the day was always breezy and the sun was never scorching hot.
posted by Jennie on Jul 2
This is our son enjoying the sands of Boracay. It was really sweet to go back where the hubby and I honeymooned in 2001, now with this little tot in tow. Jed was fascinated with so much sand. Although we have been to other beaches before, none was prettier than Boracay. Read the rest of this entry »
posted by Jennie on Jun 28
We left home at 3:45 A.M. last June 16. I was a little stressed over the fact that at 11PM the previous night, the little guy was still awake despite tucking him to bed earlier than usual. Maybe he was as excited as the hubby and I were. Jeff came home around midnight from a night out with our guys barkada from church. We decided that we both will not be sleep anymore, besides we were not done packing yet.
Our little guy was super sleepy as we dressed him to get ready to go. We planned to carry him to the car so he could sleep through while traveling, but he was up as soon as he knew where we were headed. It was sweet that we have a next day neighbor carbarn that we had a previous agreement with. Mang Ross took care of our transit from home to the airport and back again after three days.
