Saying Goodbye to Aunts Juliet and Mercy

Today, my mom, my dad, and I went on a trip to visit my Aunts Mercy and Juliet. Both happen to live in the same village an hour’s drive from where we live. It is called Ayala Alabang. Aunt Juliet’s driver came to pick us up in a huge and comfy SUV called Starex. Although we were very comfortable in the car, I was glad when the long drive was over. Aunt Juliet’s house was very big and royal/posh. We went inside which was even posher. We met Aunt Juliet and her dogs Pumpkin (ginger) and Pow-Pow (white). They were giant French Poodles who loved jumping on me and chasing me. They were very friendly although at first I thought they were fierce because they were so big.

While my mum talked with Aunt Juliet, my dad and I played a game of table tennis (ping-pong) at the lanai area. Mum later took Dad’s place in the game of ping-pong. Then we had afternoon tea. We ate sautéed noodles (pancit canton), pichi-pichi, which is a cassava cake (cassava is similar to taro) with grated coconut, broas (a sweet biscuit), and sans rival, which is a buttery cake with crunchy wafer-like pastry layers. The food was so good, we even took some home. Then we continued the game of ping-pong. Me vs. Dad. I was losing because my Dad’s a good player. My mom took over again but this time I won. Yay!

We said goodbye to Aunt Juliet and were driven to Tita Mercy’s house. I’ve been here several times before and knew everyone and felt at home. I went upstairs and played on the Playstation 2 for quite a long time with my cousin, Jacob. We played Sims 2. For dinner, Aunt Mercy cooked up a Japanese meal consisting of sushi, shrimp tempura , Japanese fried rice, and a delicious banana split (without the banana which went missing; somebody ate it). Then we had to go, because it was getting dark and we had a long drive ahead of us, so we all said “Bye” and we got driven home. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!

Canyonwoods in Tagaytay Day 2:

I woke up very early and had breakfast. We were all raring to go swimming though it was still cold. At about 8:30 am, my cousins, my aunts, my mom and I walked to the open-air pools. There was a 25 metre one and a children’s pool. The water was very cold and we shivered when we rose from the water. It was much better after the sun came out.

After an hour’s swimming, we headed home to change. We passed a mini-golf course on the way. It had little windmills, loops and other cool obstacles. We rested for a while, then had a long game of badminton, but the wind kept blowing so hard, we couldn’t play properly. So we went inside.

At about 12 noon, we all got in to the car and drove to a restaurant called Carlos’s Pizza, where we had a very good view of Taal Volcano and Taal Lake. Two in the group went to a Japanese restaurant called Teriyaki Boy. I ate pizza and a creamy pesto pasta. It was delicious! Pia had cannelloni and pizza. Alexandra and Katrina both had pizza and fetuccine. Then four of us went to Starbucks. Pia, Isa and I all had Hot Chocolate. Then we got into the car and drove off. I saw a lot of mango plants on the way back home, and had glimpses of the famous lake as we wound our way out of Tagaytay. Bye!

Canyonwoods in Tagaytay Day 1:

Today we are going out of town, to a place called Tagaytay. According to the town’s website: “Tagaytay offers a breathtaking sight of the famous Taal Lake – a lake within an island within a lake.” My mum said it is also the site of one of the smallest, if not the smallest, volcanoes in the world, Taal Volcano.
We woke up early, packed our stuff and had a big breakfast. We were a group of three cars, I was in the car with Katrina and Alexandra. We drove endlessly while I played HARRY POTTER UNO! It would take us nearly two hours before we reached Tagaytay. On the way, we stopped for a quick lunch at KFC. We all shared a variety bucket with rice. Then we hit the road again. One by one, the cars reached the gate of a resort called Canyonwoods. We parked the cars, got out of the car to stretch and met everyone in the group. Then it was time to go to the clubhouse, where we got directions to our temporary home.
It was fun when we finally got to the house. We unpacked everything and put our things in the different rooms assigned to us. We all played a lot, lots of badminton and running in the hilly roads of Canyonwoods. We wanted to go swimming but it was too late. Then it was time for dinner.
After dinner, my mom and dad went out for a walk to the lagoon. My mom came back and invited all of us for a walk to see the beautiful lights hanging from the trees near the lagoon. Four of us decided to stay behind. We waited and chatted, made some drawings and then talked some more, until the others came home.

My Violin Lessons

I also enjoyed the violin lessons I had in the Philippines with Teacher Melissa. She taught me: the bowing position, how to handle the violin, and the music piece Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in five variations. The variations are: Froggy Froggy Jump Jump; Thank You Mama, Thank You Papa; Run Isa Run; Dragonfly; Long Bows with Stops. The last variation is the original.

The Food:

I love the food in the Philippines, especially the ones prepared at home by the resident cook, Susan. Love her “tortang talong” (eggplant omelette with pork mince), her “lumpiang shanghai” (spring rolls), “pansit canton” (sautéed noodles with meat and vegetables), her adobo (pork stew), and her afritada (chicken in tomato sauce with potatoes, carrots and peas). She cooks pasta with fresh local tomatoes. I put heaps of it on my plate and actually finish it.

Then there were the fast-food joints, of which I love Jollibee the most. Their “Champ” hamburger is tops. A bonus is the prices. A value meal (of a cheeseburger, chips and a drink) at a McDonald’s in the Philippines costs about P50.00 (fifty pesos). This is about A$1.25 (at a currency conversion rate of A$1 : P40.00).

Visiting La Mesa Dam Eco Park with my Cousins

Today, my Aunt Nancy decided me and my cousins should visit the Eco Park. We brought junior walkie talkies and a base station with us. On our way, we stopped to get some KFC, some fries and drinks. We were joined by Aunt Myrna’s family including my cousins Alexandra and Katrina. From the parking area, we walked all the way to a stand where we got tickets to enter. We found a bench and table where we can first put our things. Then all the kids and Uncle Hector (Aunt Myrna’s husband) climbed up the hill to see the dam. I went with them. I was second to reach the top. I stood on some bricks to see the dam. Them I went back down. I ran to the table and had a nice ice cold drink of water because I was sweating a lot. Then, we went to a meadow on a small hill and took some photos. Then we went on to the fitness trail. We climbed up poles and jumped over poles and swung from the monkey bars. Then we went to a really big hill. I was the first one up at the top, but halfway we took more pictures. I was going really fast but Katrina beat me going down. I went back to the table with everyone and drank lots of water. Then it was time to say “goodbye” to each other and go back home. There we finished off the KFC.