Our Tagaytay Anniversary Get-Away Escapades 09'

It's our 1st wedding anniversary and our first visit in Tagaytay. Imagine our excitement. 
Everything that happened here was remarkable, lovely and quite a lesson which is worth sharing to everyone.

My husband and i were thinking before the date if are we going to bring our own car or just commute and us commuting won which we did regret afterwards.

By the way, just few tips: 

• Research first the place that you are going stay, 
• Tourist spots and locations that you plan to visit. Based on my experience, preparing itineraries are effective to make everything organize and really planned to truly enjoy your vacay. :)

(June 27,2009)

Travel Time
From our house in Pasig, we rode a jeep going to Cubao and from Cubao we took an LRT to Taft and from Taft a bus going to Tagaytay. Later we found out that there is a bus station in Cubao going to Tagaytay straight. Umikot-ikot pa kami!!! OMG!!!!

• Ride a bus with sign boards of Tagaytay (Olivarez or Mendez) and these buses will drop you off exactly in Rotonda, which is the center of Tagaytay.

Upon arrival in Tagaytay, we check in at Jester Jade rooms, actually upon roaming around, there's alot of inexpensive rooms that you can choose, di nga lang mga kilala pa, after checking in, we rested a little and decided to go out for a late lunch in mahogany market. There are small eateries and canteens that you can choose, the bulalo really taste so good. (forgot the name of the canteen) for P235.00 busog na busog na kami ni hubby :)

The Mahogany Market

How to go to Mahogany Market? 

• From Olivarez (rotonda) ride a jeepney with sign boards of Mendez and Mahogany Market it will only costs you P14.00 (2pax) but if you are going to take a tricycle ride they will charge you P50.00/pax so thats P100" duhhhh!!!! pero, malayo nga naman pala talaga! So i recommend na mag jeep nalang kayo :)

After the amazing lunch at mahogany we just roam around for possible bilihan ng pasalubong then went straight to Pink Sisters Chapel, located along Rotonda too.

Pink Sisters Chapel

What can i say about this church. 

NO ENTRANCE FEE

"Awesome"

The church landscape was superb and well maintained, a good place to unwind, reflect and pray. I really hope that there are Born Again churches like this here in Tagaytay also. It just bothers me that some local tourists thinks that they are in a park for them to be so noisy and they careless. I hope everyone that will go to any church premises, will always bring the word respect at all times. Picture picture lang kami in a silent way :).

It's already 4:00 PM, so we decided to go back to our room and take some nice nap and have our dinner at mushroom burger later on.

Around 7PM we're already on our way to Mushroom Burger to have our dinner, since we dont know how to go there we decided to ask for direction sa mga anak ng may-ari ng Jade Hotel, and the direction we received, bumaba sa Robinson Tagaytay ofcourse and may tricycle na dumadaan papuntang mushroom burger, so sinunod naman namin yung instructions nya. Bumaba kami sa Robinsons Mall and to find our na he's wrong, walang tricycle sa paligid, its on the next street, so we have no choice but to walk nalang, during night time very seldom na ang mga dyip na bumabyahe, we rode a tricycle, the driver charge us P80.00 kasi daw sobrang layo, at di naman pala, parang walang 2 km ang travel namin. Hay, another manlolokong driver.

Mushroom Burger

Finally, we arrived in Mushroom burger, the place for me is okay/average, honestly, not so impressed, Along the entrance door, the tables and chairs alongside are very messy. Upon ordering, the cashier is not approachable, she's not even smiling, which is very important if you're the frontier.

The royal mushroom burger, which is one of their best seller is not that yummy as i am expecting. Another major disappointment that we experienced;

"There are alot of BIG mosquitoes".

I don't know where they came from. Those mosquitoes are gigantic. In short, we did not enjoy the place and our dinner.

We rode back to olivarez, at nag dyip kami, to our amusement, meron palang direstsong byahe, basta "nasugbu" and signage. tsk tsk tsk!!!

Ton-Ton's Thai Massage

To save the night, my husband treat me for a full body massage. Sarap!!!. We had our massage at Ton-Ton Massage Center. The staffs are super nice, upon arrival, they will let you sit first and make yourself comfortable, then they will take off your shoes for your tired feet to be soaked in a luke warm water. The massage was super relaxing too. 

I'm recommending this place for you to visit.

Day 1 Transpo and Major Expenses for 2 pax

Pasig to Cubao = P30.00

Cubao LRT - Taft LRT station = P28.00

Taft - Tagaytay (bus) = P208.00

Olivarez - Mahogany Market = P14.00

Mahogany Market (lunch) = P 235.00

Mahogany - Pink Sisters chapel = P14.00 (jeepney)

Olivarez (rotonda) - Robinson Mall = P14.00 (jeepney)

Robinson - Mushroom Burger = P80.00 (tricycle)

Mushroom Burger (dinner) = P212.00 (exact amount diba)

Mushroom burger - Olivarez = P18.00 (jeepney,imagine the difference!!!)

Ton-Ton Massage = P1000.00 (tip included na)

So that ends our 1st day in Tagaytay :} Tired yet happy because the day ended well!!!

(June 28, 2009)

Today is our most awaited day. Why? 

It's our Anniversary

Officially 1 year na kami as married couple, Thank God for this blessing. Today we promised to really celebrate and di masyadong mag-titipid ;-). Today is special right?

We had our breakfast at the famous "Bag of Beans". We really wanted to taste their barako coffee and blue berry cheese cake!!! yummy. From rotonda, we rode a jeepney with signage of Nasugbo and told the driver to drop us off at bag of beans.

BAG OF BEANS

Upon entering the restaurant, we both said "wow ang ganda" as in, we fell in love with the place, so cozey, so many choices for us to sit on, daming unan, parang nasa bahay lang ang dating. A very good place to start your day for one great breakfast.

We ask for the menu, and quite pricey, hopefully their food taste good, we ordered right away our blue berry cheese cake, coffee and a combo for breakfast. And all tasted very very good. 

Exceeded our expectation!!! Yum yum. #happytummy

the blue berry cheese cake

We took a lot of pictures, pose here and there, what an impressive place, and they had also this talking parrot which is very entertaining, always saying "hi kumain kanaba?" and the bird can change his voice, galing!!!

They do have a bakery also where in you can buy items like coffee beans, different kinds of bread, mugs etc but we only bought a bag of barako beans as pasalubong for my dad.
After the picture taking, we ready ourselves for our next stop, The Caleruega Church "The chuch on top of the Hill"

Mushroom Burger, Bag of Beans and Caleruega Church are all located in the West side of Tagaytay. From Rotonda Olivarez, ride a jeep with signage of Nasugbo and madadaanan mo na sila lahat. :)

THE CALERUEGA CHURCH

From Bag of Beans, we rode a jeepney again heading Caleruega, well i can say MALAYO!!! but for you not to be bored, enjoy the view and inhale the fresh air nalang kasi maganda ang view.

The driver will drop you off at the entrance of a luxurios golf course called Evercrest. Dont worry you're not lost, because you have to ride a tricycle "again". The only way to go to Caleruega Church is to pass by Evercrest. 

Upon arriving in Caleruega, dire-diretso lang kami ni hubby, thinking na this place, since it's a church like Pink Sisters ay walang entrance fee. Know what, hinabol kami ni guard, at sabay sabi "Ma'am, Sir, May entrance po". So we apologized, because we didnt know about the entrance fee, and payed it nalang, in return he gave us a brochure with a map.

Honestly, the place is breathtaking and simply amazing, the landscape was again superb, kitang kita mo ang kagandahan ng mga mountains, very naturalistic ang dating. If you are looking for a place where in you wanted to unwind, relax, reflect, meditate, think and pray, it is a recommended place. They also have rooms if you wanted to stay. But believe me it's pricey. However, if you really wanted a time for yourself alone, the cost is worth it. You can have the privacy that you wanted in this place.

And based on blogs, i agree, its really a good place for weddings with excellent budget ;-).

My hubby and i really explored the place, took pictures here and there again, capturing memories for this place while admiring it's beauty. 

Another highly recommended place for you to visit in Tagaytay.

After Caleruega, We decided to take our feet now at the East Side of Tagaytay where Peoples Park and Picnic groove are located. And since Peoples park in the sky is the farthest, we decided to visit that place first then down to picnic groove.

PEOPLES PARK IN THE SKY

Another magnificent tourist spot in Tagaytay.

You'll have a 360 degree view of the whole of Tagaytay and the neighboring provinces. It was once envisioned to the Palace in the Sky or the vacation house for the family of the late Pres. Ferdinand Marcos. 

According to the history, construction and development of the “Palace” was stopped after the former dictator was ousted from power and this place was turn over to the Local Government Unit for them to manage the place, it was then opened to the public and on our visit the place was still under renovation. :) 

One more thing, the transportation going to this place is terrible. Jeepneys going here are always full, so you have no choice but to ride a tricycle "again" for P80.00 "may tawad na yun" from Olivares for two persons already.

After mag-sawa sa Peoples Park we now decided to go down at picnic groove. By the way, prepare your feet sa walkaton, medyo matarik ang daan paakyat. :)

PICNIC GROOVE

the magnificent view of Taal Volcano

This is going to be our last stop for tourist spots to visit here in Tagaytay. 

Maybe because its weekend that is why the place is so crowded. Sa entrance palang, may mag-aalok agad sayo if you wanted to ride a horse and medyo makulit sila.

It just saddens me that the place in general is not as beautiful as what i have pictured in my mind. Grasses are not trimmed, the kiosks are not properly maintained, trash are everywhere. 

Buti nalang ang ganda ng Taal Volcano at na-divert ang attention ko sa ganda nito.

They just opened some new attractions which are the Cable Car and the Zipline, grabe ang saya feels like you are flying when you are riding the Zipline. A must try when you visit the place.

After capturing moments, we decided na to go back to our room because we are already so tired but again happy. :)

Around 7PM, we prepared na for our Anniversay Dinner date, on my iterinary it should be in Josephines but then its Sunday so they are fully booked and you have to wait. We decided instead to have our dinner at RSM Restaurant, we never regret changing resto because the place is beautiful.

DINNER AT RSM RESTAURANT

RSM Restaurant is very accessible because it is located in the heart of Tagaytay. 

It specializes in “Lutong Bahay” or Home Cooked Filipino Dishes. The restaurant is very spacious and has luscious garden at the back which offers a magnificent view of the Taal Lake and Taal Volcano based on what the waiter told us, although we did not literally saw Taal there because its already dark.

They let us choose freely where to settle ourselves, where we can be comfortable, so we decided to occupy one of the nipa hut and take note, there's no extra charge. The hut is huge for both of us but its ok kasi super relax kami.

We ordered already for our food, medyo mahal din ang foods nila ;-), but we never felt disappointed because their foods tastes delicious. 

And one more thing that we fell in love with this place is that they have a local band that goes from one table to another to serenade you with a song, customers may request of their favorite songs and on our surprised this band is familiar even with the new and modern songs and they will put some twist on it then sings it in their own style. If you requested them to sing a song for you, don't forget the "tip", actually mararamdam mo na they're waiting for it. Well magaling naman sila so ok lang.

All ends well today... A very memorable day na ikukwento ko sa mga anak ko in the future. Ching!!!

Day 2 Transpo and Major Expenses

Olivarez - Bag of Beans = P18.00 (jeepney)
Bag of beans = P632.00 (Breakfast)
Bag of Barako = P155
Bag of Beans - Evercrest Golf Course = P36.00 (Jeepney)
Evercrest - Caleruega = P100.00 (tricycle)
Caleruega - Olivarez = P50.00 (jeepney)
Olivarez - Peoples Park = P80.00 (tricycle)
Peoples Park - Picnic Groove = P60.00 (tricycle)
Olivarez - RSM = P14.00 (Jeepney)

RSM Dinner = P1,053.00 (Dinner, tip included)

Tagaytay Map