The good in goodbyes (Cebu Day 3)

Today we actually decided to wake up a little bit late than yesterday since our flight's still at 11pm and we really don't have anything planned. We just want to satisfy our taste buds with our glucose cravings which has been going on since we arrived. We have listed a few dessert places that can only found here in Cebu and that also has good reviews. We realized its only appropriate to eat out after cutting back a bit on the last days. :D Also, the three of us have a profound fondness for sweets, only with a bit variety. So we headed to Ayala Center where most of the shops on our list can be found.

Good Morning @ Capoy's residence! Haha :D

On our list are these mouthwatering desserts:
1. La Marea - Warm Brownie Cup (they don't have a branch in Ayala Center)
2. Vanille - Chocolate Fondant
3. Postrio Cafe - Pecan Pie
4. Oh Georg - Chocolate Almond Tart
5 Cebu Beehive Restaurant - Beehive Roll (this too, they only have one location)

I actually got the list from this site, so I guess its pretty reliable. Hihi :) Since Keith doesn't go there much often, we still had to spend a little time looking for them but they're not that hard to find anyway. Coincidentally, we stumbled on a stall of Mochiko which sells mochi ice cream, a currently popular dessert in Manila. They were too cute so we decided to taste them already even though we can try it anytime at home. We tried different flavors - Sarah got the Cookie dough flavor, B got the Milk tea flavor, Keith got the Green tea and being a fan of red bean, I got Azuki flavor. We sat as we tasted ours, then B, Sarah and me exchanged so we get to taste the other flavors too. I loved my Azuki, not too sweet and I can really taste the red bean. It even has red bean bits in it! ;) The milk tea and green tea tasted both fine, but the milk tea was sweet for me, while the green tea tasted really like green tea, no sweetness at all. Haha! But I liked it :) The cookie dough is delicious with real cookie dough inside but its also too sweet for me. See, even though I am a self-confessed dessert gourmand, I have sweetness sensitivity if that term exists. I easily get appeased even only with a small amount of sweetening so most of the time, and if I can, I choose the least sweet item on the menu. I am more on the bittersweet side. :)


Moving on, we first found Postrio Cafe, but Sarah isn't a fan of pies and nutty stuffs so I just thought I'd buy one to take home. Next cafe we found was Vanille which kind of resembles Bizu's ambience. Since B and I are Bizu fans, and they have wi-fi available, we decided to find our seats and order in. Aside from their famous chocolate Fondant, we found out they also sell macarons! They all look very pretty sitting on the counter and I was so tempted to try them. But being a good resistor, I was able to hold myself from buying and just ordered an espresso to match the Fondant instead. Hihi :) B instead, bought a box to take home while Keith ordered a Chocolate Mint Milkshake.










It was indeed heaven on first bite. we have all agreed to that. Haha! The brownie was warm so it paired with the ice cream well and the tableya sauce neutralizes the sweetness. I just had a foodgasm right there.

We were already full by the time we finished everything so we didn't go to the other cafes anymore. Plus we decided to have our last dinner at Handuraw Pizza again so we have to save some space for it 'cause its sure gonna be an eat out. Hehez :D We just agreed to watch a movie to pass time. We watched Underworld: The Awakening. Honestly, I am not a fan of that sequel at first. I didn't even know it has early installments on the previous years. However, after watching it, I found it interesting after all. I am even downloading the past parts and also looking forward for the next. :)) So like what I said, we had Handuraw Pizza for dinner! We just ate in a different branch and tried a different flavor this time. :) I would really miss their pizza, I don't think I ever tried something like this in Manila yet. Handuraw has made it to my Top 5 favorite pizza places already. Hihi ♥ We bought one box to gave to Keith's family as a sign of thank you for accomodating us in their home.

This time we already had our decent group shot. Hehez

This 3 day trip is short but yet we had so much fun. We got to experience more than what came here for so we really really loved our stay. Aside from their delicious food and lovely beaches, making new friends were the greatest part. Certainly, we will come back. And it wouldn't be too long I'm sure. ☺

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Experience is the best teacher. (Cebu Day 2)

We were supposed to go to the beach on a weekend so that Keith's friends would come since they're all working during the weekdays but we have it moved today because we are also supposed to meet a friend here - which apparently didn't happen anyway. Good thing his highschool friends were able to join us. He advised to have many people come with us because aside from the fact that we would be able to save for the boat ride, it would be more fun to have a lot of company right?

We woke up and got ready early so that we would catch the 8am trip to the island. We waited for his friends as we have our coffee and read our horoscopes and readings for the Year of The Water Dragon available in the daily newspaper. I usually read those every year to at least have an idea of what's in store for me. But I really don't rely on it completely. Its just a nice to know information. :) Anyways, as they arrived one by one and as Keith introduced them to us, we slowly got nervous because we were thinking that we might not get along or they might think of us differently so we initailly don't know how to act. However, it worked otherwise and even more better. :)

So because we weren't able to prepare for the food we're gonna bring today, we first dropped by at the grocery and bought some food. Then we rode at the back of Keith's friend's pick-up which was my first time. I used to see people sitting at the back of trucks and pick-ups on the highways and it seemed really fun so I was a bit thrilled when I saw that we'll gonna ride in there too. It was indeed afun and new experience for me since I was used to riding SUVs and vans whenever me and my friends in Manila would go roadtripping or something so I really enjoyed riding in an open vehicle like that where I could feel the breeze of the air and have a wider view of the scenes as we pass them by. :) It would take us at least 30-45 minutes to get the first island so we had time to rest, appreciate the view, get ready and become acquainted with each other.










Someone's wants to join from the back, hoho :D





As we approach the island, I immediately fell in love with the view. It was like we're arriving in a paradise. The island is picturesque. In that moment, I was completely swept away. The skies are so bright and filled with white fluffy clouds that gave a heavenly ambience, the vibrant hue of the blue sea compliments the white, refined sands. Along with the fine weather, and 11 individuals who are ready to bask in the heat (at least for me :D), this is pure ecstacy. :) Even with just these photos you would exactly get what I'm saying right?

Of course we three didn't waste the opportunity and had our pictures taken with the beach right away. We didn't even noticed it was already lunch time until Keith told us so. :D They got us to try a kind of shell they call "Saang" or "Spider Shell" in English; and it was so delicious! I think I ate 4 of it. x) We ate it with "puso" or the rice wrapped in banana leaves as we talk with each other and figure out a uniform language/dialect to use to understand each other easily. Hehez. In the end, they just taught us some Cebuano words and used Tagalog since they all know how to speak using it anyway.










The signature "bikini-beach view" shot by my extra sexy girls :">




(L-R) Justine, Val, Kath, Trine, Claire, Me, Ed Mark, Keith, Sarah, B, Jessie

After lunch, it was time to swim. As we (Sarah, B and I) watched them play with each other, we realized we missed our other high school friends left in Manila. Seeing them having fun with each other's company, made us a bit jealous and nostalgic about the days when we are still like them. You see, from the time we entered college, things somehow changed. Some of us became so busy that we seldom see him/her often, some already went abroad, some just never kept in touch. Although we still get together from time to time, we never really had the time to have everyone present in a single occasion. I wish we could have those times again. :"> Meanwhile, being with these new people made us feel less sad and even gave us a slight impression that we are part of their group. Really we never felt more welcomed and comfortable with them. :) They're such kind persons, and after this day I'm truly thankful to meet them. And also to Keith because of his genius idea of inviting his friends.

The epic back ride! :)

I wasn't able to track the time when we got back but we just changed, had dinner and prepared to spend our Friday night with them too. They say Cebu has a good night life and I can't disagree more. We went to IT Park which was very very similar to Makati. There are so many people, and establishments which they say is open until 2am or so. It rained very hard on our way there so we almost bathed in the rain since we sat on the pick-up again. Instead of being annoyed, I actually had fun. Hahaha :) Its not like everyday that I can ride in a pick-up and have those experiences anyways. :)

pulling our ugliest faces, haha! x)

PS: some photos are taken by Jessie ;)

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Walking back on History (Cebu Day 1)

Last week, me and 2 of my best girlfriends, Sarah and B finally visited Cebu. Thanks to Cebu Pacific's 12php fare promo 3 months ago. Haha! It was our first out of town together, like, an across-the-sea-out-of-town kind of thing and our celebration for passing the NLEs last July. ;) We have been waiting for it for forever so we're really thrilled that its finally happened. We got to save for the hotel accomodations, thanks to a friend from CUK, Keith, who is a local there. He was kind enough to welcome us in there home and also be our guide for the whole trip. ;) Since Sarah and I have the luxury of time (because were jobless bummers haha!), we were able to surf the internet for some places to go and food to try. Aside from the usual places, we wanted to try something different, and something that only a few people have tried.

Anyways, we had to ask Keith about them since he knows better than us. Unfortunately, we wasn't able go on all the places we want because of the time and distance but luckily, we were able to experience something different, something more than what we would have thought we would. ;)

So during our first day, we went around the city in the morning - Lapu-Lapu and Magellan's Shrine, Magellan's Cross, Fort San Pedro, Basilica de Sto. Nino, Taoist Temple, and the one where you can see the city from the top?. We had a side trip at the BPI Museum and saw the coin and bill collection since the early times which quite interesting.

It was a lovely day to take photos, the sun is high and the skies are so blue. :)

Matching uniforms as our highschool's! So cute! :">

We also dropped by Taboan market where we bought the famous danggit and Otap. I didn't buy those because my mom already bought that when they went there last September, so what I bought is the masareal which is according to Wikipedia (HAHA) is a delicacy that is made and only found in Mandaue. I got to taste it a few days ago and I loved it! Too bad I only bought a few :( We also tried their ATM or Automated Tubig Machine which is really a cool idea. Its like a vendo but you'll put a peso instead and you already have clean water to drink. Just be sure you have a plastic to have it filled. ;) They have those scattered all over the place so you don't have to worry if you get thirsty.

Then at night, we went to Crown Regency Hotel at night for the Sky Walk Adventure. But of course, all that walking made us very tired so before we headed there, we had a very sumptuous dinner at Handuraw Pizza. ITS REALLY THE BEST THIN CRUST PIZZA I'VE YET TASTED. We we're all spell-bounded that we weren't able to have a decent picture together because we were busy eating. It was gone in a flash, seriously. We even went back there before we left. Hihi :) On our first time, we ordered their Handuraw Special, and their Cebuano special. The latter is a bit spicy for them to eat another slice so I who is a fan of spicy enjoyed the rest of it. HAHA :D

Going back to the Sky Walk Adventure, even when we were still in Manila, I was already freaking out about that thing. As you know, I have a huge fear for heights ever since I was a child. Although I have tried to conquer it little by little (I have tried rapelling way back in high school), I haven't totally overcomed it yet. Surprisingly, they were able to convince me to try it since its one of the main attractions in Cebu. (I realized its better to try it with my bestfriend than with anyone else). However, I only agreed to try the Sky Walk because I'm not ready for the Edge Coaster yet. Just seeing the view from the 38th floor makes me wanna pee already, how much more if I have to sit with it tilting 45degrees??! Nooo waaay. But the 3 chose to try both. I just watched them as they scream their lungs out while going around the edge. Hihi. The ride is for 2 people so I kind of felt sorry for Keith because he went in the ride alone. :( I thought the staff would ride with him but he didn't so yeah I wished I just went along. If I did, I think I would probably be traumatized by now though. HAHA. The Sky Walk itself is also scary I feel like I'm gonna slip and fell off anytime but I was so proud of myself after doing it. Although it took me a minute or two to digest the whole experience. Hehe. Its really a great experience. And who knows, if I come back I might have earned enough courage to try the Edge Coaster already. :))

Our only decent shot after the whole Extreme Adventure Experience! Haha =))

Trivia: It was also Keith's first time to visit most of the places we've been to today despite the fact that he grew up there. HAHAHA He reasons that its because he was not type of person who goes out a lot. So technically, he was also a tourist just like us. :)

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