Trip to Tagaytay

 I know I was gone for only a day but I really missed my blog!  I guess I am now a certified blog addict huh?

So, here's why I didn't post anything yesterday....Ruel and I were  in Tagaytay the whole day! We had to talk to the parish priest in Lourdes Church about one of our wedding requirements which I was somehow having problems with.

My mom and my son tagged along, wanting to escape the terrible heat in the city. Unfortunately, a lot of city folks were thinking the same thing!  The usually one and a half hour trip to Tagaytay became a
three-hour trip because of the traffic.

Here's what the sky looked like during the drive to Tagaytay

The long trip left us so hungry that by the time we entered Tagaytay, we just had to drop by Ming's Garden for a quick snack.  Ruel and I had already tried their  suman latik .  We liked it a lot so we ordered the same thing.

Ming's Garden, aside from being some sort of a restaurant, sell gardening plants and seedlings of trees.


Some plants around the restaurant.

I really can't be a science teacher because I don't know whether this is a dead butterfly or a dead moth!

I  saw this little gardener inside the ladies' room.  Cute!

And her husband gardener was on the other end of the sink! They were so cute I just had to take their picture!

We didn't stay for a long time because  I wanted to get on with business.  Problem was, their was a wedding at the church and we were told to come back at 4:30 pm because Father was going to officiate two more weddings after the one that was just about to take place! Goodness gracious! It was just 11:00 am!  

It wasn't as if there was nothing to do.  It was the exact opposite. However, we were not there to do these things. We were actually on a budget, given the fact that we were saving all our money for our wedding and our future home.

Well, anyway, because I've always been a sucker for weddings,  I couldn't help but take a peek inside the church and have a quick glimpse of the gowns. The bride's gown was cream, heavily beaded, and lovely!  Sorry, I didn't take a picture, I wish I had but I was thinking whether it would be polite or not....

Here's what caught my eye...lovely chandeliers!  The last time we went there, there was no wedding so they weren't lit, but this time they were and I thought they were absolutely stunning!

Next stop was Villa Ibarra,  This is where we are going to have our wedding reception.  I wanted to show my mom what the venue looked like.

The Villa was quiet and as soon as we got permission to go down to the reception area, I felt so happy!  That was the first time I felt that I had Taal Lake and Taal Volcano all to myself.  We were the only ones in the patio and we had the view all to ourselves!  We didn't have to take turns with tourists in taking pictures of the best view of the lake and volcano.  At that time, I felt I owned the lake and the volcano!  

So, this is the view from the reception area.  We are all praying for good weather.

That's the villa.  My family and I will be staying in one of the suites the night before the wedding.  The reception will be held right where I was standing when I took the picture above.

And the night of the wedding, right after the reception, Ruel and I will be in another suite outside the main villa,  which will give us an almost 365 degree view of the lake and volcano.

Lunch was at Max's.  Ruel and I would usually find a place with a good view of the lake and the volcano every time we are in Tagaytay, but as I have said, this was not our usual Tagaytay "date" trip so Max's was okay.

My naughty son with grandma

He just loves getting this kind of reaction from his grandma!

Happy couple...I love him so!

Lunch took almost 2 hours.  Next stop was Flowers of May where we got a pretty good deal for our entourage and for the church.

We still had an hour to burn before we could talk to the priest so we drove to Sonya's Garden to buy pan de coco.

Sonya's Garden is a bed and breakfast place some 40 minutes away from Lourdes Church.  It's also a favorite venue for weddings and other celebrations.

Flowers of course were all around!

Doesn't this look a lot like a pea shooter?

 There were a lot of vases and pots like these in the property.

 At the bakery at Sonya's

We also bought cookies and crinkles, aside from the pan de coco.

Well...I really don't know what this is called but this little guy and his buddies kept on making noises around the area.

We finished talking to the priest before 6 pm.  But before finally leaving, we dropped by Rowena's to take home some of their yummy goodies.

I prefer Rowena's more than Colette's.  There's a wider selection here.

Vinegar made from pineapple....

Lambanog, a really potent local white wine. It's made from coconut water.

Unlike Colette's, You can sit down and eat inside Rowena's.

They also serve coffee.

And as if, we still didn't have enough food, we still stopped at one of  the fruit stands to buy fruits.

The drive home was longer than the drive in the morning!