It’s another long weekend! Where did you go?

HBD Trip to Tagaytay 2022

We didn’t actually go to Tagaytay during National Heroes’ Day. That would have been a traffic disaster of epic proportions. Instead, my mom, sister and I decided to take a leave from work the week before in order to celebrate my sister’s birthday.

Have I mentioned how much I love the work-life balance in DFCM residency? No?

Anyway: the best time to go on a day trip is on a Monday or a Friday, depending on what establishments you want open (e.g., many museums close on Mondays). Weekends spell long lines and overbooked restaurants.

As my sister only wanted to chill and enjoy the view of Taal Lake / mountains, and also because she had an important work event the Friday before, we decided on making our way on a Monday. Traffic = almost non-existent.

Breakfast at Bag of Beans Charito

Somehow life conspired that this is the third time this year that I’m taking my breakfast at a Bag of Beans branch. The first two were in Twin Lakes, during our department and then our batch teambuilding activity.

Read here: FM Residency: Six months later, older and hopefully wiser

The food remains excellent, with huge servings satisfying our standards for value for money. And the view truly is incomparable. It’s nice to get out of the city once in awhile.

Shopping at Acienda

Acienda is an accessible outlet store nestled 20-30 minutes away from Bag of Beans Charito. On a good day, everything in Tagaytay is only 20 minutes away from each other…

Visit their website here: Acienda Designer Outlet

Shops in the complex include Adidas, Puma, Melissa, Gap, Ipanema, Mango, Terranova. I wasn’t paying much attention; I had bought a record-breaking (and also wallet-breaking) five pairs of shoes just a couple weeks before. I justified the need for sturdier shoes given the rainy season.

But it was good to walk around for an hour or so, because our only agenda in this trip was (surprise) eating a bit more and drinking coffee.

Ruined Project? at Crosswinds

I love green places. We need more of it integrated in the city, and we deserve easier and more sustainable access to our forests and mountains. With its tall trees and quiet atmosphere, Crosswinds was a breath of fresh air.

And then it started raining, so we made our way to Ruined Project? for some drinks and a slice of cake.

We would have gone to more places —Tsokalateria was specifically on the planned itinerary— but maybe two cups of coffee for the day was enough. We grabbed some souvenirs from the nearby Rowena’s and made our way home.

I hope to be back. I also hope to travel some other part of the country sometime this September with my family —maybe a short flight to Bicol? Or somewhere in Mindanao? Or a long ride to Vigan? Fingers crossed!

Until next time! ❤️

P.S. Speaking of birthdays