Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Weekend Getaway in Baler, Aurora

On October 15-16, 2016,  Grace, her boyfriend, Kenneth and I headed to Baler, Aurora. After 6 long hours, we arrived in Baler. First stop at Maria Aurora to see the 600-year old Balete Tree, the oldest in Asia.


Then, we had our breakfast at Kainan ni Bro before we started our trek to Ditumabo Mother Falls.

After breakfast and short siesta, our driver, Kuya Edwin brought us to Brgy. Ditumabo where the trek to the falls would take around 30 minutes.

Here we are:







My first time to take a dip and swim in a falls. Darn! it's too cold, maybe because of the rainy weather , but it's fun! A great experience indeed! We spent at least 30 minutes in the place, swimming and taking selfies together with the "joiners" of the tour. Then we had our lunch at "Kusina Luntian". A small nipa hut, japanese style eatery. We were told by our office mates that their meal is exquisite! So here we are:



Quite disappointed though that it took them forever to serve. Ours were served after an hour, while for the other group, almost after two hours. We were all starving by the time we ate our lunch. So, I couldn't say that their meal is scrumptious, really!

We were scheduled to tour around Baler, but due to the weather, we changed plans. If we wanted to surf, we should be surfing at 2pm coz they won't allow us to surf on Sunday because of the incoming typhoon. So we headed straight to Sabang Beach and started with our surfing lessons.









Here's the pic of the resort where we stayed at. The owners are very kind. Beachfront resorts are always best when staying at a beach. I'm sure you all know why!


Due to "Karen", the typhoon that made a landfall at 11pm, Oct 15 until 5am, Oct 16, we just stayed at the resort. Had a little beer, lots of chit chats and magic tricks during the night with the joiners!

Day 2: Road cleaning due to the typhoon, so we were not allowed to tour the city anymore for safety reasons. We waited until 2pm to check out from the resort, then headed back to Manila. We still managed though to drop by this Baler signage to take selfies.


The "joiners"


Overall, it's a great experience and I want more of Baler! I'll definitely go back here in the summer in the coming years. Lol!

Package tour was arranged by Grace Nogra at 0928-136-7811







Thursday, October 6, 2016

Steep & Grind Coffee Shop

I soo love coffee! I have tried almost all brands of coffee in the market, but I'm still in search of that coffee I have tasted when I was in high school vacationing at my sister's house. It's a well-known brand of coffee but it's not available in the market and was just a gift to her. She didn't care where it came from. She's not a coffee lover!

Coffee is so addicting. I could give up on other desserts such as blueberry cheesecake, but not coffee! So, when I've heard that one of my office mate just opened a coffee shop, I dragged along two of my close friends to try. They are coffee addicts too!

Here are some of our photos in the shop:







Just a few poses before our orders were served! The place is a great place to unwind, with free wifi of course!

I tried their Salted Caramel Blend Mocha and hmmm, it tastes good! Not too sweet!



My friend, May ordered carbonara, it's good too! Since we just had our dinner at home, we asked for 4 saucers coz we'll be sharing on the pasta! LOL!

Grace, who is also a coffee lover, meticulously scanned the menu, asked the barista which one is their bestseller and here it is: Oreo Green Tea. Grace said it tasted soo good, she's in love!


We stayed in the shop just before it closes! We had a great time catching up after a busy week at the office. I would say, this coffee shop, although still NEW in town, is a MUST-TRY! You won't be disappointed.

Oh the price? please check it out at: https://www.zomato.com/manila/steep-grind-caf%C3%A9-san-isidro-para%C3%B1aque-city/menu

Location: Unit A-6, Wincel Building, Filipinas Ave. Brgy. San Isidro. Parañaque 1700 (Near Iglesia ni Cristo in YP)