Cafe Firenzo

Just got out from a ten hours graveyard shift i feel not just sleepy but so hungry.  I invited one of my office-mate to grab a cup of coffee and a sandwich maybe to a nearby coffee shop in the area.  Our office is located in Lanang, near Damosa market basket area so we chose Cafe Firenzo.

Chicco Di Caffe

            When I was young, I used to drink coffee in Bankerohan Public Market with my mom (I just love their brewed coffee and puto and other kakanin) or the special brewed coffee served by my Popoy (This is what I used to call my grandmother.)  I thought the taste of coffee in 'Banke' and my grandmother's are the best and no one can create a better blend than these.  Well, I thought wrong.


            Chicco Di Caffe proved me wrong.  One of my Psych batch mate happened to work here and I was treated with a delicious coffee one time when I surprise her at work.  It's located in Padre Faura St., Roxas Boulevard, Davao City.  A little walk from Aldevinco Shopping Center, Marco Polo Hotel -Davao and Ateneo De Davao University (some of the prominent institutions nearby).  The coffee shop started a couple of years back and as far as i know it already established several branches in Davao City alone.

Splash Island

                 Our company's summer outing for this year was held at Splash Island in Laguna.  It was a blast!  The cool thing about it is its not limited to employees alone, we are allowed to bring our family members and the company provided transportation discount for them.  We can bring as many as we want and the entrance fee and discounted fare will be salary deducted, cool right? :)

Exploring Bolinao

             Summer in the Philippines is always the season for out-of-town trips.  An archipelago as it is, there's so much options to choose from - where to eat, where to go, where to stay and what to see.  We have visited Manaoag and Dagupan, Pangasinan two years ago and even spent a lot of time in Hundred islands in Alaminos but I have not seen Patar beach even if its quiet famous.  With that thought in mind, I invited my friends to backpack in Bolinao, Pangasinan. Its was Friday night when we joined the long list of chance passengers in Victory Liner, Cubao for a direct trip to Bolinao. And what a bad decision, Friday night is actually a tiring night to travel.  Its the night of the week where almost if not all employee's in Metro Manila go back to their provinces for vacation or simply going home for a rest day after a week of making a living in the city.  Fortunately, the administration decided to allowed another bus to travel to Alaminos, Pangasinan when they found out that almost fifty of remaining passengers are actually going to the same destination.

           
             We arrived in Alaminos around 5AM, we then took another bus ride to Bolinao.  Unfortunately, there's not much of an air-con bus available to that town so we ended riding a local non-air-con for our transportation.

Calaguas Islands

             Having been to different beaches in the Philippines, I seriously thought I've seen the prettiest and most enchanting of them all.  Arriving in Tinago island and Kinastillohan Island in Calaguas makes me speechless, then realized - I thought wrong.  Seriously, this is the cleanest, awesome beach I've ever seen.

            Calaguas island despite of its beauty and popularity to beach bummers and travelers still get little attention.  It's not because its expensive but its far from Metro Manila and from the most populous town of the region.  This group of islands is part of Camarines Norte, under the jurisdiction of the town of Vinzons.  Another pride of Bicolandia that let you experience the white sand beach - it will definitely rival that of Boracay. Let you get the peace of mind that rival that of Panglao and let you enjoy the freedom from high technology gadgets and connections that interrupts if not ruin your great vacation.


The island is still virgin and unspoiled that you must make sure you have your tent, clean water and food, not to include your gadget batteries in full charge

Mount Pinatubo

            Been planning of going to Mount Pinatubo but nobody wants to join me. Armed with the guts to climb the mountain alone I searched the internet tips on what to bring, how to get there and what are the best way to enjoy the crater and the long walk ahead.

           Two weeks before the trip, I stumbled Travel Factor organization on my Facebook news feed and found out  that they are organizing trips to Mountain Pinatubo for a day.  I visited their website and checked their rates per person as well as their inclusion.  I also noticed there are several other groups online that selling services when it comes to organizing group trips and camping in the crater.  I shared this to my friends and luckily, they agreed to join me in this long overdue dream.

        We met up with Travel Factor organizer and the rest of the participants at McDonald's at El Pueblo in Ortigas, Mandaluyong City as early as 4:30AM - 5AM.  We are given our free travel magazine as part of the travel package inclusion 

Silanguin Cove

            Having no place to celebrate the Heart's day with a friend, I decided to bask in the sun and enjoy the serenity of the beach in Zambales.  We decided to go back to Nagsasa or Anawangin to chill but realized it's a holiday and more often than not, local tourist plunge to these two scenic places....so I suggested the place a little farther than this but also more quiet and private ---- Silanguin Cove.

            It's still the same route for Nagsasa and Anawangin but a little farther which means that "bangka" fare is also expensive.  So, it is advisable to go there with two or more of your friends to divide the fare expenses.  There's not much to see in the place actually however i love it the same because there not much crowd thus it's so quiet.  To the north area of the place, you'll enjoy the fine black sand.  To the south are pebbled and rocky.

We Love Caramoan Peninsula

        I first heard about this beautiful place when I watched Survivor.  I have watched almost all of their episode, from Samoa, Caramoan, Palau etc.  When i was invited by a travbuddy friend to visit Caramoan - i grabbed the opportunity right away.Hahaha!

        So I packed my bag for a week vacation in Bicol Region again, making Caramoan as our main destination.  Arriving early in Naga City, we checked-in first in CBD Plaza Hotel.  It is very convenient because the hotel is right in front of the Naga Bus Terminal - it is easy to find.  Fortunately for the two of us, there' s still an available standard room for two for only P500, includes a hot/cold shower room, 2 single beds with fresh blankets and pillows, TV and remote, and Filipino breakfast for both of us.

       Since we still have a whole day to waste (we plan to travel to Caramoan tomorrow), we decided to hopped in a non--air-con bus to Mount Isarog National Park.  It was a fun and exhausting day.  We enjoyed the trek from the municipality to the falls.