Frannywanny

I've probably mentioned a couple of times before how much my family loves...as in LOVESSSS Tagaytay City . Growing up, we would frequently drive up to spend a night or two here. In fact, my parents love it so much that they've been talking about investing in a small lot there to turn it into our family weekend home doubled as their mini herb garden. Well, I do hope we can make that a reality for them someday. At the moment though, we would constantly keep ourselves updated on possible hotel accommodations in the area. Recently, I chanced upon Wilson's Place  after browsing through a couple of my fellow bloggers' pages. Wilson's Place is a family home turned into a Bed & Breakfast place in Tagaytay. The location is not really so central but it's a quick drive in from the main road provided you do not get lost. We relied mostly on Waze all throughout out trip. So, during the Christmas - New Year break, we decided to head to Tagaytay with Kong Kong and A-I...

If there's one personal belief that I hold dearest to my heart, this is that vacations and staycations are always good for you . Even the famous chocolate bar Kitkat would agree with me that once in a while, we really have to kick off our shoes and to have a break .  As much as it may be nice to live a fast-paced, highly productive life, we always have to bare in mind that our brains, spirit and body need to slow down every so often and after that break, you'll see how much life and energy you'll have again to get into the daily grind. Well, that's what Paul and I did this weekend. For the past months, we both have been extremely busy adjusting to our new life here. Every weekend is normally spent fixing up our new room, refilling our kitchen pantry cabinet and familiarizing ourselves with our new surroundings. Thus, I was so happy when I received an invite from Shangri-la Hotel,   Singapore inviting me to have a weekend staycation which is the best excuse to le...

Here's one thing that Paul and I will surely miss here in Manila -- the ability to have a quick weekend staycation whenever the need for one comes about. I know we'll be able to find ways to unwind and to enjoy when we move to the Lion City but that would take some time as we have to settle into our new home, get to know the neighborhood and to adjust to our new life in such a busy city. Having a staycation is something that we both always look forward to. I know it may sound silly and shallow for some but being able to check into a hotel and to just relax and not worry about a thing has proven to be a good way to re-energize after a busy, hectic week. Now that our schedules are literally packed with last minute shopping, medical check-ups, despedida dinners and time at home to pack, we truly welcomed the invitation to stay the night at Picasso Boutique Serviced Residences right at the heart of Makati City. Picasso Boutique Serviced Residences has been around for a cou...

A few months back, after my full day Pasta Class at Global Academy , Paul and I headed down South for yet another weekend staycation. I don't know why but I always get excited whenever the chance to visit Alabang comes around. I guess, it's because of the numerous restaurants that I've been wanting to try and my list keeps getting longer as I only get to visit Alabang at least once a year. So excited was I that I immediately sent fellow Jane an email to ask for her foodie recommendations. She was so nice that she sent me a very comprehensive one making me all the more excited for that particular weekend. The beauty of staycations is that you get to unwind and relax without killing yourself with a long car/boat/plane ride. Acacia Hotel is a homegrown five star luxury hotel situated right at the heart of busy Alabang . It is indeed strategically located making it so accessible to nearby malls, a weekend market and a number of restaurants and coffee shop. We got to the ...

This is to continue our 3-day vacation in Tagaytay City . After spending our first night at the very posh yet homey Discovery Country Suites , Paul and I headed to another accommodation spot called Crosswinds Resorts Suites . I've been seeing the huge signages of Crosswinds' development for more than 5 years already. What I know is that it's located very close to Tagaytay Highlands and while it doesn't overlook the famous Taal Volcano , the size of this property is breathtaking and impressive enough. What I didn't know was that you can actually stay the night or two (or even the entire week) even if you are not a member. They now have two hotel buildings that allow visitors to stay in. We checked into our Studio Bedroom (Php. 6,000) and were pretty impressed with the comfy looking interiors. I loved how clean it smelled and the view was simply amazing. We were told that they have imported thousands of pine trees in order to achieve the Swiss feel . Well, s...

After arriving at Korea and making our way via the Airport Limousine Bus , we arrived at our hotel -- Hotel Skypark 1 -- located right at the heart of busy shopper's haven, Myeongdong . Since we got to the hotel a little past 10AM, we were told that our rooms were still not ready and we sadly had to go back at 2PM to check in. Not really a big problem for us as our hotel was strategically located beside retail outlets like Uniqlo, Mango, Gap, Skin Food and several food establishments like Lotteria (more on this later) , Smoothie King and a lot more. Not quite satisfied with our airport meal, we decided to head out to search for a place to have coffee and some snacks. Koreans must really love coffee as you'll see a lot of pretty coffee shops everywhere! The more popular ones being Cafe Pascucci , Starbucks Coffee , Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and Caffe Bene .We chose Cafe Pascucci which is located a few blocks away from our hotel. Paul and I shared this cup of Strawberr...

Sometimes I just dream of the sea...and the feel of the powdery sand underneath my feet. At times I just want to go far far away from the crazy hustle and bustle of the city, turning my phones off as I just want time for myself and myself alone. These moments I thank Him for blessing my country, the Philippines , with an abundance of beautiful scenic spots that doesn't have to cost us an arm and a leg to get close to. Moments like this I'm thankful that I had the luxury of time to take a weekend off and to fly to the paradise island called Boracay where I spent two wonderful days swimming, bonding with Paul and pampering myself to the fullest...all in one memorable weekend. As soon as our private boat c/o Boracay Mandarin Island Hotel reached Cagban Port, I felt my heart skipped a beat as I was totally psyched to finally have a short vacation amidst our busy Christmas schedule. We were quickly whisked off towards Station 2 where our resort for the weekend is located. I...

You can't have it all... At first look, we all fell in love with Forest House 's interior. The cozy log cabin feel, the pretty bed and breakfast rooms and the big fireplace that will greet you as you enter the main dining hall. It was a perfect hang out spot in a cold place like Baguio City . This is the reason why it is also highly recommended that you make a reservation as the place easily gets filled up despite arriving early at the restaurant. It was our second time to dine at Forest House and this time Paul and I know better. It was after waiting to get a table for more than thirty minutes during our first visit that we realized that it's best to give the restaurant a call as early as possible. This time, sure we got a table but they can't fit us in the main dining hall anymore and we were placed at the annex which was far from where most servers were. Thus, we had a really hard time looking for a server, ordering our food and worst, waiting for our bill. ...

When The Food Club went up to Baguio a couple of weeks ago, we stayed at Hotel Elizabeth which is located very near Mine's View Park. Since we were a big group, we were given four different rooms to fit all of us in. The families of 4 each got an Executive Suite each while Paul and I had the Deluxe Room (Php. 4,256 published rate) which was just perfect for the two of us. In fact, I find the room to be quite specious as we get to have our own balcony and a medium-sized bathroom too. In lieu of an air-conditioning unit, they have a ceiling fan installed in every room too. The TV set have cable and the best part is, you get unlimited Wi-Fi access not only in the lobby but even at the comforts of your room. Each room has a mini bar where we always get our daily complimentary stock of Bottled Water. On top of that, we were welcomed to help ourselves to coffee with a couple of packs available for us to consume for free. Don't you just love the view from my room? :) Pa...

It has been a while since Paul and I had our much-longed-for R&R. Our last was during our 1st wedding anniversary where we stayed a night at Discovery Suites . We were, in fact, really looking forward to our trip to Bacolod which sadly got canceled due to a massive strike conducted by ex-PAL employees. "Just one night." I always pray to HIM. We've both been so stressed out that I think a mini-break will really do wonders for us. HE heard my prayers so last Saturday I got an email from the Ariel 3D Deep Clean event organizers telling me that they actually booked a room for us at Microtel Mall of Asia . The thing is, this will be from Monday to Tuesday. We've never had a mini-vacation on a work night so this is really something new to us. Still, we tried to be spontaneous and openly accepted the invitation. So there we were, right after work checking in at Microtel Mall of Asia . There were plenty of parking spots and the attendant were very helpful too. I...

I'm finally back from my short vacation to Taipei, Taiwan where I spent 3 relaxing days with Paul, my sister Pan and our dearest friends. Finally, after almost 8 months of planning, our Taiwan trip was able to push through and we're all back home rejuvenated and our minds filled with more knowledge about a culture not quite different from ours. Taiwan is located at the northern part of Asia . Slightly above the Philippines and below Japan and Korea. In fact, we were once told that you can actually pick up some Taiwanese radio stations when you're standing along the shores of Pagudpud in Ilocos Norte . It's THAT close. While Cebu Pacific offers the lowest rate for flights from Manila to Taipei (Taoyuan International Airport), the only drawback is your flight is at 1040PM and you arrive in Taiwan roughly two hours after. After going through immigration and customs, we waited for our shuttle service that will take us to our hotel -- Caesar Park Hotel . Caesar Park...

From our amazing 8-hours stay in Bacolod , my sister and I took the ferry to hop over to Iloilo . Growing up, we've been hearing a lot of great stories about life in Iloilo from my sister's long-time yaya . She's an Ilongga and her stories about life in this province and the freshest seafood that you can find stayed in our minds for years. Truly, food is truly a great motivator for us to keep on traveling. So off we went to this province in the Panay Island in the Visayas region one weekend. Prior to our trip, we did our research and initially booked ourselves at the Sarabia Manor Hotel which is a popular hotel in the city. It is very big and usually the choice for business meetings and workshops as well. The hotel is also located along a very busy main road making it very easy should there be a need for you to hail a taxi to go around. However, we both found our room a bit old. The smell was not very fresh, the aircon quite noisy and some of the toilet fixtures are ...

One thing that I really take great pains in preparing for when traveling is our hotel accommodation. I really make it a point to research well to make sure that we will be staying in a comfortable room and at a hotel that's accessible to the spots that we will be visiting to also lessen our transportation cost. Thanks to Paul's cousin who was able to cut my research time in half by recommending Novotel KL , I immediately visited their official website and I actually liked what I saw. This was where we stayed for 5 lovely nights at Kuala Lumpur. Entering our room, I immediately noticed the view from our window, it was the Petronas Towers and since we arrived late in the afternoon, the twin towers were beautifully lit up and the sight was just marvelous. Our bed was very comfortable too and I love it that we have a small couch where Paul and I would hang out while enjoying the view of the Twin Towers. However, unlike our hotel accommodation in Singapore , our packag...

After 10 days of travelling, walking, shopping and eating, we're finally back in Manila for a quick stop before enjoying 3 gorgeous days under the sun. Meanwhile, allow me to share with you some bits and pieces of what made our honeymoon simply perfect. Let me start off with our hotel accomodation in Singapore . Thanks to Paul's cousin J, who recommended this hotel to us, we checked in at the Swissotel The Stamford Hotel . Little did we know that we just check ourselves into the tallest hotel in Singapore. I remember having a photo with my sister back when we were little and the hotel was simply called The Stamford. I was at awe! I couldn't believe how beautiful our hotel was. Entering the room, we marveled at the lovely comfy-looking bed. Perfect to make you feel like a king and queen. The room was very spacious given that we got the standard type, there's a tea box with TWG tea packs and a glass study table on the side. Stepping out on the balcony, I enjoyed...

I can't believe it has been 3 longs years since I last set foot on these powdery white sand... Boracay '07 I feel so fortunate to be able to join the launch of Astoria's newest property in my favorite summer island -- Boracay . Set to open this April, Astoria Boracay is a 3,000 square-meter property that's located right along the shoreline of Station 1 and is just one hop away from the party central Station 2 . I can still remember the time when we would have to take a long long walk from our resort located at the far end of Station 1 just to have breakfast at D'Mall which is located at Station 2. In fact, we didn't even bothered to explore Station 3 because we just got so tired of walking. There are more than 39 lovely rooms but what I'm so excited to see are their dramatic honeymoon suites. There's also a complete line of amenities to suit each visitor's needs, there's a lap pool, a kiddie pool, a coffee shop and more. While chatting with As...