Saturday, February 8, 2014

Tagaytay Tour

We finally made it to Tagatay!  We took a Grey Line Tour, so a driver picked us up right across the street.  We made one stop in Abalong to pick up one more person, Nora from New Zealand.  We could not have asked for a more pleasant person to have in our tour group.  Our tour guide was Neil and our driver was J.R. 

Our first stop was at the last Jeepney factory in the Philippines.  We were told that Jeepneys can now be made cheaper in a person’s backyard than in the factory.  The Jeepney is not only a form of public transportation, but they are works of art.  One can ride a Jeepney for eight pesos which is 18 cents.  We actually got to ride a Jeepney when we went to Palace in the Sky!...

Our next stop was at a church in Las Pinas that houses the Bamboo Pipe Organ.  It is 197 years old and is still used in the mass services today.  We had a really nice guide who gave us the history of the church and the organ.  He even had someone play the organ for us…

We arrived in Tagatay City and had lunch at Max’s.  Neil ordered us all a typical Filipino lunch with a chicken plate and several side dishes.  The food was good, but the view was incredible…

You have to have coffee after a meal, so our next stop was a coffee plantation which was more like a convenient store.  They are the exclusive sellers of Wild Cat Coffee.  This coffee is quite unique.   The Civet Cat dwells in the Philippine jungles and feeds on wild coffee berries, but the cat’s digestive tract cannot break down the hard shelled beans.  Thus, it excretes those beans completely whole.  The Civet’s digestion alters the coffee in a magical way for its result in a unique aroma and taste (yeah, I know what you are thinking).  A cup will rejuvenate, keep weariness and sleepiness at bay, and banish bodily aches and pains.  It contains three times the antioxidants than other varieties.  “They” claim it is Tagatay’s best coffee and that there is nothing like it.  Well, we got to have a cup of this magical java.  It was good, and yes, we bought some…

After our afternoon coffee, we headed to the Palace in the Sky.  This was the mansion of Marcos, President of the Philippines at one time.  When the people revolted, they went to the mansion and took everything.  The remains have been turned in to the People’s Park.  We were only able to go so far, and then had to take a Jeepney to the very top.  The views are absolutely gorgeous!...

Back in the van, we headed back to Manila. We dropped off Nora after exchanging emails – a new friend J - and then got in heavy traffic getting back to Serendra.  We will definitely tour with Grey Line again.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Peter White Concert with Greg Karukus, Michael Paulo, and Spencer Day

We love our jazz and were so excited when we found out that Peter White was going to be here in concert.  Not just here, but at the Samsung Hall right across the street from our apartment!  We began the evening at Greeka Kouchina for dinner.  It didn’t take as long as we thought, so we had some time to spare.  Meandering along we found that a Barcino’s Resto Bar had just opened, so we opted to step in and have a glass of wine.  Turns out, they really had just opened, and we were their very first customers.  We had a really nice time sitting at the bar enjoying our wine conversing with the bartender...

Time was up so we headed up the escalator to the venue as the concert was at 8:00.  We should have known, however, that we are on Filipino time…the concert did not begin until 9:00 (we could have had another glass of wine J).  The music started with Michael Paulo a Filipino American from Hawaii who plays the saxophone – he could really jive with that thing!  Greg Karukus joined him on the keyboard.  I love watching him play as his face is so animated – he is feeling his music!  A Filipino singer sang two songs, and Spencer Day from the U.S. sang two songs, and then it was time for Peter White.  As always Peter White delivered – he is incredible on that guitar!  Great crowd, great performers, great time!

We walked back to our apartment near midnight not having to pay a parking fee or fight traffic.  It was a beautiful thing!

Corregidor Island

Corregidor Island
Sunday, January 26, 2014

We arrived at Manila Bay and waited in line for our boarding passes.  We boarded, got seated and waited for the boat to take off - it was actually a high speed ferry boat.  It was great to be on the water!  Even though our seats were on the lower deck inside, we were able to meander around during the ride and enjoyed some time outside…

When we got to the island we saw beautiful, clear water and breathed fresh air.  We disembarked and went to our assigned tram that would be carting us around the island all day.  It turns out the gentleman sitting next to us on the ferry was our tour guide.  He was very informative and very entertaining.  The entire island is now a war memorial and we were able to see so much history!  Of course General Douglas MacArthur played a big part here on the island of Corregidor during WWII and all Filipinos know his famous words “I Shall Return.”…

We learned that there was a woman in our tour group who was actually born on the island – a true Corregidorian.  Her father was a Filipino soldier - they were called scouts.  We passed where she lived when she was a young girl, but sadly nothing remains there today…

We saw cannons and huge bullets.  We went into the Malinta Tunnel where there was a historical light show.  What a hide out during World War II.  I can’t imagine the fear and stress these people felt – such bravery and courage!

We had a very nice lunch at the Corregidor Inn where monkeys were playing around in the trees…

We passed the remains of the barracks of the American and Filipino soldiers.  The men had been separated because of language, food, and culture, but the barracks were the same…

We saw several batteries and learned how the weapons were stored and how the cannons were used…

What a great trip. Such history!  All of that with the breath taking views – definitely worth going again.