I have been out every single day since I returned from my month-long Pinas vacation. It’s my way of eluding depression because, like every single time I go home, it definitely is NOT good to be back here.

So, how was our vacation? Great, as usual. The fact that it was an all-expenses paid trip (thanks LoloA) for all of us (except for J’s brother who had to pay for his own flight to Pinas) made this particular trip even greater.

My family hosted all 7 of us during our whole stay. Our bed sheets and towels were changed regularly. Even our curtains were changed, to match the bed sheets. Our dirty clothes mysteriously reappear cleaned a day later. It was like staying in a hotel, only better.

We had a fantastic time touring around our 2 adult Pinas-virgins (my sister’s long-time boyfriend and J’s brother). The whole Atienza family joined in all the activities. It was like seeing Manila, Tagatay, Cocobeach and Boracay with new eyes.

During our stay, BabyM was also baptized at my parents’ local parish. We originally planned a big party but we had to change our plans into a family-only affair. BabyM and I had bronco-pneumonia and the frequent visits to Cardinal Santos did not give us enough time to plan the party. So I ended up uninviting friends. Sayang.

In Manila…

• we drove all the way to UP Diliman because L (J’s brother) wanted to ride a jeepney. We parked at the Bahay ng Alumni (where my old office UP-CIDS is located), ate at Chocolate Kiss and rode a UP-Ikot jeep. Yup, with both kids in tow.
• After our jeep tour, we drove to Greenbelt. The heat made JP take his clothes off and play in the fountain. We relaxed and had the strong wind dry off our sweat by sitting al fresco at the Ayala Museum Cafe. We ended the day by stuffing our faces at Circles in Makati Shangri-la.
• We also toured around Binondo. Unfortunately, we had to cut our walking tour short because of the smell of the bubbling estero which almost made J throw up.
• We braved the heat and went around Fort Santiago.
• We also did the standard Manila baywalk tour. We even waited for the sunset at Cafe Adriatico by the bay.

In Tagaytay, we didn’t stay like we usually do because L only had 10 days in Manila. So, we just made a quick tour around.

• we ate at Leslie’s to show the “volcano within a lake within a volcano…” to L. Unlike J’s experience, we didn’t ride a banca to go to the island itself.
• we also drove up to the dilapidated Palace in the Sky
• we showed L the much-hyped property back in the 90s, Canyon Woods.

We were so excited about Boracay that we looked ready for the beach even at the domestic airport. My brother rented the beachfront house of Whitehouse in the much quieter, cleaner and finder sanded area of Station 1. We went island hopping, picnicked at the other side of the island, rode a speed boat, went jet skiing for 30 minutes each, had calorific cakes at Lemon Cafe, hanged out at the Cabana, ate a lot and just enjoyed being together.

There are actually more stories (food, people I met and shopping) but I’ll save those for later.

For more photos, check out the following flickr photo sets: Boracay, Manila, Tagaytay and babyM’s baptism.