I was amazed and couldn’t believe that in a span of four months, I was able to show Cebu City to guests from Luzon and Mindanao. Well the guest from Mindanao wasn’t really new to the place. hehehe I really had a great time touring them around As much as I enjoyed giving them a tour of Cebu City, I realized that I really suck at being a tour guide For one, I am not that familiar with the  roads where the famous tourist spots were located. In fact, I got lost in the downtown area and had to circle a couple of blocks just to get out of where we were Then there’s the embarrassing part of my guests suggesting we ask people around when I couldn’t figure out what jeepney we need to take to go to a certain area. Then there’s also a matter of not knowing when places like the Taoist Temple would close. Not that I was expected to know that too. I guess I should have prepared for this. I should have created a list of possible places to visit within the city including the hours of operation of these locations.

I couldn’t help remind myself that I should create a fool proof guide to my own tour guide stunts – a fool proof IT to discovering Cebu City. hehehe.

Oh well, another “guest’s” coming over this weekend. He’s also from here but needs to be updated on the ideal places to eat in town, which he’s been raving about the whole time so I promised him I’d be his eating buddy all throughout his 3-week stay if ever he needs one

I also told one of the visitors I hosted that if they wanted to really, really see Cebu, they need to travel to the north and the south of the province as there’s not much to see within the city, except for a few key tourist spots. But not being able to visit the beautiful beaches of Cebu wouldn’t complete any new comer’s attempt at discovering Cebu’s hidden gems. Afterall, it wouldn’t be called the Queen City of the South for nothing.

So two or three months from now, I might find my feet in the island of Camotes if everything pushes through

Here’s some info of my attempts as a tour guide

Origin: Muntinplupa City
Travel Date: June 2010
Duration: less than 24 hours
Destinations: SM City Cebu, Magellan’s Cross, Tabo-an, Iglesia ni Cristo at Mango Avenue

My cousin and her husband went on a bike roadtrip from Muntinlupa City down to Bicol, Samar and Leyte to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Since the roads in Samar are really bad, they decided to hop on a boat going to Cebu instead and take the next boat that leaves the province going to Manila. I just received a text message from my cousin when they were 3 hours away from the port of Cebu that they were arriving in town This was the second time I met my cousin. The first time was during my granma’s birthday last May 2010.

Origin: Bulacan
Travel Date: August 22-24, 2010
Duration: 3 days/2 nights
Destinations: Basilica del Santo Niño, Magellan’s Cross, SM City Cebu, Bigby’s Ayala. Their friends in Cebu toured them to Fort San Pedro, Taoist Temple and Mactan Shrine

Another cousin decided to drop by Cebu, for the first time, after her family spent their vacation in Bohol. With her were her two kids and her husband. They went on a vacation to celebrate the birthdays of their eldest child and her hubby. The last time I saw this cousin of mine was when we were still kids. ehehehe

Origin: Ilocos Norte
Travel Date: Sept. 8-9, 2010
Duration: 2 days/1 night
Destinations: Central Books along P. del Rosario, Redemptorist Church, Basilica del Santo Niño, Magellan’s Cross, AAs in Lahug, E-mall, Argao, Carcar

on our way to the airport

Since Eric hasn’t eaten in Casa Verde yet, Ed decided to bring him there instead. We also thought it wasn’t a good idea to go to CNT Lechon since there won’t be any decent lechon left as it was past lunch time already. Eric was game with the idea of eating at Casa Verde so we headed straight to the original branch of Casa Verde along F. Ramos St.

Bryan’s Baby back ribs @ P169.00

Eric of Byahilo.com with Ed and I

Eric was really amazed at how big the ribs were and how cheap it was. We also forgot to mention that part to him.  hehehe. Ed and I decided to share 1 rib and ordered Victoria’s Secret Pasta. We were glad that Eric liked the place and he vowed he’d be back there.

After our late lunch, Audrey and The Photoblogger EJ joined us as we headed to Parkmall while we killed time waiting for Eric’s flight out of Cebu. While deciding where we’d hang out, we dropped by Pixel Pro, a shop for photo enthusiasts.

Byahilo and The Photoblogger

EJ, me, Audrey and Eric

Then we chilled at Coffee Dream

EJ, Ed, Doi, Audrey and Enrico before heading to the airport

The rain poured while we were on our way to the airport and we were joking around saying that Eric’s flight could possibly get delayed due to the heavy rain showers. Later that night, we received word that Eric safely landed in Manila.

This was my second time meeting up with a fellow blogger whose not based from Cebu, the first one was with Winston Almendras of batangyagit.com. I’m glad I did. I like the idea of meeting up with new acquaintances who share the same interests as we do – blogging, photography and travelling.

Nice meeting you Eric! Hope we get to see each other this August. Looking forward to our Iloilo, Zambales and Sagada trips!

NOTE: Photos courtesy of soloflightEd.com

is better than having no cake at all. Just ate Mango Sushi Crepe from East West earlier with my good friend Debbie. But this is just a proxy to my craving for cake. I still need to grab a slice… maybe a Death by Chocolate at Casa Verde, or the Sinfully Chocolate Cake from Madeleine or Leona’s Banoffee Pie. Hopefully I can get one before the week ends.

Actually, the night before, Ed, his brother Dan and I went out to eat at  Casa Verde at The Walk in IT Park Cebu.

the usual photoshoot before eating our orders

store’s lamp and ceiling

Caryl’s Country Chicken Salad

This was what I ordered. It has lettuce, bacon bits, diced egg, battered chicken, tomatoes, carrots and cheese  topped with honey mustard dressing. Served with bread and butter. The serving was really huge too. Ed and Dan ordered the baby back ribs.

the night before ed’s day

The celebration was not really planned. I went out of our house late in the afternoon to buy a bible at the OMF Literature Bookshop in Ramos St. when I discovered that Ed was shopping for clothes at Robinsons Place Cebu, a block away from the bookshop where I was. He was trying to buy a jacket and asked me to go there so that I could also check if it looked ok on him.

Ed, going for a shopping spree

I found him inside one of the dressing rooms trying on a shirt with prints of The Beatles, his favorite. Then he showed me the jacket he wanted to buy. There were actually no sizes available for him on the display  rack and when we asked the sales attendant what size was on the mannequin, we immediately asked the attendant to take off the jacket from the mannequin since that was the size Ed wanted. And the rest was history. I lost count of the number of items he bought

Ed, signing raffle tickets in case he wins items for “Beauty Essentials” … hahaha… he actually asked me to sign the raffle coupons since he wouldn’t be needing the beauty products in case he wins but I shoved the pen to him since it’s his day..who knows, he might get lucky and win the items

Since it was almost dinner time, Ed decided to treat us instead and so we called Audrey and asked her to meet us in Ayala. We decided to eat at Bigby’s since both of them haven’t been to this restaurant and also  due to the free wi-fi connection and the free treat for anyone who’s celebrating their birthday.

a huge menu greets you at the store’s entrance; the real menu

we ordered the Belly Buster, Triple Crunch Platter and the Strawberry Shortcake

Ed wanted to order their famous Titanic Treat but since there were only 3 of us, we didn’t go for it. This dessert is served with 30 scoops of ice cream. Beside the picture of this dessert shows the following message:

Note: Ready for a challenge? IF you can finish one Titanic Treat with a friend in 5 minutes, it’s on us!

Well,  we didn’t dare try it since the ice cream might ruin our appetite. ehehehe…maybe next time.

the store’s walls are covered with different items from places around the globe

the birthday boy, burning his laptop while we wait for our food

the Triple Crunch Platter (P285) : a  combination of tic-tac-rolls, nachos and sweet onion loops

the Belly Buster (P465) : the ultimate combo of half rack grilled baby back ribs, 2 big pieces of rodeo chops and a slab of smoky pork belly served in one heaping platter with garlic rice, buttered vegetables and onion rings

When we ordered the Triple Crunch Platter and the Belly Buster, we didn’t realize that both have onion rings in it. I even thought they were calamari rings till I sliced and ate one. There were just too many of those onions rings and we failed to consume all of them.

the Strawberry Shortcake (P159) : layers of strawberries with lightly whipped cream sandwiched between two butter pound cake

Ed’s complimentary birthday dessert

What I didn’t like was how it took the staff a long time to serve the dessert we ordered. We had to ask for it. They should have been more proactive in asking if we’d like to have our dessert served. after they cleared the plates from our table. We were also waiting for them to serve Ed’s free birthday treat and it took forever for them to serve it too. We had already consumed our Strawberry Shortcake and they haven’t served it. If we hadn’t asked for our bill, they would have probably kept us waiting. I wonder what got into their heads. Normally, they’d serve the surprise treat after the meal but this one took them forever. I just hope the management checks on this one.

Anyway, we still had a great time. Took a video of the birthday song the staff threw for Ed. I can hardly understand the lyrics of the first part of the birthday song. (P.S.  posted a video of the song but the birthday boy requested to have it deleted. You can always check it out in YouTube   )

Ed kept saying “Nauwaw ko, nauwaw ko Doi” (I’m embarrassed). It was really hilarous when the brownie cup was served with the birthday hat and all. I wonder what happened to their birthday props. Normally, the staff wears joker hats as they serve the complimentary treats.

Ed and Audrey full from the food we ate

The Terraces by night

Happy Birthday Ed!

Before we went home, we went to Alibyo Boutique Spa. We signed up for a VIP membership there where we  get a 20% discount on all services all year round and part of their perks gives us a free Foot Massage or a free Foot Reflexology on our birthdays. Ed had to claim his free service so I accompanied him. We really thought the free service was a full body massage. Anyway, Ed end up having an hour of Foot Massage while I availed of the 1 hour Body Massage. Next month, I’ll be claiming my free service too. Yipey!

To our “baby boy” Ed, may you have a stree-free life this year and a lifetime of happiness and success. Will Audrey and I be expecting a love life blossoming this year too?

Happy Birthday Booooooyyyy!

I only brought P100 with me when I went down the ground floor of our building to meet up with Ed and his brother Dan earlier. I am already broke and the payday is three days away so I need to budget my food allowance since I have to pay for my parking fees too. I thought we were just going to eat at Chowabungga, McDonalds, Jollibee or KFC but Dan was itching to swipe his card so after debating on whether to eat at Roma Mia, Casa Verde, Shakeys or Mocha Blends in SkyRise, Casa Verde won over. So off we went to The Walk.

This is what they call Bryan’s Baby Back Ribs…don’t bother asking who Bryan is coz I don’t have any clue This is what Casa Verde is famous for. The ribs are really huge and it could serve 2 individuals. Their side dish includes a choice of rice, carrots and corn, mashed potato and I think fries. Not really sure though. This is really a highly recommended resto to dine whenever you’re in Cebu as you will surely go gaga over their ribs.

Then here’s another yummy treat from Casa Verde, their Seafood pasta (cooked carbonara style). Within those pile of pasta, you can find shrimps, squid and mushrooms. Wait. When did  mushrooms became a part of the seafood family? hahaha.

I hope that my mind would stop thinking about food for a while so that I don’t have to crave for good food all the time. That way, I can work on my diet for once. hehehe. I hope temptations would stay away from me for the next three months.