Thursday, April 29, 2010

Rocks



Fascinating rock islets sitting pretty in the middle of the sea of Padre Burgos . . .




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See more of Padre Burgos here .

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Revised Sta. Rita Post

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This post still holds as the top ranking most viewed blog entry of Ascertain Bliss. I also recieved alot of emails about it. I visited the post today and realized how I had just haphazardly done it. To make- up , I revised it today , included more photos that showcased the charms of the island resort.

It was a year old post. Trek back this way = = = >> > > click this > Sta. Rita Beach Resort , Quezon .

ps : we're heading to the south this weekend. if (not sure) i found time and weather permitted , i would try to drop by to this resort and get updates for those who emailed me asking for details. let us see :D

Where To ?

Woohooo o o o o ! ! !
. . another long weekend is coming up ! ! !



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May 1, Philippine Labor Day falls on a Saturday . . Monday, May 3 has been announced as a non- working holiday .

The kids shout _ where to ? where to ? go where ? We'll try to follow the sun this weekend !

See ya ! ! !

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Manila Ocean Park


Due to paucity of water in Manila, at home, we have to wake up earlier than usual. We need to fill up numerous drums of water just for a day consumption . The water supply is only available at early dawn. Low water pressure couldn't take the water up to the tank. It needs manual labor. Welcome to El Nino summer in Manila ! Maynilad _ h e l l o ! ! !

So blame me not _ if I tend to kick you with water scenes (ocean,beach,pools,resorts) on my summer posts. Where else to go with this scorching heat of the season. . To the --> water.water.water !!

This morning (in search of cool places), I came across with my girls' old album of Manila Ocean Park. The photos were taken about 2 years ago (if I wasn't mistaken). The ocean park had just been newly opened. I was not with them. But now seeing these photos make me want to dive inside the huge aquarium and stay under water for a while. That's a good way to beat the heat. Don't you think so? For now let me flip back on these photos with you and chill as I do so.








Jackets and umbrellas !! Don't we envy them for the opportunity bestowed upon them by the cool weather of rainy season ?




























Then, the highlight of their visit was the boating around a man made lake. Today, there are lots of additional activities being featured in the park.




Well, I hope these help you beat the heat away. . . even for a while.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Secret Paradise


I was invited by a friend and she insisted _ I must bring my family !, to her newly acquired private beach resort. For now, she wanted the details to be kept secret but encourage me to blog about my visit, so long proper names wouldn't be mentioned. The rich overseas husband didn't know about it yet.


one of the prettiest clouds I've ever glanced above



would these tall coconut trees give away the secret location ?



So we drove not so far from Manila but the sceneries were rurally green, one would have thought it was so far away from the city.






The private resort was pretty perfect ! Composition was complete _ the sea, the sand and the colors of green which dominated the place.

There was even a bonus of heritage/history. She chose to preserve the old house of the former owner which seemed to be a century old. I was not sure but . . .






Most aspects of the house were vintage looking if not antique. I read somewhere that antique is 100 years old and above, while vintage is below 100 years. Anyway, it seemed everything there was old but beautiful.
In contrast the main house where we stay during our visit was modern and looked so new. I didn't take any photos of the main house to maintain the privacy my friend deserved. Fronting this house was a large pool. My friend had 5 growing years old kids.



Bianx and Kyla easily got acquainted with these sweet kids. They didn't waste a minute and stayed in the water with them until the sun got tired of them and decided to take a rest.



It was already dinner time when the kids decided to get off the pool. Well, kids are like mermaids. They love to stay in the water.




Dinner was served al fresco, by the ocean. We enjoyed the day's fresh catches from the sea. I was hungry and excited to taste each dish and decided to stop taking photos on the second plate and succumbed to the call of all delicious foods on the table.

We retired happily that night and early morning we had to go back home. Things were pretty hectic. I kissed my friend goodbye with a promise to go back soon and stay longer.

Thankyou so much bff for sharing your paradise with me.



Oh God, thank you for my friends who mostly are wealthy now but stay the same as they were when we were younger when friendship was the most valuable thing. They are still as down to earth as when they were not yet this rich today. Love, love them. They still love me eventhough I'm definitely no longer on the same level with them. God bless them more.