Quezon vacation completes my summer

I have just spent one week of a wonderful summer vacation in my hometown of San Francisco in the province of Quezon, which is my own slice of heaven on earth. I made sure every moment counted, eating delicious food cooked by my mom and brother-in-law, and going to the beach to watch the sunset and walk barefoot on the sand at every opportunity. 

I took photos - lots of it - at the beach, especially the sunset which is my top favorite thing in life. I would thank God every time I was there on the shore, breathing in the gentle breeze, feeling the moist, rough sand under my feet and then the cold water at the coming of each wave, and watching the sun hide itself on the horizon to signal the end of a happy, blessed day.  Seeing the marvelous beauty of nature, I would praise the Lord for His magnificent works, 

made for us all to enjoy.

Kulong-Kulong Beach, San Francisco, Quezon. We went here for a swim and picnic.


Also at Kulong-Kulong, which is a little far from 'our' beach, meaning the one that's near our home.

Afternoon walk at the seashore to watch the sunset. 

Small fishing boats at rest

A medium-sized fishing boat called 'basnig' 

Near the mangrove area where we went looking for sea urchins but found none

Gorgeous seashells to add to my collection

Meanwhile, meal times were happy moments for our tummies. For one whole week, the kids and I were fed delicious "ulam" (viand) by my mom and brother-in-law that included inihaw na baboy, nilagang baka, crispy beef tapa and tinolang native na manok. For merienda, we would go to eateries to eat halo-halo or mais con yelo, chami - the pancit that is popular here in the southern part of Quezon that uses miki noodles - and pancit bihon. Sometimes, I'd buy "kakanin" or mom would fry "saba" or boil ears of corn. I'm pretty sure all of us went back to Manila 
a few pounds heavier than we left. Haha!  

Inihaw na baboy. Even without marinade, my kuya's version is so mean! 

Tinolang native na manok. You know the soup's much more flavorful when native chicken is used. 

Nilagang baka - my all-time favorite ulam 

What a beauty: purple 'kakanin' topped with toasted coconut

Chami - my daughter's favorite 

Now this is my all-time favorite merienda: pancit bihon 

Quezon crispy tapa and fried rice-corn make this the best "tapsilog" for me.

Fried "saba" and coffee make for a nice mid-morning snack 

It was our town's fiesta and we were served "sugpo" at my cousin's house. Yum!

Going on vacation is always a wonderful time especially when spent at a place full of memories of growing up. For me, it's a bonus that our town is a coastal area because I love the sea and sunset by the beach. Traveling back to Manila is always the saddest part. Maybe someday when I retire, I could settle for good in my beloved hometown. Who knows, I might be even able to build a home right there at the seafront. That would be a dream come true!

Fun summer at Phi-Phi Beach Resort in Morong, Bataan

As I write this, it's been just five hours since I arrived from Morong, Bataan, where our agency held its annual Gender Awareness Development seminar/outing. While in that province north of Manila, we stayed at Phi-Phi Beach Resort for three days and two nights. My co-workers and I so enjoyed our stay - the good food, nice and comfortable rooms and most of all, nature at its finest - the beach and 

my favorite of all God's creations - the glorious, 

beautiful, mystic sunset!  

Entrance to Phi-Phi Beach Resort 

Guests' rooms 

One of the swimming pools 

View of Phi-Phi Resort from the beach 

Inside our room 

The sea viewed from the balcony of our seminar room at the second floor 

Minutes just before the sun dips into the depths of the earth

Dusk - my favorite time of the day

At dawn the following day, I went to the shore and found fish vendors 

Fresh squid. I bought two kilos 

Galunggong. I don't know what the big fish inside the plastic bag is.

Customers haggling with the vendor 

Boats of various colors

My eyes feasted on the various picturesque sights here. But my tummy was full and happy as well! Nearly everything that was served to us during the duration of our stay was delicious.  

Day 1 / welcome lunch - chicken afritada, breaded porkchop and mixed vegetables with rice. There's also
crab and corn soup and buko pandan for dessert 

Day 1 afternoon snacks - carbonara and garlic toast

Day 1 Dinner - sesame pork, chopsuey, grilled bangus (milkfish) and pork sinigang wirh rice plus corn soup and fresh banana for dessert.

Day 2 breakfast - fried rice, scrambled egg, corned beef and ham

Day 2 morning snacks - pancit bihon and tuna sandwich 

Day 2 lunch - beefsteak, toge guisado, fried chicken with rice, crab and corn soup plus maja blanca for dessert  

Day 2 afternoon snacks - spaghetti and chicken sandwich

Day 2 dinner - fried tilapia, ampalaya guisado and grilled liempo with rice plus chicken tinola
and creamed sago for dessert


Day 3 breakfast - fried rice, scrambled egg, beef tapa and longganisa. There's also corn soup
which is kinda unusual, if not weird, for breakfast. Hehe..

For morning snacks and lunch on Day 3, the resort just packed everything because we left early so we could drop by Subic Freeport to go shopping. We were given pesto pasta and ham and cheese sandwich for merienda and for lunch, lechon kawali and fried chicken.  We ate on the bus after we finished
buying stuff at Puregold in Subic.
Food in general at Phi-Phi Resort was delish! The only I didn't like was the maja blanca because it was rough in texture and way too sweet. This and the fact that there was no brewed coffee! Aargh!

Anyway, here's what we had for dinner tonight (with my family back here in Manila) - the squid
that I bought in Morong, which I asked the vendor to grill, too for an additional P50.
Fresh and delicious inihaw na pusit. 

Yes, I would recommend Phi-Phi Beach Resort for your nice vacation with the
family or barkada this summer. Here, you could go swimming at the pool or beach, play ball games, go island hopping (You could ride a boat for P200/person) or simply watch the sunset and savor
time off from work and away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Have a good life, folks! Magandang buhay!