Tayo na sa Antipolo!

     We are not spontaneous. If there is one thing about my little family, we like things planned. As early as when my kids were babies, their feeding was time, sleep time were scheduled. Everything in almost quartz precision time. ( Not as I had hoped.) Our travels are no different. Each adventure is born from meticulous research; reading numerous reviews, countless drops of Eye-Mo for eye strain from looking at the computer screen. Still a question hangs if H will approve or will be not too lazy to drive us. After all, he is the king of I-love-my-comfort-zone. If he does agree, then after the initial shock and disbelief, the thrill of spontineity begins. What? Huh? We are actually going? Well one day in April this year, luck was on our side and H was uh, spontaneous and agreed to go to my 'planned' Antipolo Day. 

     We left the house at around 7am and took the back door of our village (Marikina) to Antipolo. First stop was Antipolo Church or the Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage Shrine. We were just going to stop by and pray but luckily Holy Mass was starting and we decide to stay and hear mass. Though Red ( Yellow is now Red since she moved schools.) and I were wearing shorts the ladies in church had sky blue shawls ready to lend church goers and use as cover-ups. It was such a blessing to hear mass as Our Lady in Antipolo is the patroness of travel and we were leaving for two trips in May. Yey!!! Praise God!

Bought some rosaries for H's mom here.

     After church I bought a bunch of samplings of the suman and sapin-sapin (Native Filipino snacks) that are or me quintessentially Antipolo so the kids can try. I grew up going to Antipolo every month of May and eating these. Sadly my kids are not fond of local food like this. They tried them though and said ok. Okay! 

 I love this suman! I used to eat it with sugar now muscovado! Healthy daw!

     Next on our itinerary was Crescent Moon Cafe and Lanelle Abueva's pottery studio. I loooove pottery and I've been a fan of Lanelle forever. In fact the double sinks in our master bath are made by Lanelle. We got lost a bit. Waze's fault. It has been too long since I went there. 

Koi pond is still there!

     Lanelle makes the same kind of pottery though updated but I really go there for the rejects pieces in the back. The guy charged me P200 a kilo I think I read P150 somewhere but I was too excited to care plus he gave us lots of freebies. My mission was to buy condiment dishes and I did so I was happy! 

      Next stop PINTO Art Gallery!

 

     The last time I was there was to watch a Cecile Licad concert with my mom as we were invited by her med school senior who is the gallery owner, Dr. Joven Cuanang. Yup! Again, ages ago. It has expanded so much! We got a guide! We always get a guide or a docent when we go to museums. He was a student doing OJT and we learned a lot and appreciated the pieces more because of him. (Plus, he saved me yanking out my reading glasses to read about the pieces.) It was the height of summer and it got really hot. (If you intend to come here, please wera summer clothes.) We were thirsty and hungry after the tour and though the museum coffee shop was tempting, we were hungrier than the looks of the coffee shop. 

     Meanwhile please scroll all the way down and enjoy my Pinto porn! Too many beautiful art and spaces!  You'll know where we ate at the end of the post.

     I wanted to have lunch at a place owned by my high school friend Diana Lee and have read good reviews about. We had to go back up Antipolo a bit to get there from PINTO and the traffic was already bad. How sad that we are so limited sometimes by this terrible traffic jams. Anyway, after much debating we all agreed to drive down from Antipolo altogether and eat at Rustic Mornings in Marikina. Yummy, every one's favorite! So much for Antipolo Day... So there you go our planned, spontaneous Antipolo + Marikina Adventure! 

      Where to next?

Fried Chicken and Waffle at Rustic Mornings

A Midweek Weekend

     A lot of parents like me wonder how come parenting has become so complicated nowadays. We grew up watching our moms have one child after another, go to work, keep house, manage to be great and supportive wives effortlessly. They made it look so easy. Now,  I cannot even be proud of anything in particular I have done as a mother. It seems that my finger is in so many pies, I wear too many hats...Hmmm...other idiomatic expressions I can use? You know what I mean.

    In my own simple understanding of my life as a parent, I raise a white flag at one of the culprits that cripple the very essence of family life today. Distractions. Each and every member of the family has one. Against the basics which is work for the parents and school for the kids, we now have the media, Internet, our various hobbies, the consumerist world of the giant malls. The list in endless and far from easy to detach from. 

 

     Last week I stumbled upon a simple, primal (please let me describe it as such) way to counter our life of distractions. We, parents need to continue to be creative....We began with enjoying a weekend in the middle of a week.

     We were to watch The Phantom of the Opera at the Cultural Center of the Philippines last Thursday, September 13. Since it was a school day, figuring out how to effectively map out the route and details of getting to the show was a challenge. Aside from getting ready to watch the play, we had traffic to deal with, where do we get a bite to eat before the show, (for sure the kids will be hungry) the traffic we will sure encounter heading home...Oh, dear! I remembered I had complimentary hotel vouchers at the Midas Hotel. This could work. Sure the kids need to go to school the next day but this will surely make all of us more relaxed.

     After fetching the kids from school we headed to Midas Hotel which is five minutes from the CCP.

     Formerly the old Hyatt Hotel it is newly renovated by Ivy and Cynthia Almario. Check out the impressive lobby.

      Was it me or were the people at the front desk not as friendly as the rest of the hotel? Maybe we were screaming complimentary?

     I loved the hand-painted walls and bird cages on the hallways leading to the guest rooms.

     Our bedroom for the night! I expected the rooms to be big since this hotel is old and it is good that way. But the beds were small. Luckily it was not eons ago that H and I slept with little kids who end up lying diagonal towards morning. Room was comfy enough but we did have to call in housekeeping to vacuum some spots they missed. (Rolling my eyes now.)

    First things first, HOMEWORK!

Room service for an early dinner before getting ready for the show.....The food in this hotel is very good by the way.

And we are ready!

      We were all so hungover from the play, we kept talking about it until the wee hours of the morning. So much for hoping to sleep early but it was worth it. We had a glorious time.

    The next day at 6 am the kids were whisked away to school by the driver and one of the helps while H and I were left to enjoy breakfast and the rest of our stay in the hotel.

    This was my breakfast. I always go for the Asian fare especially the noodles at breakfast and this marinated fish thingy.
   

     The view from our breakfast table was my sister's condo. HEY!!!

The buffet was great by the way,

     As expected H and I got bored without the kids around so we checked out early and went to work....Haha!
 

     I feel quite proud of myself for the short and simple break we were able to afford ourselves as a family. It felt good to enjoy a different environment and we all love hotels, a wonderful play and a renewed sense of family. Yes, it is harder for parents now but you just don't stop trying.