Commuting with the Perezes: October in Tagaytay

by - 1:58 PM

Tagaytay! We came. We saw. We conquered.

And by commuting too! That's how we roll.

This a long overdue post as I had been busy with work. I got hired last October as a remote employee for an Australian Company. I will talk about that in another post, but I just had to mention because this was the reason why we decided to spend some quality time as a family.

Popy's first time in Tagaytay was last June. He was 11 months young then and we were confined at Balai Taal since we came for a wedding. The little cutie pie was a ring bearer. :) It ended very late, so we weren't able to do as tourists do.

As with our Baguio trip, if you remember in my previous post, we didn't have reservations for this one too. Instead, we just hopped on a DLTB Bus at 5 am and headed straight to our Aunt's rest house in Alfonso, Cavite. Thank God for relatives with rest houses. We were able to save on accommodation.

It was drizzling when we arrived, and we had to walk all the way to the house which felt like a kilometer of hills that went up and down.

We arrived around 7am, roamed the property for a while and fell asleep.

The theme of the interior was native, evident with all the bamboo, wood, capiz and banig elements. I loved it. Between me and my husband, I am the old soul. He prefers modern-looking houses with neutral colors and a lot of edges.




We got up for lunch and walked all the way out of the village again and to the tricycle terminal for our first stop. Hah!

Sonya's Garden

The terminal was just a few meters from the village gate. One-way cost us PhP 30. It was around 1.5 KM from the Tagaytay-Nasugbu Road.

I have high expectations for Sonya's, considering the rave. The place was quaint, and they had a couple of staff waiting by the entrance who will explain the menu and find you a place to sit. The dining area was huge and had ceiling drapes. I have a thing for ceiling drapes because it makes rooms look romantic.



Food at Sonya's was homegrown and organic. They serve lunch buffet priced at PhP 683.00 per person. Popy ate for free.

The table set up had a glass with a mint leaf. Funny though was that my husband removed the leaf thinking it was... Um... Dirt. He placed it back when I told him it was part of the drink.

We were served a basket of their baked goods and dips, which I liked because it was still warm. Next, we had a salad. I liked the fact that there were edible flowers. We try to give our son fresh produce and healthy homemade meals, so this one was a good. The main course, I will talk about later. Dessert was nice. I didn't see the glazed sweet potato but the turon was lovely. The chocolate cake was so moist, I almost died, but the serving seemed like just bite size for a dessert lover like me. They served bottomless fresh dalandan juice which the boys loved, and then tarragon tea after meals.

Ok, back to the main course. The main course was pasta. They had two sauces, sun dried tomato and chicken cream with mango; and choice of toppings, ratatouille, salmon belly, shiitake mushrooms, black olives, capers and grated parmesan. The salmon belly was crispy, though I'm not a fan of salmon, in general. My husband got the tomato and I got the cream. They were bland. I am so sorry for Sonya's fans, but the sauces were too bland for us. The chicken cream, in particular, tasted like heavy cream. The rest of the food were great, but the pasta sauce lets us down.

Anyhow, we had a grand time roaming the property after lunch. My husband who was scared of dolls, left the "My Favorite Things" room, very quickly. We dropped by the panaderia to buy some bread and scored myself a jar of homemade peanut butter.


My husband's a green thumb so he really took his time in visiting the greenhouse. He even interviewed the gardener.

HOW MY SON TAKES PHOTOS WITH ME: 






VERSUS


HOW I TAKE THE BOYS' PHOTO



Sky Ranch

To be honest, there's nothing new here. We just opted to visit so we can take Popy for rides, which he enjoyed. I got dizzy in the Sky Eye. Must be a sign of ageing.



Bag of Beans

This was our brunch the next day. I've been to Bag of Beans' Rotonda Branch thrice prior to this visit, but this is our first in the main branch. At Php 600+ per person, it was good considering the variety of food available. My husband wished we had eaten here instead of Sonya's. Well, the choices may not be as healthy. I don't know if they have a farm to table set up, but I'd still choose Bag of Beans to appease my hunger.

The restaurant was cozy. They have wonderfully set up dining spaces both in and al fresco. We chose a table inside the dining hall where the buffet was. I don't even need to think about that. Breastfeeding has made me really really hungry that I eat more than my husband can, nowadays, so I need to be in close proximity to the food. Hahaha! Our son, on the other hand, slept until we finished our meal. We were free already when he woke up, so we didn't have to take turns in eating.




We had some photos taken around after we were done eating.



Well, I  got to hand it to him on this one. :)



_________________________

What I liked about our trip was that Popy slept early. In Manila, he sleeps very very late. In Tagaytay (actually, Alfonso already), since most of the houses were empty, the village was all quiet and it made Popy sleepy by 9 PM.




The bus ride home was crazy.

The old woman behind us kept chanting odd things. Really odd. The people standing on the aisle who just got in and did not hear the start of grandmother's chants thought she was talking about them and she rebutted when they talked to her. Thankfully, she got off soon because it was starting to get really creepy on the bus.

Popy acted up along the way too. We paid for two seats and he started crying from Dasmarinas until Pasay. Gab wore Popy and stood on the aisle from Imus until after the Alabang-Zapote Road. Then we switched places, and I stood with Popy until Pasay terminal.

Here were the boys during their standing session:



We're looking forward to more trips soon, and it doesn't matter if we're commuting again. :)






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40 comments

  1. I used to love commuting, too when I was tasked to visit different places and write about them. I love riding a bus, particularly. Now that I have been staying at home for more than a year, I feel sick once in public transport. I do not know if its my menieres and vertigo or I the fact that I seldom travel and leave house. One thing though that I love now is driving for my family.

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    1. Naku, I used to drive too, Mummy Berlin! :) I was the designated family driver years back, but we lost the car after it got stuck since we were all out of the country and no one used it regularly.

      Not to miss out on anything, we travel pa rin even by commute. I don't mind commuting out of town, to be honest. I mind commuting within the metro more. Hahaha! We went to Sta. Rosa last weekend by bus and took us 45min. Samantalang dito one city away takes us an hour. Hahaha! Kapag nagka-car na kami, trust that we're always off to somewhere. :)

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  2. I can relate with the picture taking. Funny how we can capture their great moments while they capture our crazy and akward ones. Haha

    I don't mind commuting alone, but I'm sure I 'll have difficulty with my toddlers on board. :)

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    1. I have another photo where my son's tummy was showing because he was trying to go down from being carried! I rarely have proper photos with him and my husband gets all the photos where my son's sweet as an angel. Hahaha!

      I can commute with a toddler. Pag toddlers, I can't anymore. Hahaha!

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  3. That's what I can never do - commute. Haha! I'm just too scared. That's why I usually have to cancel if I don't have a car available. Otherwise, I go for Uber or Grab. Yun lang, for longer trips, di ko talaga kaya.

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    1. We're carless kasi. Hihi. But within the metro, we usually go for Grab kasi my husband doesn't want our son exposed to pollution so much. Pero for long trips, kaya naman namin. We've tried Baguio with my parents last summer. I wonder where we'll be off too next.

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  4. We love Tagaytay but ive never really tried commuting going there or in any other places. I dont know how! Hehe! Glad you enjoyed the getaway though :)

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    1. I'm our family's official researcher + human waze. Hahaha! Sana nga may car na kami. I could have driven to so many places with the boys.

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  5. Awww! When was the last time we've been to Tagaytay? Tagal na!!! I hope when the hubby comes home, we can take our son there.

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    1. Tara na mummy! :) We're planning to go back soon. It's our quick getaway kasi out of the metro kapag stressed na kami sa life. Hahaha!

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  6. I have been planning a family trip. Just the three of us to Tagaytay. This year I wish we can finally make it. Thank you for sharing! Happy 2017!

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    1. I hope you do! It's great to getaway from our busy lives sometimes. Nakakarelax, even for the kids.

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  7. Malapit lang kami sa tagaytay (from Cavite), pero dpa namin natry yung mga places na yan, though famous spots nga yan. Usually kasi Bulalo stop over lang, hehe! Well, at least may idea na kami where to go around next time. ;)

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    1. There's so much rave on Bulalo. My husband would really like to try, but nadidishearten sya kapag alam nyang sya lang kakain kasi I don't eat beef. Medyo mahal pa naman isang order.

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  8. The last time we were at Sonya's Garden, the kids were just toddlers. They are teens now I think I should take them back. Pretty sure they'll have a better appreciation for the food this time.

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  9. I love your photos. You seem to have accomplished a lot and via commuting too and with a baby 😁. Nice that you had a wonderful time.

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  10. I love the food at Sonya's Garden especially their spanish bread. The Tagaytay weather is so good during this time.

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  11. Tagaytay is one of my favorite destinations too. I just hate the traffic situation in that area especially during weekends.

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  12. I've never been to Tagaytay! Maybe I should include it my itinerary the next time I fly to Manila. :)

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  13. Looks like a fun trip! Naka-relate ako sa how you take your husband and son's photos VS. how yours was taken. Hahaha! Medyo creepy yung sa matanda, buti bumaba sya agad. :/ Naku, I am yet to prepare an itinerary for us as we're planning to go to Tagaytay din sana this January or February habang di pa gaanong malaki tyan ko. And we'll be commuting lang din! Good luck naman, sana hindi topakin ang toddler ko kasi mag-aaway sila ng husband ko hahaha

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  14. Oh so you took public transport around Tagaytay? I want to do that! We recently gave up on our car and let it go and I don't want to be restricted by the lack of a private car. I want to do this, too. Yun nga lang, no relatives with resthouses in tagaytay for us, hihi.

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    1. We did! We have even commuted as far as Quezon Province and Baguio. There are lots of cheap accommodations in Tagaytay even without the resthouse. Malayo din si resthouse. It's in Alfonso, Cavite na near Twin Lakes. Our preferred bed and breakfast is Keni Po. It's just a trike away from Olivarez. :)

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  15. We also usually just commute when we go to Tagaytay. A visit to Sonya's Garden is something we haven't done yet. We should do that soon.

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  16. That's so brave of you to commute. I haven't tried commuting going there but it looks you had a fun trip.

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  17. It's been a year since our visit to Tagaytay and I'm itching to go back especially now that it's cold. You were so brave at commuting with your son, well, thank God for baby carriers.

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  18. What I love about Sonya's Garden is the ambiance and our favorite cheese roll. Bag of Beans naman is our favorite hang out place, sarap magchill with their coffee and desserts! Yumyum!

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    1. Yes with the cheese roll! You cannot go wrong with their bakery.

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  19. I haven't been back at Sonya's for the longest time. Reading about it makes me miss the fresh food there. I don't recall my reaction before to their pasta though. I've read your Baguio post before. You guys are truly adventurers! :D

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    1. Thank you, mummy! We try not to miss out on adventures. :) Sonya's food will always be a good choice for healthy homegrown meals, even with my frustration with the pasta sauce.

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  20. Any day is a good day to visit Tagaytay. I have not been to either of those places so I would really love to check them out with my boys. I hope to do some traveling this year and Tagaytay is most definitely on my list. It is high time we go back.

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  21. Masarap ang hopia sa Sonya's Garden :)) In other news, I have to agree with others. Commuting can be stressful plus with a kid on tow. Good thing you arrived safe and sound :)

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    1. Naku mummy. :) I grew up commuting din kasi since my mum used to work in Manila and would often pick us up from our grandparents in the province to come with her. The only time we owned a car was when I was in 2nd year college until 2012. So now that we don't have anymore, we commute uli. :) We're all sanay na with the set up.

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  22. I always go to Tagaytay before and nagcocommute lang talaga ako. I like yung ordinary bus than the aircon bus. I love the view and air kase. Its OK to commute kung walang bata, mahirap kase ang Liit ng space ng bus. I like to visit Sonya soon with my family.

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  23. When my kids were toddlers, mas adventurous kami when it comes to commuting. I don't know, siguro kasi, we were young couples then pa. Now, ang meticulous na ng husband ko, because he is very protective of my girls. I appreciate your Tagaytay post. I'd bookmark this kasi I also want to go to Sonya's and Bag of Beans!

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    1. I think we'd get less adventurous with commuting too in time. Sana naman by that time we have a car na para mas convenient. Hahaha! My husband's very protective din with our boy kaya in the metro we use, taxis or Grab. Unfortunately, there are provinces na wala pang ganung services leaving us with no choice.

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  24. I usually don't mind commuting here in the metro. But I hate taking bus rides going out of town because they usually make dizzy. Anyway, we love Bag of Beans too but as much as possible we avoid going there now because there are a lot of other restos in the area tbat we have yet to try.

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  25. Bqg of Beans sounds yummy. I hope you could have shared more of what you ate. Haha I'll take note of this when we go to Tagaytay.

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  26. I hate commuting, especially with kids. Though I commute with my son whenever we go home to Baguio (I always take the first class trip, albeit a bit more expensive, the seats are more comfortable and the trip has no stop overs). If you need some ideas for that Baguio trip, let me know. :) I'm planning to take my Mom to Tagaytay for her birthday next month, too and I am scouring the internet for places to go to. Thanks for the tip. This surely helps a lot.

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  27. Good job mommy you were able to commute with Little Poppy and it seems he enjoyed it. Never been in Sonyas garden i am not fun of organics but I love coffee bean

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  28. Good job on commuting with a kid on tow. Never tried it with my kids because I'll definitely go crazy. I think we should really start with the ones nearest at the Metro like this one, Tagaytay.

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