All Systems Go

Well, I finally did it. I purchased our plane tickets to the Philippines for the summer. I've been dilly-dallying these past couple of months. I knew that the fares weren't going up because of the economy so I wasn't worried about that. I'm glad that I waited because I was able to get a low fare. The kids and I will be leaving on the last week of June and dh will just follow two weeks after. My good friend Lanie will leave the week before us, too bad we don't have the same departure date. I hope I'll get to meet a fellow blogger, Samantha (take note my dear!). I also booked our stay at the Shangrila Mactan. Oh boy, the prices are comparable to a New York City hotel! I do hope they live up to high expectations. While I'm there, I'm going to buy a couple of eyeglasses. My mom is a retired optometrist so she still has some connections over there. I always get great deals everytime. How about you, do you find yourself buying tons of stuff in the Philippines to bring back here in the US?

Cebu, Here We Come!

This summer, we are going to go to the Philippines. My parents are going to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary in Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte. It is my mom's home town and my birth place too. The kids and I are going to spend a month in the country while dh will fly in after a couple of weeks. I'll be spending most of my time in Pasig City while waiting for dh to arrive. Dh and I were considering going to El Nido, Palawan but scrapped that idea when we learned of how small the passenger plane is going to be. We decided to see Palawan on our next trip, when the kids are much older. Going north is not a good idea considering it's monsoon season. The northern part of the Philippines is known to get hit by a lot of typhoons during that time. We've already been to Panglao island in Bohol (loved it!), so we chose Cebu City as our destination.
I have been to Cebu only once. I barely remember my visit when I was a young girl. It'll be a nice chance to see the city with my family. I am also excited to visit since Anthony Bourdain of No Reservations hailed Cebu lechon as the best pig ever(which I blogged about HERE). . I heard that the place in front of SM mall makes the best lechon (is this true?), so you can bet I'm going to look for it. I was searching online for luxury hotel rooms and have chosen Shangrila hotel in Mactan. They have a lot of activities for kids and the property and the beach looks pristine. We are looking forward to our vacation. It'll be nice to see relatives and friends, both old and new. :o)