Pura Vida Villas: Tagaytay's Perfect home-away-from-home

The first time we went back to Philippines after more than six months in Singapore was a blast! I’ve tried to squeeze-in overnight out-of-town trip for both our families. And where else is the best spot nearest to Manila in terms of climate, foods and views? Definitely Tagaytay!

Gil and I had been to Tagaytay for several weekend escapades during our bf-gf stage. Gil’s family actually has their small ‘bahay-bakasyunan’ in Tagaytay, but we preferred sampling the bed-and-breakfasts around the area. This time, we wanted them to experience the comfort of Tagaytay accommodation and to sample some of the best places and delicacies of Tagaytay.

Tita Ninang Lally in front of Pura Vida- Villa Mar

 Want to take a dip?

Anniv Weekend Escape: Sonya’s Garden

We finally able to visit Sonya’s Secret Garden! ;) Though the original plan of staying at Sonya’s alone for this entire weekend trip was changed, we’ll never let this event pass without visiting Sonya’s even for lunch lang. So after a not-so-satisfying-stay at Carlo de Casa, we head on to our next stop, Sonya’s! –Yey!

The address said Buck Estate, Alfonso so we thought we could just ride Alfonso bus to take us there but we were dropped by Alfonso crossing instead and instructed to ride Nasugbu jeep. While waiting, there’s this familiar Honda car approaching I acknowledged to be of Tita Ting-my manager- with her classmate Ms. Flor. Without second thought, I waved upon her and voila! They too were to visit Sonya’s for lunch and so we hitched! Hehe! ^,^

Anniv Weekend Escape: Casa de Carlo

Inasmuch as we wanted to stick with the plan of staying at Sonya’s Garden Bed and Breakfast for this anniv celeb, we needed to squeeze out our budget a bit for a grand travel escapade next month (Excited na kami! Yey!) and decided to at least visit Sonya’s even for lunch tomorrow (which we did).

With few good and not-so-good reviews of Casa de Carlo- a Spanish themed Bed and Breakfast, we decided to give it a try since a night stay would only cost us P1800 inclusive of breakfast for two. The thought of an exquisite place yet to be discovered comes in our mind, only a little hesitant due to their cheap rate (usual high end Tagaytay B&B would cost P5k++). They also cater garden weddings (package is way lot cheaper than Moon Garden), so it’s for us to find out.

Anniv Weekend Escape: Mushroom Burger

We’re turning two!;-) Thus we decided to explore Tagaytay (again) for our weekend Anniversary getaway! Our first stop, Mushroom Burger! ;-)

One of the must-try when visiting Tagaytay is the Mushroom Burger. Not just affordable but it’s also way lot tastier and healthier and patties are firmer than the usual fast food burgers. It’s an ultimate guiltless burger indulgence!

Loving Bag of Beans’ Blueberry Cheesecake

After a truly relaxing stay at Moon Garden, we went off to grab the most raved about Blueberry Cheesecake of Bag of Beans, an English Café located few blocks away from Mendez Crossing.

Bag of Beans is another first time for us. But with the frequent entries and reviews among some of the blogs I came across with, the sight of a simple bakery shop along the highway was not anymore a surprise. (I told Gil we’ll be dining at Bag of Beans but he got confused seeing a typical bakeshop with goodies and breads, no dining area at all!) So I led him to the stairway beside the shop and everything else followed! ;-)

Moon Garden Breakfast

I’m not a person of breakfast; mere coffee will do…not until I met Gil. He always finds to it he has eaten well first thing in the morning (except kung late na siya for work! Hehe!)

We thought of having our breakfast in our private lounge area outside our casita while savoring Tagaytay’s morning breeze, but decided to have it inside our casita instead. We
 requested it to be served at 9am so we could still have time to stroll around Moon Garden first thing in the morning.

Moon Garden Tagaytay

Had the bestest weekend getaway (so far) with Gil during our Moon Garden visit in Tagaytay (and best overnight escape, best dinner date and best breakfast meals ever! Lol!)

I chanced upon this place over the net and after reading blogs as blogalag and the husbandspeaks, I got all excited and inquired as early as October and had us reserved two weeks ahead of time. We were hesitant at first how to get there via commute but all
 went well after several exchange emails with Peter, the Belgian owner slash officer-in-charge.
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Moon Garden Casitas

Casita is a Spanish word meaning ‘a small house’. There were eight of them hidden separately in a secluded part of Moon Garden, mostly were unnoticeable since the roofs were almost of the same level as the walkway and were covered with creeping vines and plants, and that the walkway and the casitas themselves were both made up of stoned brick materials.

Breathe and come see our charming casita where we’ll be staying for the night.

 

Moon Garden Dinner

Moon Garden’s kitchen is open only till 5pm but they could extend and accommodate guests upon prior requests. Good thing we’re able to discuss it with Renz, the guest relation officer slash wait staff, upon arrival and have one of their lovely nipa huts reserved for a perfect dinner date tonight at 7pm.

After we’re done with the photo ops of MG at night, we headed to this lovely gazebo with comfy sofas and pillows and wooden table where the dinner will be served, which was as if floating in the middle of the pond.