Day 4: Family Time

Today was the trip to Himlayang Pilipino to visit Lolo's grave. As last night was Buck's night, it was difficult to wake up Jay. Uncle Robbie came to pick the 2 of us up..I felt bad as he made the trip just for me and Jay.  Miguel and Allan were suppose to come but I couldn't get a hold of them (probably recovering from buck's night) and Pia and Marco were off to a wedding expo.

We were the last to arrive at Himlayang Pilipino, so we started prayers shortly after arriving. Auntie Rose led the rosary. After prayers, it was picture time and Jay served as a stand-in for his dad.

When it was time head back to the Bayleaf, Jay rode with Uncle Lito and I went in the van with the Aunties, Lola, and cousins.  And of course, we hit traffic. Fortunately, the aunties were excellent tour guides and pointed out all the points of interests of their youths (birthplaces, home, schools, even Eileen's current apartment). Not sure how long we sat through traffic but it got hot.  The AC in the van isn't as strong when it's not really moving. We sat so long that Auntie Cynthia was tempted to buy some lanzones from a street vendor but changed her mind when she was warned that it'll be warm/hot from being out in the sun.

The Bayleaf seems like a nice hotel. It's right by one of the Intramuros entrances. The lobby was shiny and bright and rooms appear to be relatively new and in good shape. Bathroom was a good size and they even had internet in their room =p. Everyone was staying on the same floor except for Leo which made things nice and easy =/ Upon arrive, Jay headed straight for the cafe not knowing he needed a key card to use to the elevator. He kept pushing the button, and no one told him he needed a card.. so he finally figured it out and had me come get him.

We then headed to a late lunch with Shiel's family at Viking's.  Viking's is a massive buffet located on Bayside Blvd near the Mall of Asia.  As we had a huge group, we had our own room. When I first came in, it was super crowded and I only noticed the buffet line closest to our room which was a fried foods line (tempura, fried crablets, grilled lamb, etc).  It wasn't until I went to get my beverage that I noticed there were 5 other buffet lines: dessert, sushi, salads, appetizers and other entrées. And you had your choice of drinks: from soda to dalandan juice to sago.  There was even a bar but I didn't notice it until I got to the desserts. I also think there was a Mongolian stir-fry station but honestly can't remember as there was sooo much food and people in the place.  Overall, the food was pretty good - I was a big fan of the sushi line. The desserts were pretty good too.  The only drawback was that it took the staff forever to refill the stations.  Ate Becca and I happily made our halo-halo only to learn that the milk carafe was empty. And then had to wait 15 minutes for someone to refill it.  But it was really good. As well as the bico =)

After getting stuffed, we sat around awhile before heading out to GB. As we were sitting around with everyone, more people were interested in The Spa so Pia called to add-on to our reservation. Once we were ready to go, we walked towards MOA to catch a cab. First cab didn't want to take us to GB. Another was scared he had to take all 8 of us =p We finally get there after sitting in traffic and the cabby dropped us off in GB 3 instead of GB1 .. but after sitting in the cab so long, I didn't care. I was ready to stretch my legs. So we made our way to GB1, making stops in few stores while we waited for the boys to get there. I found a cute cupcake tee in "People for People".

We then headed over to The Spa a little early hoping to make use to the sauna and pool, but this one didn't have a pool like the one in Libis. It's actually a little smaller and seem to have less rooms.  But overall still a nice atmosphere.
We ended up not using the sauna, as it took us a while to check-in and pay. The boys and the girls split up, changed and showered. Then went into the small waiting area and were treated with some ginger tea. I wasn't a fan of the taste but drank it up hoping it'd help my throat. As all of us were getting body scrubs, we were asked to share rooms.

Elaine and I shared one while Pia and Becca shared another. So on to the coffee scrub. I was hoping I'd smell the coffee during the scrub buutt I didn't smell anything until I showered to rinse. The scrub itself felt nice, and I felt much cleaner after ... but found coffee everywhere during rinsing....and it took me a while to get it all out. But it did smell good at this point. And once I dried off I noticed my skin was soft and hydrated. I was then led back to the waiting area for more ginger tea. We then headed for the massage room and what I thought was a mirror was actually another half of the room. I was a little jumpy when the other masseuse started talking to me.  The table was pretty low and in addition to the head holder thing, they left a pillow "for my breasts" which is a first for me. But I guess it helped as I don't remember a bolster added to my ankles or knees.  I felt really good after and they led the 4 of us downstairs for our facials. It was cooolldd.. and the lady had to keep pushing my chair down =p But my skin felt cleaner and it didn't hurt at all.. I was a happy camper. After all this, I was a happy little bunny =)


We stayed in GB for dinner and ate at place called Dillenger's. Personally I didn't enjoy it. I ordered a cocktail, which I don't think tasted like anything. At this point, I just made peace with the fact that filos can't make cocktails. I wasn't impressed with the food either. Jay got a big pile of wings for the table and I thought they were soggy.  I ordered a burger for dinner but it was REALLY salty, so I couldn't eat more than a few bites.

On the way to drop off Elaine in Bayleaf, we got stopped at a checkpoint and Marco's cousin was asked to pull over. The cop ck'd some papers and sent us on our way. Not really sure why all this happened.  After getting back to the hotel, Jay I had to pack up all our stuff as we were moving to a different room the next day.