This was us, on an early morning a few months back in August 2012:
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| 6 a.m: We're more wide awake than we usually are at this time! |
Mummy, Daddy, Benji, Melly, Mimi and Nicky were going to Cebu! That's the whole family, minus me, because I had to stay in school. But more importantly, I had to keep our lil white Chloe company at home (lest she gets into one of those separation anxiety moments). Mummy dearest promised to bring me along to Cebu after my 'A's and so this blog-post recalls the previous Cebu trip, and the one that I recently came back from!
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| All packed and excited for their early morning flight! |
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| Meet-&-Greet! Mum says this is the same guy who'll meet us again later on! |
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| Benji and Mummy all smiles in the Radisson Blu Hotel! |
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| Daddy was smiling too! Guess why! |
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| It was like as if work was following him everywhere he went! Even on a holiday >.< Because the suite they were in overlooked The Cebu Port Authority, and the sight was familiar - containers, transtainers, vessels, big machineries! |
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| My sisters having a few drinks to kick-start their day! |
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| And here's my handsome bro Nick having some halo-halo (i think.) |
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| gawwww, he's so cute. Ben can't take his beady lil eyes off him! |
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| This was one of my favourite pictures! All 6 popping through a window at the Yap Sandiego Ancestral House. |
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| The Yap Sandiego Ancestral House was built some time between 1675 - 1700. That makes it over 300 years old! |
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| The interior was complete with lace-y curtains... |
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| The Baby Jesus, or the Santo Niño, is a common sight everywhere in Cebu. Though I think this Jesus looks pretty grown up. |
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| Antique pieces! |
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| Guardians of Heritage: The Yap Sandiego Ancestral House holds many century-old art pieces and relics. These remain precious treasures to remind Filipinos and visitors of their history and heritage. |
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| The Cebu Heritage Monument is home to several sculptures made of different sturdy materials. They depict scenes from the past and anything related to Cebu History. |
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| If there were a soundtrack for this picture.. it'd be from Moulin Rouge: "Storm clouds may gather; Stars may collide...But I love you~ until the end, *until the end* of time~" |
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| HEY THERE! It's the Datu Lapu Lapu Shrine in Punta Engaño. He was a native leader who defeated the Spanish during The Battle of Mactan in 1521. Brave stuff.. |
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| It was August, and nearing Ben's Birthday! So this trip to the Alegre Guitar Factory was perfect for this Birthday Boy! |
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| These delicately-crafted guitars are made of only the best materials and exported to all over the world! |
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| Mel brought home this Sicilian Mandolin from the factory! |
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| This singing-man showed her how to play it like he does! |
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| Big Bro Ben, our resident Guitar Man, testing out the finest of guitars. |
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| Won't you play us a lil tune! |
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| These are the men behind the hand-crafted Guitars! |
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| Nicky and Dad picking out wine from a shop in Shangri-La Mactan Resort |
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| Spoilt for choice!! |
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| Now where's that restaurant? |
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| A happy lunch means Good Food and Great Company! |
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| Ben made friends with this pretty Disney Princess-lookalike! |
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| Nick wished he could to take you out for a spin in his mini-weezer! Off to SM-Mall for some shopping! |
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| SPAM-shoes! (i meant sandals. or Sanuks, to be precise!) |
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| And a Manicure-Pedicure for the Queen of Westwood - Cherry-Red, how magnificent! |
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| Dinner at the Royal Thai Restaurant! |
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| Nick having a jolly-good time with Daddy at the hotel lounge. |
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| They put in requests to the live band!! "And that's your request, misters over yonder!" the band-men hollered |
Good music, Drinks, and pretty smiles are the perfect way to end a day!
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| The next day I received this photo from my two sisters. I know they wished I were there :) |
Now, 7 months later, it was my turn to visit Cebu! Your wish is my command, Sister-dearies!
The Queen of Westwood has yet another travel adventure to embark on....
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| Where're we off to now? |
Well, it is a wide-known fact,
That with all the luggages and handbags intact,
Every Queen must only have the sweetest treats in her mouth...
So it's off to Cebu - The Queen City of the South!
Like every plane-ride... this one held many surprises too!
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| If there were to be a proper definition of the colour 'Turquoise' (one of my favourites)... it would have to be the refreshing colour outlining the island in this picture. I don't know if they were corals or anything special.. but it was very Turquoise! |
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| And then there was the Sunset! |
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| Mmmm! Meet-&-greet is always nice! |
Upon arrival at the Radisson Blu Hotel, we were ushered to the business lounge for
cocktails and refreshments!
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| We sure enjoyed a pretty view from our
table! |
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| After the 3 and a half hours flight, I was famished. So this was a great start before we move on for dinner! |
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| Sweet treats! |
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| Anything pink surely tastes good! |
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| Benji was entertained in the lounge... |
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| ..Because this man was playing familiar tunes on his harp! |
A good thing about staying in this hotel is the huge mall right next-door. So it was off to the Royal Thai Restaurant for some Thai food!
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| Cheers! |
Ok, time to get serious - SHOPPING!
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| Shoes! |
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| They're not Shoes! They're Sandals! |
We got ourselves new Sanuks which will have their debut on our Taiwan trip in April! 台湾妹，你们好！我们要来了！
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| The harpist left earlier in the evening. So the string quartet took to stage! What a grand way to end the night! |
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| Things which make us happy? Coffee and Conversation! |
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| Meanwhile, Benji decided that in the Business lounge, only
Business-related activities should be carried out.. so here's Ben all
serious and busy with product development - a new yellow tee in the making! perhaps for Swift Equipment's Service Team? Dad would be so proud of him! |
Usually going back to our hotel room would mean exploring the room itself, plugging in all our phone chargers and putting all the shopping in place. But not this time! A congratulatory cake found its way to our room!
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| It's never too late for a lil sweet something! |
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| I was about to put some music on when something better caught my eye.... |
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| Mummy dearest checking herself out in the full-length mirror >.< That Ralph Lauren LBD looks good on her, don't you think? |
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| There were so many lights outside, they looked like stars! |
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| RISE AND SHINE! Here's Melly taking a morning reflection ;) |
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| Today we'll explore the north wing of the mall! |
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| It was nice having this big dog guard the hotel all night long! |
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| Mel getting her caraMEL fix! |
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And what do we have here? Jollibee presenting A Melly! She's fun-loving, smart, and smokin' hot, all in a petite package!*
(*while stocks last. batteries not included.) |
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| And here's Mr Monopoly trying to monopolise the toy industry... hmmm. |
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| This is a good sign! If you can't fit all your shopping in your bags, DHL to our rescue! |
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| We all really needed a good mani-pedi.. |
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| We're enjoying an all-organic nail spa here! |
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| Guess which hand belongs to who! 3 Shades of Pink for the three girls! |
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| Pretty toes! .. or foot-fingers ;) |
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| I can't take my eyes off them.... remember! Anything Pink, is always good. |
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| Back to shopping, with pretty nails now! |
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| Mel collects feathers! What better way to display them other than on her ears! |
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| Soon it was time to leave, and the drive to the airport was like a drive down memory lane. (HAHA. just because of the old-school carnival - St. James Amusement Park.) |
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| Benji reminiscing those good ol' days.... |
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| Mel and I love our new Pink foot-fingers! or is that feet-fingers.. |
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| It was a fun-quick-getaway to Cebu, with so many surprises packed into those hours! |
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| Chloe napping on my new sanuks. |
Back home, Chloe made herself comfy under my lil table. It was only a short while and she missed us so much >.< Aww... She has been working hard to rub her scent all over my shoes, so i will never forget her when i'm away! She's pretty smart to guess that I'll be bringing those new Sanuks with me on my next holiday - Taiwan! 台湾！
