Bluewaters Sumilon Island Resort : A Weekend Getaway

Welcome to the beautiful island of Sumilon. This time, I'll take you to the beautiful Bluewaters Sumilon Island Resort. Basically, we were coming from Dumagete island going there. It really cuts the travel time big time.

From Dumaguete to Sumilon Island, it takes about 1 hour totally.

From Cebu City proper, riding  a bus going South, it takes about 3- 4 hours depending on the road situation.

Anyhow, I'll be sharing with you my diary-like blog to reminisce our memories there. Hubby and I spent our third wedding anniversary in the remote island. It was truly a perfect weekend getaway.

DAY ONE 
From the main road, you'll ride a  boat going to Sumilon island. It takes about 20-40 minutes approximately. 

**Here's the boat that brought us to the island proper.

**This is the front view of our room. 

** Say hello to the room at the back view of this photo.

** After a while of relaxing that day, we hiked to the sandbar. I guess it took us about 40 minutes to an hour to reach there. And this is what greeted us. Pure serenity at its finest.

** Spending the night here sipping our tea. Us time filled with fun memories and once again, planning for the future.

DAY TWO
We really woke up early like 5:00 AM so we could maximize our last day in the island.

This is what the breakfast buffet looks like. 

The fun activities start here in 3, 2, 1 ....

John and Belle doing the kayaking.  left-right-left-right ^ ^

Braving my soul here to do paddleboarding. 

Thank you so much Bluewaters Sumilon Island Resort for that dreamy vacation. It was a bittersweet feeling to leave you. Forever, we will treasure the memories we've shared together. This trip is definitely one for the books. We will surely be back pretty soon. 

--John and Belle 

Foodie Alert: CASA VERDE, Home of the BEST RIBS in TOWN

*** Baby back ribs***

Howdy guys? How's your month of October? Hope it's doing well. This entry is dedicated to the foodies out there like me. If you're from Cebu, I'm pretty sure you've eaten there already or at least have seen this restaurant especially on social media. What I'm talking about is the famous CASA VERDE. Let's keep going and discover what's it all about.

What's it about?

According to my research, here's what I got.

CASA VERDE is a chain of family-owned restaurants. It is Spanish for GREEN HOUSE. Its name is influenced by the owner's Spanish roots. It's a cozy place known for their delectable steaks, best-selling ribs, tasty pasta and mouth-watering desserts.

*** seafood carbonara***

You can get to know more about this restaurant here on this link.

http://www.casaverdecebu.com/aboutus.html

Where is it located?

They have many branches already here in Cebu and in Metro Manila as well. Click on the link for a detailed map and description.

http://www.casaverdecebu.com/branches.html#ramos

What is the price range?

Basically, price range would be from P150 to P400. It's an added bonus that most of their amount of servings is pretty big. The more people you go together there, the bigger savings you can get.

MY OVERALL THOUGHTS 

DECORS AND INTERIORS

I like the decors and the design of the place. It feels like home. Plus, I've heard that the interiors of the restaurant  are some of the personal collections of the owners. Talk about adding their personal touch right there, huh? ^ ^

PRICE 
It's pretty reasonable and I guess you get your money's worth in every bite you make.

CUSTOMER SERVICE
It's pretty fair. You get attended to on time and their staff is pretty warm enough to make sure you enjoy your meal in the restaurant.

QUALITY OF FOODS
This one is a hit or miss situation. I don't know if it's just me or something. Some foods before looked pretty big and decent but not anymore now. Some of their dishes look like they are being cooked in a haste. Hope I'm wrong. 

** I highly suggest that you still go to their original branch located in Ramos. There, quality of the foods is somewhat maintained. I have noticed the ones in other branches are somewhat not that good. I can understand maybe because of the influx of diners who keep coming.  ( Just saying my opinion here. )

TASTE AND FLAVOR

I guess nothing beats this. They have preserved their original taste through the years. Kudos to that. 

WILL I COME BACK?

Yes definitely. But then again, I'll go directly to their Ramos branch. At least, there isn't a lot people lining up to eat.

TIP: Avoid the rush hour. It takes forever to get your slot to eat inside their restaurant. But if it can't be helped, you can go there early, like an hour before meal time, have your name listed so you don't need to wait longer.

** That's it. Hope you find it helpful in some ways. Let me know if you have some questions about this or about Cebu. I'd love to help in any way I can. 

** Thanks for reading my story. As always, take care and be happy.

--Belle

Birthday Celebrations in the Philippines

We all know Filipinos are cheerful people. We love to socialize and mingle with others especially during birthdays.  I guess it's one way to strengthen our relationships with others and at the same we also celebrate life, the mere fact that we only have one day in a year to actually remember birthdays. 

What's it all about?

Birthday celebration is actually part of the Philippine culture. It is a celebration of one's uniqueness  that a single soul is born on that special day. In addition, it's one way to celebrate life and one's purpose of coming into this world.

Probably, it's one of the influences of the Spanish control in the past.  I mean, having one's birthday means  being grateful to God for the blessings we've received througout the year. It's that one special day in a year to commemorate one's existence. Usually, the celebrant goes to church, says some prayers and lights some candles. That feeling of being grateful for the blessings and graces received for the whole year. 

Methods of Celebrating Birthdays

1.) Eating a birthday meal at home

Literally, mothers cook the favorite dishes of the birthday celebrant for the birthday meal to  be shared by family members and guests.

2.) Food delivery at home

 Having foods delivered at home is also a good alternative to save time from preparing and washing the dishes after. It's like enjoying the taste of your favorite dishes from a good restaurant in the comfort of your own home. Hitting 2 birds in one stone.

3.) Eating and dining out with friends and family

This birthday event is a perfect time to gather loved ones and enjoy special foods together to basically celebrate life and relationships too.

4.) After the birthday party, there is videoke night.

Nothing beats singing at the top of our lungs during this day. Singing is one of the favorite hobbies among Filipinos and birthdays are a good timing to do such activity. Of course, a little bit of drinking helps to boost the confidence to sing. 

5.) Some people prefer to spend their birthdays in the beach / pool.

It's a like a picnic style actually. You have a good setting, combined with your significant others and swimming definitely. It will surely be a birthday event to remember.

6.) Boodle fight

What it means? 

This originated from the Philippine military where piles of foods are served on the long table. Each hungry soldier eats with their bare hands  which symbolizes equality, brotherhood and camarederie. The word FIGHT basically means you have to grab and eat as much as you can and as fast as you can ahead of others or else you'll end up hungry. 

* The new version for boodle fight for birthday celebration is already a mix of seafoods, grilled meat, local fruits and grilled vegetables too. Still the practice of eating with our bare hands remain and is a good tradition somehow to pass on the next generation. 

IMPORTANT NOTE:

In any kind of birthday celebrations, PANSIT or NOODLES dish is always present in the set up. It just means this food literally looks like strands that siginify long life. Plus, if you can have the famous lechon (roasted pork)  on the table, is also an added bonus.

How about you guys? How do you celebrate your birthdays every year? Let's share ideas and interact.

As always, thanks for reading this blog entry. Have a good day and take care.

--Belle