Road trip to the City of Pines part 3 :

This should be the last installment of my City of Pines post.  Here are some of the other must go to places in Baguio. 

Forest House is located in Loakan road and is just near CJH.  The food that we ordered did not fail us!  Hubby had the Binagoongang Bagnet while I had the Twin Porkchops with applesauce. They were both delicious.  Average meal ranges from P300-350.

   

Cafe by the Ruins is a landmark itself in Baguio.  We were not able to eat much here ( we only ordered bread, soup and salad), so I do not have any food posts.  But the place itself is already a feast for the eyes.

We chanced upon Villa Cordillera because we wanted to buy the Raisin bread that you can only buy from Baguio Country Club.  However, since we are not members, the guard led us to this cozy place managed by BCC named Villa Cordillera.  It is located just behind the club and is overlooking the golf course.  My son was so happy to see a real fireplace and he kept on saying, 'like Olaf." 

When you have kids, Burnham Park is a must see.  It was R's first boat ride experience and he loved it so much that he was helping his Dad paddle throughout.  He also enjoyed running the grounds with the toy helicopter that we bought for just P65.  

I already miss Baguio!  Probably next time we should stay there longer and visit during the 'ber' months where we can really enjoy the cool weather.  See you next time Baguio!!!

Road trip to the City of Pines Part 2 : Le Monet

As I mentioned in my Part One post, we stayed at Le Monet in Camp John Hay.  I have read a lot of good feedback on this hotel, so it was worth the try. The deal that we got from Deal Grocer included buffet breakfast and massage for two.   Compared to The Manor, Le Monet is much smaller and has a quaint little garden at the back.  It is located just beside the Filling station, near a football field and just a few steps away from the butterfly farm and the horseback riding area.

  Le Monet's lobby and reception area. Check in and check out was swift.  
I love the chairs!

    The room has two queen size beds, a flat screen TV, a ceiling fan, and a balcony.  

We were lucky that the room that we got was overlooking the forest.

The bathroom is just the right size with a glass enclosed shower area.  

The shower area flooring can get slippery, though.  So be careful especially if you have kids with you.

Our beautiful view every morning.  Try to score a seat overlooking the garden.

    Breakfast Buffet at Dinelli is from 6-10am.  There's a little of everything. My son was over the moon having all the Koko krunch and yogurt for two days.  

 It was the usual breakfast flare with a little more quality.  

This is the indoor swimming pool.  The kids had a blast swimming.  I was a little bothered that there were a lot of flies and there were adults that were not wearing the proper swimming attire.  There was no one from the staff that was monitoring the pool area.

                                

Overall, we had a wonderful stay in Le Monet and I feel that two nights in Baguio was not enough.  Despite the long drive and traffic in the city, it still retains it's charm.  That is why people still keep coming back and cannot get enough of the City of Pines.

Road trip to the City of Pines Part 1 : The BenCab Museum

The last time I was in Baguio was five years ago.  I was there with my office mates and boss. Majority of us were single back then and there were only two little kids in tow.  Last week, we came back to the City of Pines with my now ex-office mates with five energetic kids.  We still stayed in Camp John Hay, but in Le Monet this time (we previously stayed at The Manor).  Being huge fans of Deal Grocer, we purchased our groupons months ahead for P5,200 a night inclusive of breakfast buffet for two and massage for two.  It was a pretty good deal, indeed!  

Travel time was around five hours, with one stopover for a quick breakfast at NLEX.  The travel was smooth. The only time we encountered traffic was already in Kennon Road since they are doing some major road repairs.  In terms of the weather, it was a little hot but definitely cooler than Manila. It was not a jacket kind of weather. Well, probably at night you need a jacket for the kids to keep them warm. Nevertheless, with the scourging heat here in Manila, I would do anything just to have a cooler weather.  

We had an itenerary for the trip that was made by one of my friend.  But when you have kids with you, things sometimes cannot go as planned.  Our itenerary was supposed to be more of a food trip and just staying in CJH.  Out of the six planned food destinations, we were only able to check out three.  We also wanted the kids to experience to pick strawberries at the Strawberry Farm, but the weather did not permit us to do so.  No worries though, there is always next time.

First thing we did once we set foot in Baguio was to visit The BenCab Museum.  It is around thirty minutes away from CJH.  This was a must see for me because I admire his works, especially the Sabel series.  We were also lucky to bump into BenCab himself.  Sadly,  we were not able to ask for a photograph with him because he was such in a hurry.   

I would love to visit this Museum again the next time we go to Baguio and enjoy the place a little longer.  


Here are some of the pictures at the BenCab Museum.  This is definitely a must see when you go the the City of Pines especially when you want some art and culture.

The BenCab Museum

Art, culture, beautiful scenery and good food blend so perfectly.

My favorite among BenCab's works.

 Contemporary artworks.  These are the same artists that have masterpieces at the Pinto Gallery as well.  

I love the colorful yet simple design of the cafe.  We opted to sit indoor because of the kids.  Warning though, if you have active toddlers, better to always stay alert since there is a long flight of steps leading to the duck pond from the Cafe.  

Cafe Sabel is located at the basement of the Museum that opens up to a garden, overlooking the duck pond and the forest.  We ordered Carbonarra, Grilled Porkchop,  Volcano ice cream, Tomato soup and Lemonade with Basil (not in the picture).  We give it a thumbs up, except that we wish that the serving of the pork chop was bigger.   

                                                                

                                          

                                                

                     

               

Mother's Day 2014

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom and to all the mothers out there.  To our Husbands and to our children, thank you for making the mommy out of us.  You guys are our life.

                   

                           All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my mother. -Abe Lincoln

   

                                      

                                                              My boys, my life.

Our journey to preschool has begun.

Finally, we have decided on R's prechool.  We chose Family Montessori Preschool of Loyola in San Roque, Marikina.  Apart from visiting the school and having a long discussion with the head teacher, I also got very good feedback from one of the mothers in Female Network.  She sent her son to the same school (in the Katipunan campus) and had the same teacher. It was a good sign that we finally found the school. 

On R's first day last February, he immediately went with teacher and did not cry.  Parents, guardians and Yayas are discouraged from staying in the school.  I had R only stay for 1.5 hours to slowly break him in and I was asked to stayed inside the office, getting a glimpse of my little school boy once in a while.  Seeing him made me feel both happy and a little sad.  Happy because we did not experience any resistance going to school and staying with the teacher. A little bit sad because I realized that he is no longer a baby who used to just be carried everywhere.  He is a few months short from turning three and is slowly beginning to explore the world and learn things without mommy or daddy beside him (well, for three hours everyday, at least). 

We attended our first of many PTAs last March and my hubby and I were anxious on what the teacher had to say.  We were pleased with his  progress, regardless how small it may seem and were also surprised at the things that he is able to do in school.  Despite having fifteen classmates (montessori has a bigger class size since it is multi-level), he was able to adjust pretty well.  Although he still needs to learn how to play and mingle with other kids at this point, we are happy how his teachers have helped him ease his way in and make him feel that he belongs.

    R's last day in school before the summer break, wearing hip hop inspired clothes.  

   They were asked to come in wearing dance theme clothes.  

Today, he goes back to FMP for summer school. We are back to the daily grind. 

A Saturday well spent at Pinto Art Gallery

One of the places that I have listed on my 'to go to' lists this summer was Pinto Art Gallery.   My parents are both art enthusiasts and have exposed us to appreciating art at an early age.   My mom has been there several times and I have been wanting to visit it.  So, last Saturday, my Dad took us to Upper Eastside, a.k.a. upper Antipolo for a Saturday of art appreciation (and running for R).

I think it was a 30 minute drive, coming from L.A. (lower Antipolo).  We pretty much expected it to be a sweaty but fun morning.  Upon entering the gates of Pinto Art Gallery, I felt like I was transformed into another place.  Despite the heat and the endless running of my son, the place has this way of making you feel relaxed.  Probably it is because of the beauty of its surroundings which is just enthralling.  This is also why Pinto is not only popular to art collectors or enthusiasts, but has also become a popular spot for pre nuptial shoots, magazine and cover shoots and even weddings.

Sculptures are scattered all around together with several wrought iron beds and retro garden pieces.  Artworks are housed in Mexican inspired architecture which adds a rustic feel.  The gallery was also built respecting the natural landscape of the property, hence you will have to brace yourself going up and down a flight of stairs.  If you are going with your kids, make sure to always keep a watchful eye on them.  

If contemporary art does not appeal to you, don't fret because the architecture of this hectare wide  property is already a feast for the eyes. Honestly, I am not much of a fan of contemporary art.  I was more drawn to the women sculptures by Daniel dela Cruz and to the architecture of the place which was built by Tony Leano.

They also have a restaurant inside which is managed by Bizu.  We did not get to dine there because we were all sweaty (TMI, hehe) and wanted to go somewhere with air condition.  But,  I would love to go back and eat here with the hubby in tow, just the two of us to peacefully enjoy the surroundings.

When you enter the gates of Pinto, this is what welcomes you.    Entrance fee is P150 per person.  

The main house with a roof deck overlooking the Silangan gardens.

The pool was just so inviting. I was tempted to take a plunge! One of the workers said that this is where majority of wedding receptions are held.

This is the chapel where Julius and Tintin Babao renewed their vows.

                           

                                         Here are some of sculptures in the gardens of Pinto.  

                                                 The left one kinda freaked out my son.

My favorite sculptures by Daniel de la Cruz.    The sculpture pictured on the left depicts a pregnant woman.  The sculptures on the right show several women seemingly flying down from a wall.  Such a unique concept.  

Inside one of the buildings that houses Salingpusa and Garibay's works.

                                                        Gallery of contemporary art.

                                                                     Mixed media.

More paintings. The place is so spacious and airy.

I can live in here! 

Doors, windows, hallways and a dining area.

This has got to be our favorite spot.  That's my dad sitting by the steps.

I am in love with this place.

Preschool searching

The search for a pre school is on!  For the past week, I have been researching for preschools in Marikina and Antipolo.  I shared in a previous post here that we wanted to enroll our son in I.S.Y.C. for SY 2014-2015 after his summer school experience.  I received a text message from the Directress that they were opening their slots last January.  When I called after two days, both the morning and mid-morning classes were already closed.  The only class that is open is the afternoon class which will run from 1:30pm to 4pm.  As much as I wanted my son to go to I.S.Y.C., the afternoon class will interfere with his nap time.  He is just two years old and I do not want to stress him out at an early age and deprive him of his nap time.  I did not realize that the slots will run out that fast, lesson learned.

I resorted back to the Internet to search for possible schools in our area.  Female Network has been a very helpful resource in getting feedback.  It is also important that you also take time to visit the school and observe a class to help with your decision.

In narrowing down on what schools I will visit, my criteria is as follows:

1.  Proximity - I prefer schools near Marcos Hi-way and Marikina Sports Complex
2. Teacher to student ratio - A small teacher to student ratio is ideal, but with a montessori set up, their ideal class size is at 20 since it's a mixed level class
3. Tuition - Maximum fee at P75K.
4. Facility - I prefer that the school has its own facility and not a house converted into a school.  However, this may change because it will really depend on the layout of the school.
5.  Teachers - I don't think I really need to elaborate on this.  But of course other than being able to properly teach my kid, the teacher/s also need to look pleasant and has a very good command on the English language.

Here is my short list and a little background of each school:

Integrated School for Young Children (I.S.Y.C.)
-located in Marikina
-Tuition for SY 2013-2014 is at P75K

-Max of 10 per class 

-3 options to choose from for the classes: am, mid am and afternoon

-5x a week, 2.5 hrs

-Facilities:  a 2 storey building, outdoor playgound, air conditioned Multi-purpose hall, Kitchen
-Teachers: Teachers are very pleasant and speak English well, a lot of the teachers are graduates of Miriam college
-My son attended the Summer camp last 2013 (see my review here)

Montessori at Kent
-located inside Filinvest East, Antipolo and is quite a travel from the village's entrance
-Tuition is around P50K+
-max 20 per class, mixed level

-Morning class only from 8-11am

-5x a week, 3 hours

-Facilities: a house which was converted into a school, small outdoor playground

-I was able to speak directly to the School Directress/owner who was very accommodating and explained to me the Montessori Curriculum

Kidstech Learning Center

- located in Lark St., Marikina, just across the Sports Center

-Tution :approximately 52k

-Morning class is from 8:30am-10am, mid morning class is from 10:30am-12nn

-5x a week

-Max 10 per class, 1 teacher and 1teacher aide

-Facilities : 1storey, small outdoor playground on the side

Kids on focus (now managed by Family montessori preschool of Loyola)

-located at Pine St., Marikina

-Tuition : 60k + 10k miscellaneous fee (no uniform, exclusive of snacks and field trips, etc), snacks are billed on a monthly basis (P400/month)

- morning class: 8-11am or 9am-12nn

-5x a week, 3 hrs

-max 20 per class (with 1 head teacher, 1 assistant teacher, 2 aides)

-Facilities : newly renovated school since they took over KOF last year, clean classroom, new materials, small covered area outside the classroom where kids have snack, read books, etc, tiny outdoor playground, with security guard

-Head Teacher was well versed with the Montessori curriculum and very accomodating. She has also been with the school for 7 years

-I visited the school during class hours to observe and was immediately impressed at how the kids were well behaved and were independently doing their respective work.
-*** Update: They now also have a 4 hour program.  Tuition for SY 2014-2015 for this program is at P80K exclusive of snacks and field trip fees

The next question is, where will my son finally go?