HOTEL KIMBERLY DAY TWO (MY 2015 BIRTHDAY)

My friends and I are having an early birthday celebration for me in HOTEL KIMBERLY and we already had loads of fun the night before.

ERICJAZ FOODIES with the little lords in HOTEL KIMBERLY!

Of course, even if it was already our second time in HOTEL KIMBERLY, we still  wanted to use their recreational facilities TO THE EXTREME. With that, we woke up early to get a head start on everything!

Good morning from THE YAPPY BUNCH in HOTEL KIMBERLY!

Andrei here looks dazed and confused. Ha ha ha ha ha ha!

It turns out my friends Gem and Jojie woke up much earlier and jogged around the vast gardens of HOTEL KIMBERLY.

What gives mareng Gem and Jojie??? You're making us all look lazy...

Which we are really! He he he he he!

HOTEL KIMBERLY DAY ONE (MY 2015 BIRTHDAY)

Not to sound too whiny or anything but I am writing this with so much pain in my butt. My lower back to be exact! I know you don't need to know that but I just want to remember how I got severe back pains due to locked muscles from saving the world.

Okay fine I went somewhere where a lot of walking was required and due to my lack of exercise, my butt went "WHUUUUUTTT?" and locked itself as defense mechanism. Ha ha ha ha ha! Oh well. That goes on to show that too much physical activity is NEVER good.

So. There.

Anyway, I'm braving these jabbing pains to do an entry on my silly little foodie blog because it's been quite a long time already. I don't know about you but I miss writing down my useless memories and sharing them. And upon learning that next in line was my birthday staycation in HOTEL KIMBERLY in Tagaytay City, I knew I should learn how to blog while lying down on my bed. Yep there's a first time for everyone who loves something enough. He he he he he he!!!!

My BP Group and I have already stayed in HOTEL KIMBERLY in 2013 and we declared that it's our favorite family hotel in Tagaytay City. It may not give you an instant view of the famous volcano but the many amenities and activities for the family make up for it.

So naturally for my 40th birthday when we were deciding where to have our out of town BP family getaway, the unanimous decision was HOTEL KIMBERLY. Yes there may be other more exclusive hotels that would promise a posher and closer experience with the beauty of Tagaytay. But from the laughter and enjoyment that the kids and  my BP GROUP had during that weekend, we know that we all made the right choice.  I certainly had a more unforgettable out of town birthday staycation!

And, we had HOTEL KIMBERLY to thank for it!

 

HOTEL KIMBERLY!

 

We were able to check in easy peasy and with rooms close together.

 

I really wanted to settle into our rooms pronto but the kiddies had something else in mind!

 

The kids loved HOTEL KIMBERLY's big playground that immediately after check in, they ran here!!!!

MY 40TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS!

EGAD it finally happened.

I turned 40!

Confusing right? I know, I know, that I don't look a day over 20 years old but that's the truth. And if many do not believe it, I would still have to face that I....

... am older than Annie in WHEN HARRY MET SALLY.

... am older than Rachel in FRIENDS.

.... am older than the 4 geezers in SEX AND THE CITY.

... am older than Maria in THE SOUND OF MUSIC!!!!!!

Egad I'm old!

Anywho, the best thing with my age though is that now I am surrounded with more people whom I love and vise versa (I think/hope) than when I was younger. Believe me that I had so much fun with my two week (and more) birthday gimmicks that I almost had a heart attack plus bout of rheumatism!

Kidding aside, I know I may have put off making this blog entry for quite sometime because there were just too many to post and write about. And of course I'm sure you know that this old lady is quite lazy! But reviewing the pictures and reminiscing on the laughter, food, and love at turning a year older just made me feel so overwhelmed with all the blessings that I would (many times) take for granted.

Like I said many times during my two week (and more) birthday celebrations, turning 40 is not so bad after all if your days are filled with eating, smiling, hugging, and LOVING.

Of course, it doesn't hurt too if you got the best family and friends to do it with!

I AM NOW OLDER THAN SHARON IN THOSE SHARON-GABBY MOVIES would you believe??????

Sorry I can't move on.

:P

Presenting my birthday celebrations!!!!

For my first BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION, I asked my BP Group for an out of town staycation in Tagaytay City.

The drive may not be so long but there was already a bit of traffic.  Good thing my husband downloaded MAP FACTOR and it was able to show us some detours to avoid the jams. 

Do try it out! It's free and you could use it without internet!

When we have an out of town drive, I always stay at the back with little Andrei. We kept ourselves occupied by watching some DOWNTON ABBEY! My favorite at that time!

While watching, we snacked on some biscuits plus ice cold juice and chocolait!

And we're here in Tagaytay!

The first meal to kick off my early birthday weekend was in BAG OF BEANS! 

Whenever you're in Tagaytay, you should always make a pit stop here for their delicious food and take home pastries!

HOTEL KIMBERLY (TAGAYTAY TRIP DAY 2)

It was TEAM YAP's second day at HOTEL KIMBERLY in Tagaytay along with the Campos, the Quitorianos, and the Virreys (see our first day HERE) and even if we turned in late last night from our "midnight chat", our family woke up extra early for breakfast so we could have a part 2 of the vacation that is worthy for the books!

HOTEL KIMBERLY Tagaytay!

The Campos, the Quitorianos, and TEAM YAP had an early breakfast at HOTEL KIMBERLY's cafe (blog post soon to follow!). I love that they made a special set up for our big group so we could all be in one table chatting and eating to our heart's content.

Yup! One family is missing! LATE!

HOTEL KIMBERLY (TAGAYTAY DAY 1)

My husband and I are now very addicted in taking our little boys out for weekend getaways since we feel that we only got a few years left before they turn into GUYS and would be embarrassed to be seen with their Mommy and Daddy. So now we are relishing every moment with them and, like how my parents did, we would make it a point to take them somewhere special for a Yap bonding experience rather than the usual "mall tours". But of course, being the practical parents that we are, we were still very careful not to break bank.  So every chance we see a special deal online, we check it out and see if it is ERICJAZ FOODIES worthy!

My friends share the same sentiment as TEAM YAP that for one weekend, we planned another getaway for all 4 families. We agreed to make our venue for the mini-vacation to be HOTEL KIMBERLY since there was a deal online that got the approval from all the "practical" (read: sorta stingy) mommies. At first we were a bit hesitant that we may be holed up somewhere that would prove to be a burden to our enjoyment. But after our 2 day bonding trip, we were all declaring that HOTEL KIMBERLY may be the best hotel for your family. Once you're there, you wouldn't want to go anywhere!

Except to see the volcano of course! Ha ha ha!

It was a rainy weekend last October 12, 2013 and it was such a wet travel going up to Tagaytay. We thought that we were not going to make it but fortunately the storm scare made everybody stay at home so it was a fuss free drive for us.

And since it was very cold and we were hungry, we decided to warm ourselves up in the rainy weather with a big piping hot of bulalo!!!

Could you guess from what restaurant this delicious bubbling soup is from? 

Yup! It's from LESLIE's! Blog post soon to follow!

On our way to our destination, we thought that probably one drawback to HOTEL KIMBERLY was that it was not in the "central tourist district" in Tagaytay and you have to do a 20 minute drive down from the city. 

It was very foggy that morning and visibility was almost zero. We just took extra care in driving and turned on our head lights. 

And finally we're here!!!! HOTEL KIMBERLY!