Make Sure You See These Places in Tagaytay this Summer!

Cool climate and tough ridges. That's what I think about Tagaytay. What most folks know about it are the usual sights---Picnic Grove, Palace in the Sky, views of Taal plus the colorful fruit stands and bulalo restaurants around.

But Tagaytay is really more than that. Take these spots for instance:

From the Museo Orlina website.

Museo Orlina

Ramon Orlina is a famed glass artist the world over. And you can drop by his museum in Tagaytay called Museo Orlina and see his unique glass sculptures. You also enjoy works of other artists using various art media. After checking out the artworks---or after a tiring tour around Tagaytay---you may relax at its coffee shop on the roof deck.

The place also features exhibits, art and music, and other artists. If you want to see what art in Tagaytay housed in a posh and modern museum looks and feels like, then we'll see you at this place.
Ramon Orlina is a pioneer in glass sculpture in the Philippines and a foremost practitioner in the same. See his unique compositions the next time you visit Tagaytay.

It's located along Hollywood St. in Hollywood Subdivision, Tolentino East, Tagaytay (near Sta. Rosa).

Image from PhilStar.

Twin Lakes Shopping Village

First, it only had Starbucks, said to be the best outlet in the country. Today, this tourist hangout is among the best food-trip destinations in Tagaytay. If you love eating at a cool mountain spot in this city, sampling French and Italian desserts and eating exciting palatable breakfasts and dinners while overlooking scenic spots, then don't miss this place.

Some eatery options---Bag of Beans, Buon Giorno, The Farm, Bagoong Club, Fruitcakery, La Crepenie and Silver Bucket, to name a few. The place is in Barangay Dayap, Itaas, near the Nasugbu Highway.

41st Division USAFFE Marker

It's okay to enjoy the Sky Ranch theme park with the family, but I didn't include it here because it's become too popular. No need to introduce it. It will be like talking about Luneta Park---it's recommendable but no need to introduce it.

Get historical for a while in Tagaytay and drop by the USAFFE Marker. It's just near the Metro Tagaytay College of Business and Arts and the site where the United States Armed Forces in the Far East landed during World War II. The 41st USAFFE paratroopers picked this site because of its thick forest and high-peaked terrain before proceeding to liberate Manila from the Japanese Imperial Army. 

It's nice revisiting the past with your family now and then and ponder on the past.

Google Map

The Good Shepherd

Of course, there are other more exciting places here than The Good Shepherd---like Zipline Tagaytay in Picnic Grove, the Bath House at Qiwellness Living, Residence Inn Zoo where there's also a zipline, and Paradizoo. 

But it so happens that ube jam is my favorite, especially if you buy it freshly baked. You can only buy that at The Good Shepherd along Tagaytay Road in Sta. Rosa.

Other sweet delicacies are available here (and said to be the best in the city), pasalubongs, root crops like camote and ube, and of course, its popular halo-halo topped with the best tropical fruits, desserts, ice cream and ube jam. 

Parking is ample. You can drop by there and take pictures, shop while eating ube jam, warm and freshly out of the oven. Nothing beats the experience. I think it has the best ube jam in the Philippines.

What Indians Have to Do with Summer in Manila

Summer heat seems at its peak this 2016, and yet the early mornings are cool and refreshing. I thank God for this unusual summer where El Nino seems balanced with a subtle blend of hot and cold. Well, they say it's El Nino, and I heard somewhere yesterday that it is about to end.

Though the late mornings and afternoons are still super hot, especially at 10 am to 5 pm. But I like it this way than having super typhoons on rainy days. I sure will miss this summer when the wet season sets in.

Summer here in our locality is usually marked by the flowering and fruiting of mango trees, like the Indian mango tree in our backyard. My sister took a shot at it with the young fruits still clinging to the branches and we're anticipating a mango-packed summer.

To me, summers are nothing without mangoes. Hiking and roaming around becomes even more exciting with them.

Let me see....I think I want to hike next in a place where there's centralized air-conditioning and lots of yellow ripe mangoes. Like a mall..

Here's What an Authentic Summer Fiesta is Like

Fiestas are among the highlights of summer in Manila. And I'm particularly excited about food dishes they feature during these local celebrations. Every region in the Philippines has a food dish specialty to brag about during fiestas--specialties you shouldn't miss out on.

When I was a kid, my mom's boss would treat his Malacanang office staff to different places in the North and especially time it during a fiesta in the locality. We often went to a hilltop resort in Pangasinan (the boss' hometown) for an overnight stay after enjoying time in another resort also in Pangasinan.

Everywhere we went then was like grand fiesta. The food dishes served were special and abundant, mostly seafoods, like the lunch we had when we were at the Hundred Islands. About a hundred fresh milkfish (bangus) were laid out on the burning red-hot grill and we ate only the bellies! The air was filled with the sweet aroma of grilled fish and shrimps or prawns.

Then roasted pig (lechon) was everywhere. One time when we went somewhere in Tarlac, the place "flooded" with lechon. That's the nature of fiestas--abundant food servings. Everything was placed on banana leaves and we ate using our bare hands. There were softdrinks but mostly we had fresh coconut water.

A lot of Ilocano food dishes were served--Pinakbet, Diningding, Kilawin and Dinakdakan, to name a few. What I still remember to this day was the home-made mouth-watering longganisa that was stuffed with ground lechon. And who'd forget the dry Dinuguan?

Well, actually, what I really, really enjoyed was the baskets-full of sweet, ripe kalabaw mangoes!

You should experience an authentic fiesta.

One of the Things that Make Summer Summer

The best part of summer is eating mangoes and the best time for eating mangoes is summer time. You can't separate what God has joined together. Summer and mangoes were made for each other, so we can enjoin them both more.

Just imagine a picnic by the stream or river or right in the middle of a rice field, under a shady mango tree, cool breeze blowing from the mountains, with pork and chicken adobo, grilled fish (bangus?) and eggplants, fresh tomatoes, preserved fish (bagoong), green mangoes, and finally, ripe and yellow kalabaw mangoes.

And then you eat on banana leaves with your bare hands.

Best of all, the picnic happens during summer time!

I told all that to the store owner beside our house while buying fresh tomatoes from her and she cried---"Oh my, they're all my favorites!"

I always thank God for mangoes. They add life to everything I do. And with them, you can always have a taste of the good natural things in the province right in the city. By the way, it's rich in Vitamins A and C and a good source of fiber and energy.