P enjoyed going to the Children's Museum, and Luneta Park. That was the first day itinerary when we got back to the Metro.
This entry will chronicle how we spent our time for a few days far from our island province. :)
Day 1, March 29th
Airport at 8 A.M. Since we live near the airport, an hour before the ETD is enough for us to check in and wait for the plane to arrive. P was so excited since it's been a while since he has traveled via air that he has almost forgotten his previous experiences. Upon getting to our seats, he took the time in reading the emergency guide, and even competed with me for our only copy of the airline magazine. Good thing was that there wasn't much interesting there for a kid like him so he had to hand over the mag to me. Still, he didn't give much chance to read because he kept on chatting and chatting. TM had to give up the reading (and maybe a short shut-eye that I missed the previous night for packing) and tried my best to take this chance to enjoy his excitement. It was quite a short flight as it turned out because of having a pre-occupied kid beside TM.
After getting off the plane, we waited for Tita E.'s flight and had our lunch altogether. Then, I had to drag them to the DFA for passport renewal before heading off to our main destination Tagaytay. It was around past six and already quite cold when we got ther
Day 2, March 30th
The next day, we tried to take a walk to the nearby streets but had to go back almost right away because P was complaining of the long walk. That is one thing that I really had to let him learn, endurance for long walks. We do walk occasionally in our town but usually from the City Library to NCCC and if pressed for some more, to our home two blocks more.
The wedding was set later that day and we managed to get through it despite the cold which P didn't seem to mind about. He just kept on running around, enjoying the unfamiliar places. He was quite behaved during the church service, as well as during the reception, but in between those, he truly explored the area. He also got a chance to hang out with other Titos and Titas but not much with other kids. That is another thing that I had noticed. He gets along with adults faster/better than kids. Partly maybe because of the language?
Day 3, March 31st
Before going back to Manila, we managed to drop by at Picnic Grove. P was able to try the horseback riding and TM only watch. (I took pity on the horses, remembering Black Beauty.)
The planned itinerary went kaput as TM was not able to manage the logistics partly because my head was all into the motion sickness scare that I have.
Day 4, April 1st
We took the taxi moving from Makati to Manila in the morning.
P also had his first LRT ride in the morning as we went to Bambang for some medical supplies for the Grannys.
We finally got our bearings together and we were able to go to Children's Museum in the afternoon. P really enjoyed the place in spite of it being a little under repairs and all. There weren't a lot of people around. We basically had the whole place to ourselves. P explored every bit of it and enjoyed it tremendously. If I hadn't reminded him that we still have another place to explore, he wouldn't have gone through the whole museum a bit faster.
Further down the road is where we found the Luneta Park. I really don't remember much to see there but it was quite interesting place to walk around and explore for P. He found the Luneta Park Vicinity Map interesting and this served as a guide for us. We chanced on some people playing chess in the area, read a few not-so-famous Filipino heroes bios, watched the 6 o'clock fountain with the background music playing "Manila," and run around the playground. And no, we didn't take any photo of the famous Rizal Monument. Kiddo wasn't so interested yet. Beats me why. (Or maybe not.)
P had a chance to play a few games of chess. It reminded me that he is indeed interested in it if only he would have someone to play with at home more often. He also enjoyed playing on the playground which has very interesting designs. It seems that the designs have been improved just recently.
It was already past seven that we felt pangs of hunger that we decided to go. We planned on having dinner somewhere inside Times Plaza at UN Ave. but we got sidetracked as we passed by a Booksale branch inside. We never made it to our target dining place. We stayed in the bookstore until they closed and forgot all about our stomachs.
Very tired and hungry, I just brought kiddo back to our rooms and grabbed some quick take outs. We had our dinner, washed up, and got ready for some of the books we bought.
Day 4, April 3
We were able to do another quick tour of Manila Zoo, MOA for P's Cluedo and shoes and a bit of shopping-by-request at Carriedo.
Later that day, we did our final shopping: food at a Korean grocery and books at Robinsons Manila. And boy, was my backpack very heavy as we turned in for the night.
Day 5, April 4
Time to go back home. P got his Cluedo Cards already so we ended up playing it while waiting for our flight. We never got the chance to buy pasalubong foodie and I was afraid to almost missing our flight. We made it nonetheless, third bus.
We've done our sight-seeing and shopping so it's time to fly back to the island. :)It seems that the few days were not enough to see places and do some shopping. There should be a next time for both of us. I bet it would be more fun as P grows older. I just hope that his interests wouldn't not be far from mine and that he wouldn't mind spending most of our time in walking around on the streets, in museums, and browsing through libraries and bookstores.
Upon getting settled on the bus, before and after flying, P had his little speeches that went like this.
(On the Cebu Pac bus before going on-board) "Goodbye airport. Thank you Cebu Pacific. I'm excited to fly back home with you."
(Before take off) "Goodbye Manila. It was nice staying here. I really had a great time. I hope to see you soon someday."
(After touch down) "Hello Puerto, I'm glad to see you again. I missed you."
(On the way back to our hometown..)
