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September 04, 2017

Places we Visited in Viaje Del Sol List

I posted in 2011 that I wanted to finish this Viaje Del Sol list or at least visit most of the places listed on the map. Viaje Del Sol means “the way of the sun”. A map has a list of places that you can visit in Batangas, Laguna and Quezon. Viaje del Sol is like having an educational tour because you will learn more about food, art and cultures. Not only that, you can also relax and stay in different bed and breakfast.

Read: Viaje Del Sol List

We used to visit my grandmother in Victoria, Laguna every month and during our trip, we try to visit the places in Viaje del Sol map if we have extra time. But it’s been two years since our last visit in Victoria because my grandmother already moved to my aunt house.

Natigil na yung Viaje del Sol trip namin. There are more places that I wanted to visit in Laguna, Batangas and Quezon but for now, let me share the places that we have visited so far.

Arabela Restaurant

Arabela is the famous restaurant in Liliw, Laguna so if ever you will buy affordable slippers, shoes and other products in Liliw, don’t forget to try this restaurant. They serve pizza, pasta and salad.

Read: Arabela

Villa Escudero

If you are looking for a place where to relax and unwind, I can recommend Villa Escudero. It is near in Metro Manila so having a day trip is not a problem. This is good for family trip. We have visited the place twice, check my review below.

Villa Escudero 2010
Villa Escudero 2011

Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery

Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery is one of the unique cemetery in the Philippines. We only saw this cemetery outside the gate since it was closed when we visited it, sarado siya nung Holy Week.

Read: Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery

Lake Pandin

Lake Pandin is also a nice place if you only have a day to relax. You will ride in bamboo raft, you can swim in the lake, drink coconut juice and have a feast if you avail their food package.

Read: Lake Pandin

Cafe Lago

Cafe Lago is a small restaurant near Sampaloc Lake. Parking is very limited, good thing we had an early lunch here so may nakuha pa kami na parking slot.

Read: Cafe Lago

Casa San Pablo

Casa San Pablo is a bed and breakfast in Laguna. You can choose day trip package or overnight package. My family chose day trip package, this includes room, food and use of amenities.

Read: Casa San Pablo

Sitio De Amor

Sitio de Amor is another bed and breakfast in Laguna. If you don’t want to avail overnight or day trip package, you can still visit the place if you just want to eat but be sure to make reservation. For day trippers, you can rent a room for 50%. our family stayed in their tree house.

Read: Sitio De Amor

I still have more places that I want to visit. I hope I can add more on this list.

February 05, 2014

Day Trip at Sitio De Amor

As I mentioned in my previous post, my mom was back again here in the Philippines and it means a family outing. I’m always in-charge in planning our family outing so for the first weekend I suggested we visit Mind Museum since it was also my nephew’s 9^th birthday. But my mom decided to stay in my grandmother’s house in Victoria, Laguna so I checked my Viaje Del Sol list for possible bed and breakfast.

If you’ve been a regular reader of this blog, you know for sure that I’m trying my best to visit those places listed in the Viaje Del Sol map. You can click here to check the places that I’ve visited.

This time, I chose Sitio De Amor, it is less than an hour's travel from my grandmother’s house so we only had a day trip. I inquired last December about the rates and unfortunately, there’s no promo like when we went to Casa San Pablo. 50% of the total should be deposited to confirm your reservation.

Day Trip Rates

PHP1,200 – adults and 11 years old above

PHP600 – kids below 10 years old

Free – 2 years old below

The day trip is from 8AM – 5PM, inclusive of am/pm snack and buffet lunch. The room is not included; guests can stay on the patio (5) and use the restroom for the day tour guests but no hot shower. But my mom wanted a room so my sister called a few days before the trip to reserve a room and confirm if we can bring a cake.

Treehouse is the biggest room so we chose this one. The rate is half the price for day tour guests. There’s a small dining table, kitchen, and restroom on the second floor and one bedroom with toilet and bath on the third floor.

As early as 7AM we’re ready to go but the jeep that we rented did not arrive on time so we left past 8AM. (2 tumbling lang ang layo ha) #sayangoras. Upon arrival, we immediately went to the treehouse to leave our bags and take some pictures.

We went back to the pavilion for our AM snack but it wasn’t ready yet. We’re a little bit disappointed with our AM snack kasi naman tagal naming naghintay then bread lang pala. hehehe Of course, hindi siya kasya sa min (15 pax). Good thing that I bought Tous Les Jours bread the day before our trip.

The weather was not that good; actually, it was raining on our way to the resort. So we stayed in the treehouse after the AM snack. Thank God that the bathroom has a bathtub so doon na lang nagswim ang kids. Hehehe!

We went back to Pavillion for our lunch, we’re praying and hoping na ok ang aming lunch para sulit bayad. Bumawi naman sila because we enjoyed our lunch. The food was good and flavorful.

After lunch, the rain stopped already so kids tried to swim in the pool pero kasing lamig ng yelo so they tried the freshwater lagoon.

My son doesn’t want to swim here kasi may crocodile daw. Hehehe!

After several minutes they went back to the bathtub and we tried to catch some sleep at puyat. We had late PM snack para diretso na uwi.

Pros

1. The service is okay, the staffs are approachable and always smiling.

2. The place is nice and clean.

3. The buffet lunch is good.

Cons

1. It took them days or even a week to reply to my emails. So if you have a landline, it is better to call. But I always prefer email so I have a copy of the information.

2. There’s no playground for the kids so mabored talaga kung hindi makapagswim so it is better to bring some toys, board games or card games.

3. The food is not always ready on time. We always have to wait considering na kami lang guests. #asfarasiknow wala naman kami kasabayan. Pero masarap naman despite the waiting time.

All in all, in spite of the rain showers we still enjoyed our day trip in Sitio De Amor. It is really nice to have a break and spend your day doing nothing. Eat, sleep and relax lang ang peg.

How to get to Sitio De Amor

All Lucena-bound buses will pass by the farm. Alight at Uno Gas Station at Km 88.5, Maharlika Hwy, Brgy San Vicente, SPC.

By car: SLEX, continue on to SLEX continuation (Star toll), exit at Sto. Tomas. When the road Ts, turn right, when it forks at the Sto Tomas town proper take the left road. At Linai's Supermarket, turn left. After SM, San Pablo the road will fork - take the right road. Continue on this road for another 8 km. Sitio will be on your left. The private road is between Uno Gas Station and Jardin de San Vicente.

April 08, 2013

Day Trip at Casa San Pablo

Casa San Pablo is in my bucket list, as I mentioned before I wanted to visit those places listed in Viaje Del Sol so when my mom told me that they will be staying in my grandmother’s house and planning to swim, I immediately asked what resort?

Me: San naman magswim?

Mom: Splash Mountain.

Me: Wow, bago yan ha, di ko pa napupuntahan yan (joking)

Mom: Yung sa dati. (she did not get my joke)

Me: Wala na bang bago.

Seriously, we’ve been in Splash Mountain for the nth time since I got married and I know how crowded the resort during summer so I suggested Casa San Pablo and I gave her a link. She immediately said yes so I inquired (March 20, Wed) and they gave me this rate.

DAY TRIP RATES:

Day Trip with Lunch, PM snack

1,243/head (inclusive of 10% service charge and 3% local tax)

Special Discounted Rate:

550/head (inclusive of 10% service charge and 3% local tax)

Day Trip with AM snack, Lunch, PM snack

1,412.50/head (inclusive of 10% service charge and 3% local tax)

Special Discounted Rate:

650/head (inclusive of 10% service charge and 3% local tax)

Inclusive of the following:

*Use of a room from 11:30AM to 6:00PM

*Use of the resort amenities

We avail the P650 Day Trip Package (kids and adults) including the morning snack, lunch and merienda. Two years old below is free of charge. I was glad that they were able accommodate us so my sister deposit the 100% payment on Friday for our Saturday day trip which is March 23.

Since my grandmother lives in Victoria, Laguna we left past 7AM so we can reach the place before 8AM. Don't forget to print the confirmation letter because you need to present it before you can enter the gate. They are really strict because the guard really counted the number of people inside our car.

The guard assisted us to the resort, the staff gave me a form to fill out and I paid P500 for key deposit. She handed me the key and assisted us to our rooms. As early as 8AM we were able to check in.

Our room #16 and #17

Dormitory type of room

I must agree with other reviews that the swimming pool is not inviting but for our kids, swimming pool is still swimming pool so they don’t care about the looks as long as they can swim.

Anyway, Casa San Pablo is not really a resort but a bed and breakfast where you can relax and unwind so aside from this swimming pool, you can do more to enjoy the place.

1.You can stay in the swing or hammock.

2.You can play in the playground.

3.You can ride a bike.

4.Or simply take advantage the “Art of Doing Nothing” Honestly, I enjoyed my stay here because I love my routine, “Eat and Rest”. We left at exactly 5PM para sulit ang aming stay.

Food

Morning Snack "Spaghetti + Toasted Bread". Ito lang ang masarap

Fried Fish, Kare-Kareng Manok na walang gulay and Pinakbet na walang sahog, Bland Soup and Ube.

Merienda. Suman with Champorado Drink, oops Hot Chocolate

Pro’s

1. They immediately reply in my emails so we were able to book Day Trip Package in a span of few days.

2. Free Wifi.

3. I really recommend the place if you need some R&R and a weekend getaway away from hustle and bustle of the city.

4. Aside from confirmation letter and map, they will also provide you travel guide where you can visit other places near the area. These places are listed in Viaje Del Sol.

Con’s

1. We enjoyed the place but not the food. Kulang sa lasa and family style ang serving so bitin siya sa min. Imagine kids pa ang kasama namin, how much more kung adult kami lahat na magshare.

2. Service is just okay, the wait staffs are not approachable and parang ayaw magsmile. Ang tagal din naming naghintay sa lunch, past 12:30PM na nagserve.

3. The place is not well maintained because when we went to the swimming pool, we have to wipe the chairs and table sa dami ng alikabok and spider web.

CASA SAN PABLO | Barrio San Roque, San Pablo City, Laguna, Philippines

Mobile: +63 920 962 4083 or +63 917 812 6687 | Phone: +63 2 211 2132 | Fax: +63 2 724 7023

Email: info@casasanpablo.com

September 01, 2012

Viaje del Sol: Café Lago and Sampaloc Lake

My mom wanted me to visit my grandmother every month so starting this year again I do visit my grandmother every month but because of busyness sometimes we only stay for few hours but if we’re not in a hurry we will sleep there, if you remember my term “eat, sleep and run”. But before we go home we try to visit one place listed in Viaje del Sol so two weeks ago we were able to visit Café Lago and Sampaloc Lake.

Again, we don’t know how to get to Café Lago so we used the GPRS to get there. We’ve been following the GPRS but we’ve been running around in circles and we can’t find our destination. According to GPRS, we’re one minute away to Café Lago but we feel that we’re lost so we stopped using the GPRS and asked for directions, lagpas na pala kami. When we reached Café Lago, we checked our location in GPRS and we found out that GPRS is not 100% accurate but it is still helpful.

Sampaloc Lake, with circular shoreline of about four kilometers, is situated right in the heart of the city and a stone's throw away from the city capitol compound. It has a maximum depth of 27.6 meters at the center and an average depth of 20 meters. It has a calculated volume of water in storage of 14.1 million cubic meters. Its narrow water head is planted mostly with coconut trees. In an east side is an outlet with a low outflow of water while a number of clear springs mark the lake shore area.

Café Lago is a small restaurant just in front of Sampaloc Lake. Good thing that we went there early because after few minutes, 21 people came in to eat their lunch. The group came from Casa San Pablo which I also plan to visit, someday. While waiting for our order we took some pictures.

We ordered Fern “pako” salad P150 and Crispy Binagoongan P245. My husband enjoyed his Fern Salad and even my son ate it. Crispy Binagoongan is just ok for me.

Café Lago

San Pablo, Laguna

Contact # (049) 573-7404; 0922-8217931

Weekends: 7AM to 10PM

Weekdays: 10Am to 9PM

GPS: 14*04'34.71''N 121*19'31.11''E

June 18, 2012

Viaje Del Sol: Lake Pandin and Lake Yambo

If you’ve been reading this blog for quite some time now, you know that I’ve been meaning to visit Lake Pandin since last year. Yesterday, I visited my grandmother and fortunately she has no plan to go to supermarket so I informed my husband to text Ate Siony to ask for directions so we can visit Lake Pandin. But no one replied, so I told him to call the number and he said I gave him the wrong number. I checked his phone and told him that he texted and called the wrong number. #sayang oras. We called Ate Siony and asked how to get to Lake Pandin and off we went. We left Victoria, Laguna at 2:20PM and we reached Lake Pandin at 3:30PM including the 15-20 minutes trekking.

Finally, I was able to visit Lake Pandin.

We visited Lake Yambu too, about 3 minutes of trekking. It is not advisable to senior citizens and kids but since we want to check the other side, my husband carried my son. =)

Lake Yambu

When we went back to our raft, they gave us fresh buko juice. But if you want to avail their food package, you have to call them in advance. (grilled tilapia, shrimp, fern salad and banana).

Whether you are a good swimmer or not, you have to wear lifevest if you want to swim. Surprisingly, my son did not want to swim and he only stayed for two minutes. The place where we stayed is “75 feet deep” and other part of the lake is 180 feet deep. We left around 5PM. #bitin

If you want to unwind and relax, this is the best place for you. We will definitely go back again and avail food package.

Lake Pandin Rates and Contact

P180 per head

P180 food package per head

My son (3 yrs old) is free of charge.

Contact: 0929-9789565 Ate Siony

April 13, 2012

Viaje del Sol: Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery

Do you still remember my Viaje del Sol post last year? It is one of my goals to visit those places and I’m glad I was able to visit Nagcarlan Undergound Cemetery last holy week. We did not plan to visit this place but on our way to Majayjay Falls, we saw this church.

Nagcarlan Church – The first church which was made of light materials, was built by Rev. Tomas De Miranda, D.F.M., who was assigned to this town in 1583 as resident priest. The second church of brick and stone was built in 1752 but it was partly destroyed by fire in 1781. A choir loft was added to the reconstructed church in 1845 by Rev. Vicente Velloc, who built the Nagcarlan Cemetery and its underground crypt. Rev. Tomas De Miranda was pioneer in the successful cultivation of wheat in the uplands of Nagcarlan.

While checking the church, we read about the Nagcarlan Cemetery so my husband asked the vendor how to get to Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery. Sorry, I can’t give you the exact directions because I wasn’t listening but the landmark is Shell Station. The underground cemetery is just in front of the gasoline station, 10-15 minutes away from Nagcarlan church.

Sementeryo sa Ilalim ng Lupa ng Nagcarlan – Ang naiiba at nag-iisang sementeryong ito sa Pilipinas ay itinayo ng mga misyonerong Pransiskano sa pangangasiwa ni Padre Vicente Velloc noong 1845, kasabay ng pagtatayong muli ng pinalaking simbahan ng San Bartolome at pagtatayo ng kumbento. Dito nagpulong nang palihim ang mga pinuno ng himagsikan sa Laguna noong 1896. Sa bisa ng Kautusan ng Pangulo bilang 260, Agosto 1, 1973 na sinusugan ng Kautusan bilang 1505, Hunyo 11, 1978. Ang sementeryong ito ay ipinahayag na pambansang palatandaang makaysaysayan.

Unfortunately, it was closed so we just took pictures outside, and we went to Majayjay Falls or Taytay Falls.

April 10, 2012

Holy Week 2012

Now I’m back from my hiatus, how’s your long weekend? We had a blissful week, finally, we were able to rest in my grandmother’s house, a sort of staycation. Here’s the summary of my holy week.

Holy Thursday

We stayed in the house to finish our household duties before going to my grandmother’s house. We cleaned the house, finished the laundry, and ironed all clothes. Quite tiring but we did not mind because we will be having our much-awaited staycation.

Good Friday

As expected, we went to Caleruega and we left early to avoid the traffic. Surprisingly, there were more people who visited Caleruega this year compared to our previous trips. It is really hard to take pictures because you have to wait for your turn. =)

Then we went to Victoria, Laguna where my grandmother lives.

Black Saturday

I was enjoying my staycation when all of a sudden my husband wanted to go to nearby falls. This is really an unplanned trip because we don’t have any swimwear. We left the house after lunch without a map; we just asked questions along the way.

Our joy ride brought us here,

Nagcarlan Church

Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery

and finally Taytay Falls or Majayjay Falls

Easter Sunday

My grandmother was wondering why we had an extended stay because we used to “eat, sleep and run” the following day. Whenever we visited her, we will just eat merienda then dinner, sleep, eat breakfast, and go home so this was the first time that we really stayed long.

But we really enjoyed our stay; it was our sweet escape away from the hustle and bustle of the city. You can have a good sleep without aircon and we even turned off the electric fan. Of course, it’s not all year round. There are days that it is really hot but during our stay, we’re blessed with good weather.

view at the back of my grandmother's house

view from our room

My husband loves to stay here because he can have a good rest and there are times that he will suggest to visit my grandmother.

Hubby: hon, punta tayo sa lola mo.

Me: bakit? Ano gagawin natin dun?

Hubby: matutulog

Me: matutulog? Pupunta tayo dun para lang matulog?

Hubby: para maiba naman. =)

And of course, he loves my grandmother’s dishes. We always look forward to ginataang fish and vegetables. To tell you the truth, we gained pounds again during our staycation.

As much as we want to extend our vacation we have to go home. We dropped by Isdaan to check the place but we left immediately when we saw the crowd.