Making up for Mother's Day
I missed spending the actual Mother’s Day celebration this year with nanay due to a scheduled travel to Marinduque and so I promised her that I would really make up for it.
My nanay is someone who enjoys staying at home and would rather have celebrations at home as well. I also know that she loves plants and places with beautiful landscapes so I asked her if she wanted to go for a weekend getaway to celebrate Mother’s Day even though late. Thankfully, she agreed for an overnight stay. I thought of of showing her “around the world” in Batangas. After all, she gave us, her daughters, the world.
First stop: The Bali of Batangas, Cintai Corito's Garden
Because it was already the last weekend of May, Saturday and Sunday were already fully booked but thankfully, there were available rooms for Friday and Saturday, May 26 and 27.
Cintai Corito’s Garden boasts of lush greeneries and of course, Bali-inspired facade. Upon entering the main reception area, you will be welcomed by two Balinese guardian statues commonly called “Dwarapala”. According to Balinese belief, these guardian statues should complement each other such as young and old or male and female, and should be like mirror images.
We reserved two villas for our overnight stay and all though I have never been to Bali in Indonesia, I must say that the villas really looked like those Balinese resorts we often see on travel shows showcasing Bali. Even the bed headboard, cabinet and bench inside the bathroom are clearly inspired by Balinese interiors.
We ordered snacks upon checking in because we had an early lunch that day. We tried their burger, clubhouse sandwich, suman, and iced coffee. These snacks were delivered into our villa. For dinner, we ate fresh lumpia, prawn sinigang, crispy pata and white rice. Since the restaurant was far from our villa and it was already dark, our food was also delivered in the villa.
The morning of the next day, we had the chance walk around the property before the influx of guests came in and saw the other villas, the pools, the aviary and the restaurant. Good thing that nanay was game to walk that morning so she had the chance to see the resort and we got to take pictures of her too.
We availed the breakfast buffet where they offered a selection of usual Filipino breakfast viands such as corned beef, tocino, egg and of course, fried tawilis partnered with yang chao or fried rice. They also have champorado, hot pandesal, loaf bread, salad and for dessert, brownies and fruits.
After breakfast, we also roamed around the other side the resort and took videos and lots of photos. My ate, Roland and I tried the pool while nanay and Hannah relaxed inside our villas. The place was amazing! You could really think you are in Bali instead of Batangas.
We checked out at around 12 noon and then headed to our next destination.
Second stop: A slice of Italy in Batangas, Marian Orchard
Around 2.1 kilometers from Cintai Corito’s, you will find Marian Orchard which is a pilgrimage site for prayer and reflection. I found out about the place when I was searching for Cintai Corito’s and many guests who visited the resort mentioned to visit Marian Orchard too.
It was a perfect place for nanay to also visit and say a prayer to Mama Mary! We lit some candles and said our prayer of thanksgiving.
Since it was noon when we went to visit, the sun was really scorching hot and so we decided to just quickly take photos of the place.
Marian Orchard’s structures are reminiscent of Italy’s famous cathedrals, Roman colloseums and other structures.
We definitely would be coming back since we were not able to fully see the place.
For lunch, Roland and I had one place in mind. We then travelled to our third destination.
Third stop: Batangas' very own The Netherlands, Old Grove Farmstead
When we visited the Old Grove Farmstead last year, I knew I want to go back and visit with my family. When this opportunity came, Roland and I knew it was the perfect place to have lunch that day.
We travelled to Lipa City from Balete. It was about 45 minutes to an hour of travel but that gave us the time needed to book a reservation. The place, after all, is becoming more and more popular to visit these days.
Last year, lunch was plated because of the pandemic. Now that the restrictions were already lifted, they are now offering buffet as an option. Their food selection was actually quite good – rice, pasta, soup, pizza, salad, a few viands and dessert. We really had a good and sumptuous lunch!
Of course, we wouldn’t miss the chance to take photos again and let Roland practice his “human drone” skills.
Overall, It was a good Mother’s Day celebration and I was just glad that nanay was “game” to visit these places. I wish I could show her around the real Indonesia, Italy and The Netherlands someday but for now, I hope these places we’ve visited have shown how much she means the world to us.
Beautiful photographs. Your nanay is a lucky nanay!
Thank you! We are luckier because of her. 😉