An Afternoon in Pinto Art Museum

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We had long been planning to visit Pinto Art Museum. For some reason, we always cancel our trip. This particular February afternoon, we had nothing to do at home so we decided to do an on-the-spot field trip. Dana was so happy to find out that we were finally going to Pinto because she has been bugging us to go here. The good thing is that it was only a few kilometers from where we live.

Though the artworks are not particularly for kids, I would still recommend that you visit the place with your family. The place is beautiful. Great architecture, peaceful and welcoming ambiance, even the food there was great. We spent only 2 hours in the place because we arrived late in the afternoon and were left with very little time to explore the place. I recommend you go here in the morning. The place opens at 9am and closes at 6pm (closed on Mondays). You can have your lunch there (the food is delicious, I promise). It has 6 separate galleries so, I'm sure you'll spend more than 3 hours to appreciate the entire place.

I was busy taking pictures of my kids and the place and I didn't have the time to appreciate the artworks. So, I'm planning to go back soon. As for Dana, here's her verdict...

"I like Art in Island better. At least, I understand the artworks better there." Hahahaha!

Honestly, I loved how the artworks made my daughters think. They would ask me, "Mommy, what is that?" Then I would ask them, "What do you think is it?" Then they would give interpretations of the artwork. They would ask questions like "Why are there thorns in the heart?" or "Why is the sculpture of a woman inside the cage?" It was an opportunity for us to teach them about art. Look at Dana's face in some of the photos. I love how curious she looks. If only for that, it was worth the trip.

Cebu Family Trip 2015 - Part 3

Since our 2nd day was busy, we decided to take it easy on the 3rd day. We just visited one of the big malls in Cebu City where we ate lunch and the kids played a little.

After the mall, my mom and I decided to go to Taboan Market to buy our pasalubong. Taboan has all the dried seafood Cebu has to offer and more. We also saw some stalls selling longganisang Cebu, dried mangoes and Peanut Kisses. It's a one-stop shop for pasalubong.

Some tips when buying pasalubong in Taboan:

- Make sure that you bring extra shirt. The smell of the dried goods is quite strong and may stay with you and your clothes even after you have left the place. Better yet, make sure that this is the last in your itinerary for the day. According to the seller I spoke with, they stay open till 8pm if there are still customers.

- Canvass first before buying. The first store offered a kilo of danggit for 680 pesos. Across the street, another store is selling it for only 630 pesos.

- Ask them to pack the dried seafood properly so that it would not smell when you check it in at the airport. They do airtight packaging using plastic but it will be better to use carton boxes and surround it with packing tape.

After shopping for pasalubong, we decided to walk around Cebu Capitol. We chanced upon an ice cream place called Ice Giants that also served delicious pasta dishes. We highly recommend this place for foodie travellers.

On our 4th day, we were scheduled to go back to Mactan and transfer to Crowne Regency Suites. We rented a van again to pick us up from Cebu R Hotel. After checking out, we had lunch at my favorite Chinese restaurant in Cebu, Luy's. I tried this restaurant in 2013 when we went to Cebu for one of our work assignments, and it was, by far, the best Chinese restaurant I've ever tried. So, I made a promise to go back, and I did, this time with my family.

Before proceeding to Mactan, we visited one of the more famous tourist spots in Cebu City, Fort San Pedro. If you are from Manila and you're familiar with Intramuros, this place is very similar to that.

It is a walled place with a garden, often used as a wedding venue. This particular place reminded me of Puerta Real in Intramuros.

Another attraction is an art museum that features paintings and other wood crafts like the modelboats in the photo.

After Fort San Pedro, we still had time for one more activity before we check in to our 3rd hotel. So, we made a short stop at one of the guitar stores in Mactan.

Of course, because the guitar prices here are way cheaper than in Manila, I could not resist buying one.

We also made a stop in San Pedro Calungsod Chapel in Mactan. When you visit Mactan, you should drop by this church. The architecture is breathtaking and one-of-a-kind.

Photo Credit: philstar.com

Crown Regency Suites is our last accommodation before leaving for Manila. I booked for a 3-bedroom suite but there was some mix up in their booking system and there was no available 3-bedroom suite when we checked in. They decided to give us the 3-bedroom villa instead, at no extra cost. This was no villa for me, this is a house! A big, 3-bedroom house! Not bad, eh?

Crown Regency also had pools and for the rest of the afternoon, the girls just enjoyed swimming.

The following day was our flight back to Manila.  I have arranged with the hotel the use of their free shuttle to the airport. That's another tip: do ask your hotel if they offer free shuttle to bring you to the airport. It's so convenient and you'll save a lot of money.

Then, it was, "Bye Cebu!" for us. Our vacation in Cebu was one worth remembering and we hope that we can go back there soon.

Cebu Family Trip 2015 - Part 1

We usually spend our Holy Week in my mom's hometown in Legaspi City, Albay. Earlier this year, we started making plans for the Holy Week and I was able to convince my parents to try a new place. They would not go as far as Hongkong -- my parents never travelled outside the country before. But as a starter, I wanted them to experience vacationing in a different island region, and we all agreed to go to Cebu.

It was also the first time that the entire family is riding an airplane together.

Our first stop was Costabella Resort in Mactan. We stayed overnight here since we wanted to spend at least a day in the beach. Costabella was a very good resort. Quite pricey but when you get there, you can see why.

The lobby as well as the interiors were filled with wooden antique furniture.

We got 2 family rooms with 2 queen-sized beds. The rooms were very spacious. The bathroom was very nice and clean. Accommodations were really good. No complaints here.

Our rooms were located on the building farthest from the shore. But it's ok since the beach is still just a couple of meters aways from our building.

The rattan cabanas with round mattress were really nice an  cozy.

The beach has white sand though not as powder-fine as Boracay. When we went there, the beach had a lot of moss and, according to the locals, it is quite common during the early days of summer.

Despite the presence of moss, my daughters still enjoyed the waters. 

And if the moss really bothers you, you can transfer to their pools. They have 2 big pools and they are perfect for families since one of the pools has a part where the water is only 1.5 feet high, great for small kids like Darla.

If there was one complaint we had about Costabella, it was that the food was not outstanding. For its price, we expected the food to be good. The lunch had small servings per order. We were so disappointed that we decided to eat out during dinner.

We ate dinner at Maribago Grill. The food was good, but the service was not. They were serving the dishes one by one and it took so long that we would finish one dish before the next one came. At least the food was good.

Breakfast buffet came with our accommodations fee at Costabella. Good enough but not, again, not something I would go back for. By noon time the following day, we checked out and rented a van to transfer to the city.