Marco Polo Hotel

Deluxe room

LCD color tv with cable channels

marble bathtub

with nespresso coffee machine

welcome fruits

executive desk w inroom safe

toiletries

minibar

mini bar and refrigerator

menu for breakfast

spa and pool reception area

reception area

where: Marco Polo Hotel, Ortigas
when: 20 August 2018

what I like:

staff were accomodating and courteous

strong wifi signal

with nespresso coffee machine and 3 free capsules

near food establishments

with turndown service

i like it that they have clocks plus alarmed ones

same with phones, i think there were 3 in our room

madaming hangers 😁

the room is spacious

privacy was very much respected like you can leave instructions for breakfast and hang it outside your door. same with newspapers, they'll leave it in a bag pa.


what i don't like:

not much of an issue but they have this window cleaning service and it was funny/nakakagulat if you're not informed of the sched or if not ready. (they have a memo though)

also mabigat ang robe haha. 😄

if I'd have to rate our stay from 1-5, for me it's a 5.

Pop-up Night Cinema

 I have been wishing for this. I thought we would journey as far as Laguna just for the chance but thank God we finally have it here in Makati. Ayala Malls Circuit posted this last year and i got super excited as I saw this experience in movies only, I think we all, at one time, have seen the kind where they watch the free movie from inside their cars. Personally though it would have been convenient and way comfortable if you instead lie on a picnic mat with a pouf or pillow, that way your legs can move freely as you desire unlike when you're inside a car. Below are my photo experience.  My first was with my sister and we weren't prepared like we didn't bring any mat or even newspaper with us to sit on because I didn't really know what to expect first. Nevertheless we enjoyed the movie night while munching on hotdog sandwiches and tacos.  The second experience was with hubby, but the movie was seen in The Deck.  Thinking the movie was always shown in the Globe Circuit Event Grounds, I bought a big towel with us and didn't bother to buy any food and drinks. Fail.  So for our third time, i made sure I noted where the movie watching will happen and when I learned it will be in the grounds,  I bought a picnic mat and we got our food from the tents available nearby. That was where we spent our Valentines Day where we caught 3 movies in one night.   It was a fun experience and I wouldn't have it any other way.

tents where foods are available like sandwiches, pizza, pork barbecues,  beers,  sodas and more.  You can also bring your own feast with you.  I once saw sisters who brought rice and ulam with them.

At the back,  where tables and chairs are available

At The Deck.  you can sit at stair steps while watching

Ctto. Poufs and banigs for early birds

Happy Hearts Day

I've been surfing the Internet to see if there's any concert or musical play we'd like to see on February 14 (or not exactly on the day itself). We've been eating out most of the time so that and watching movies weren't my idea of a Valentines Day anymore.  It's not so much about being all romantic and cuddly (but why not) but for us it's also about experiencing something new or at least not what we normally do.  The last time we catch a play was like 2 or 3 years ago,  and that was the first.  I mean, together and not from a school play. So today I'm listing down my top 5 and hopefully hubby will choose wisely.  :D

September 2015

Last Tuesday was my birthday. Few days prior that we went out of town. Not that far, we just headed north and stayed a few nights in Pampanga. No beach, no theme parks, no over the top activities. We just enjoyed the city. Even though we just went to malls (SM, Marquee, and Robinsons) and churches (Holy Rosary and Immaculate Conception), we still enjoyed this mini vacay and were able to discover a couple of things not typical of our Manila getaways. It was really precious to get out of your comfort zone/place at times and find out what's out there on the other side no matter how fleeting and fast. It was a happy birthday indeed. 

Thank you Lord for everything, I'm so grateful and blessed to have been able to see what I didn't see and to feel this inner peace inside of me finally and I look forward to the future you promise me and please help me be deserving of all this love by being the person you want me to become. I'm sorry for having offended you and please teach me to trust you more and more and not to succumb to my fears. Thanks a million times.  Thanks for blessing me  with someone who's the very answer to my prayers, who's all that and more, my husband. He  is my daily testament that you have always been there for me and have never left. Love you.

Here's my birthday weekend in pictures:

 Nathaniel's macapuno tart and turrones de casoy

chapel inside Marquee mall

had lunch here

 our hotel room

Immaculate Conception church

Holy Rosary church

Aling Lucing's famous and yummy sisig with ensalada

S&R New York Style Pizza

Yexel Museum

we've been to Manila Ocean Park a couple of times already and each time there'd be something new to explore. we learned about Yexel Museum when we saw his collection on tv. he has 2 branches we learned, the other one is in Las Piñas pa so Manila was the better option. we bought lang the tickets for the museum since we've seen  most attractions already. inside the museum were his collections of the minions, super heroes like Superman, Batman, Spidernan, LOTR, the Iron Throne, Starwars and Ironman. it was a small collection so do not expect much but you'd have a better time to marvel at how detailed each piece were. most of his works are in Las Piñas branch so that meant a visit there  won't be far off soon.

Lessons in Love 3

Lesson 3: If you're together for 8 years, getting married must only be the next step.

I've known a couple who have been friends for long years then fell in love and became bf-gf for 8 years and then finally they got married. That union lasted for only 2 years.

I thought being together for 8 years is the perfect ingredient for a marriage that truly lasts, it was not. She learned that being together that long should NOT be the ONLY reason to get married.

We all believe that couples like them should end nowhere but head to the altar. That even when things start to fall apart, sayang naman kasi matagal na rin naman ang pinagsamahan. True, sayang. But should that be the reason to say I Do? If you're in a long term relationship and you want to end it because there's no love anymore, that better be the right reason to get out of the relationship than decide to still go on with the marriage plans and then chicken out on The Day itself (the runaway bride.) No man or woman deserves that shame. If you're on the other end who still wants to hold on tight, do everything in your power to make it work. But if you're the only one who does all the work, it's not worth it any longer. ACCEPT IT. My cousin told me once, NASA PAGTANGGAP LANG YAN. It resonated on me loud when the situation I was in was so hard I couldn't accept any reason. Those words, they hurt but true. I think we would all rather be hurt and torn than be in a marriage that's unhappy.

Lessons in Love 2

Lesson 2: Pag nagkabalikan kayo ng ex mo, baka destiny nyo na talaga ang isa't isa. (If you and your ex got back together then maybe he's the husband/wife that's meant for you all this time.)

 Not all cases are the same. If some couples head to the altar after getting back together again then some are meant to get hurt with the same man TWICE. 

Again, let's not believe (that in love) when everything has a reason, the reason has to always be that you and him are meant to be together. Forever. 

Sometimes the reason in getting back together is just the lessons you need to learn, which we always hear all the time, but I believe is also true ALL THE TIME. 

Believe me after all the hurt and pain, when you've finally found your true love (not the two times-ex bf/gf), you will remember that sad part of your story (that edified you) and you will tell yourself, "I now finally understand."

Lessons in Love 1

Since it's the LOVE month let me share the love lessons I'm learning in life, not to make you jaded about love but to make us women stop psychoanalyzing our men. Most times the reasons we are looking for, the answers to the many questions we pose about our relationships with them, mostly the WHYs, are just simple and are just staring us in the face. It's probably because we cannot accept the true reasons (the one we already know) so we look for the alternative: words we actually prefer to hear to make us feel better (as the thought that our relationships are on the verge of falling apart just makes us sick). As friends, we can help them move on one day at a time although we should never give false hopes to those who're asking for our two cents worth. In our lifetime I know we've been the former, we've been the latter.


Lesson 1: Pag pinakilala ka ng lalaki sa family nya, seryoso sya sayo. (If he lets you meet his family, he's got good intentions.)

I've learned this from a friend who once experienced this myth. As a woman, we tend to psychoanalyze the moves of the men in our lives as to whether they are dead serious and head over heels in love to us or are just playing us around, if and when they bring us to their parent's house. Not all men think the same. Take this case where there's a guy pala out there who's very close to his mom that he can bring any girl home and introduces you as his girlfriend even if just a week ago, there was another girlfriend too. It's embarrassing but there are moms who don't take it seriously if their sons always bring new girlfriends at home because to them for as long as their sons aren't married yet, they are still licensed to such things kumbaga, binata naman yan hayaan mong magsawa. Seriously girls, whether we care to admit it or not, there are thinkings like that, whether from dads or moms or other members of the family. 

Do not be suspicious though, just do not ever believe that one-hundred percent of the time, if he brings you home to meet his family, he's serious or faithful to have or want a relationship with you.

Chapel of San Pedro Calungsod

San Pedro Calungsod is the first Visayan saint, martyred in Guam doing his missionary work in 1672, he was considered to be a role model for the youth. He was beatified by St. John Paul II and canonized by Pope Benedict XVI. 

The chapel of San Pedro Calungsod is located at SM Aura Premier's Skypark 7th level.

The chapel has 12 stations of the cross and can seat almost 300 people. (source: philstar.com)

The area for those with children in tow.

I suggest you ride the elevator going up as it's 7-10 flights of stairs should you decide to walk up.

Mass Schedule (as of 2014)

SATURDAYS
12:00 nn
6:00 pm

SUNDAYS
10:00 am
12:00 nn
3:00 pm
5:00 pm
7:00 pm

WEEKDAYS
12:15 nn
6:00 pm

San Pedro Calungsod Prayer