Last Stop: San Francisco

E and I were in San Francisco 6 years ago and I knew then that I will definitely go back. This time around, I'm lucky to get to stay at the Westin St. Francis on Union Square.  I loved the location because it was really close to everything, no need to take any transportation to get to places.

This is the view from our first meeting:

We had lunch at the Greek restaurant Kokkari Estiatorio.  This should be a really popular place as there was a really long line when we left the restaurant.

We were finally free by mid-afternoon!  I went around the shops around the area until it was time to meet my high school friends.

I'm proud to say that I walked all the way, picking up my friend HF in the Financial District and had the opportunity to tour a genuine start-up company with their free coffee, soda and snacks.  Wow! Then we walked together to Embarcadero. We met our friend NN and his family at OSHA Thai in Embarcadero.

Hongkong August 2014 Day 3: Day with HK-based Friends

My day started early on Day 3, a Saturday.  I had breakfast with my HK-based friends whom I met on different circumstances, but coincidentally they are now good friends as they are in the same circle as HK residents. CC is my closest friend at grad school when we were taking our Masters in Computational Finance, GdR is from UPCBA but we also know each other because he works as an analyst and covered my previous companies,  and WSKP works as a fund manager and we have met on official business but this has developed to friendship over the years.

We met at the breathtaking Ritz Carlton Lounge and Bar on the 102nd floor of the ICC Tower.   The ICC Tower is now the 7th tallest in the world and the highest in Hongkong.   The view was amazing!  I'm grateful to have had the chance to be there with friends.

After breakfast E and I had a late lunch at Tasty Congee and Noodle at the Elements Mall.  Look at their Coke Zero bottle, it's like a solo Coke from our sari-sari stores:

E and I spent the whole afternoon in Elements and went to all the stores before going back to the hotel to rest a bit before our dinner date with good friend RJW.

Dinner with RJW was at Brickhouse, the most popular Mexican Restaurant/Bar in Hongkong and we were joined by GdR since we were all together at UPCBA a few (?) years back:

Thanks RJW for the wonderful dinner!

After dinner, we went out for dessert and a tour of the mid-levels via the escalators, a first for E and I:

We had such a nice time with RJW and GdR!  We were out until we were all yawning!  :-)

Celebrating 25 Years of Friendship in Hongkong

My college barkada decided to celebrate our friendship in Hongkong!  I have to admit that Hongkong is a favorite travel destination.  It's so near,  it has different seasons and so we can go at a time when it's not so hot, plus the window-shopping is fantastic!  So when we planned our 25th anniversary celebration, I looked forward to it for over a year.  The perfect trip with some of my most favorite people!

Photos of our first day:

We were on the same flight as the V family, and here's a photo of us at the airport waiting for the Airport Express to Hongkong Station.  We were so excited!

Met the others at Times Square for some window shopping

While some rested at the hotel, E and I went around Causeway Bay, and there's the new Apple building!

About to go to dinner at RW's home.

Finally we're complete at the W's lovely home!  E took the photo so he's not in the picture.  Had unlimited appetizers,  lasagna and banoffee pie prepared by RW, and unlimited pizza!

Midlife at 41

I've found the best way to celebrate my birthday: spending a weekend with my family and my closest friends. For this year's birthday, it was another relaxing weekend at the MMLDC just like last year. It was very practical. What with my hectic worklife, I only had time to plan one major event -- and I don't really have to plan too hard, everyone was free to do whatever they wanted!

We missed my brother N's family this year though!

Three-in-One Celebration at Ye Dang

To celebrate MNC's birthday and her kids' J's graduation from high school (with honors) and N's 16th birthday, we treated the family to a delicious Korean dinner at Ye Dang. They have the best appetizers, and their beef and pork dishes are really good. As always, it was really great to see the gang!

Dinner at Amici

This was taken around three weeks ago when our friend RW was in Manila for a short visit. We were at Amici at the SM Megamall Atrium. I was NIP (not-in-photo) because I was the photographer!

Girls' Christmas Get Together

For this year's get- together, we decided on the new Ayala Triangle Park where there was a Lights and Sounds Show during the holiday season. Dinner was at Kanin Club. Though we started out early, the most popular restaurant, Wee Nam Kee, was already full. Nevermind, we definitely enjoyed our Seafood Kare-Kare, Crispy Dinuguan, Crispy Liempo, and all dishes we ordered at Kanin Club.

Walked to JV and DV's condo for the traditional gift-giving. Merry Christmas and a Joyful New Year, my dear friends!

50 Years of Friendship

My Mom and her dear friends had a grand reunion in New York. How's that for celebrating 50 years of friendship? What an inspiration indeed! Would love to have this too, many years from now, with my dearest friends.

Girls Reunion 2010

Our dear friends DLL and DS who are both based in the States, came home at the same time. I'm so distracted nowadays that I only remembered to bring my camera once out of the four times we met up! Girls, share your pictures, too! My photos were taken on the first meeting at Cafe Juanita, Burgos Circle at the Fort. DLL wasn't in Manila yet.

We also had dinner at the V home in Makati, Angel's Kitchen in Greenhills and Ye Dang, a Korean Restaurant along Meralco Avenue in Ortigas.

Great to see all of you the past few weeks, Girls. Till the next reunion!

A Surprise Birthday Party

For our dear friend JDV's birthday, her husband DV surprised her with a party at Sentro. Thanks DV for inviting us to be part of the surprise:-) Happy Birthday again JDV, we wish you happiness always!

Birthday Breakfast at Heaven and Eggs

Our dear friend RJW, who is based in Hong Kong, was home just in time for her birthday! Her hectic schedule only had breakfast free, and so our get-together was for breakfast. Heaven and Eggs in Eastwood was our choice.They had hearty breakfasts of rice and tapa, longganisa and adobo, as well as pancakes with sinful toppings such as oreos, nutella and bananas. Yummy! RJW surprised us by treating us, when we were supposed to treat her! Thanks R, it was great to see you!

Life Begins at 40

My 40th birthday was another workday, so I spent most of it at the office. It was a happy occasion as I got to spend the day with my team mates and friends at work. This was what greeted me in the morning -- touching di ba? :-)

With my team mates and friends from the different offices in the Company:

I had two cakes, one cake for every 20 years:-)

Later that evening E and I were supposed to just have a quiet dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Galileo Enoteca (Calbayog St., Mandalulong City) where we also celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. But... a surprise party was waiting for me -- my dear friends from college were there to celebrate with us!:-) Thanks E for being so thoughtful! And thanks to my dear friends for taking the time to be with us, and thanks too for giving me some of my favorite things:-). Had a blast with the gang as usual.

That night at home, E gave me his birthday gift... AWESOME, isn't it:-) I never dreamed of having one, but E of course thought about it, and I LOVE IT, thanks Sweetie. Sige, libre na kita sa lahat ng meals natin this year:-)

I guess, being 40 IS special:-) Thanks everyone, it really was special.

Pico de Loro, Hamilo Coast

Our dear friends JV and DV invited us to Pico de Loro and wow, the place is beautiful! I'm really not a beach person but I loved the place. The sea had a calming effect, and the mountains as backdrop to the water was just perfect. I spent most of the time just staring at the scenery. The kids , as well as the adults enjoyed the water, at the beach and at the pool. The food was also good! It was the perfect place for family and friends to bond.

Thanks so much Mr and Mrs V! We had an amazing time!