HOLY!!!! week

i am usually a guy of very little opinion (yeah right... shut up! who asked you!?). more often then not, i would be mum about many things and just take my time to internalize moments, situations or occurrences, storing them up in the many compartments in my contorted psyche, allowing them to ferment, and maybe, go back to them for future reference. this is what i often call as my internal Rolodex, my flipping list of random memories, experiences, facts and figures, too raw to make sense of by now but due to my being an obsessive pack-rat, feel that they are too good to throw away.

all that considering, it wouldn't be a surprise why i hoard and soak all that i behold like a sponge, almost to the point that it overwhelms me. since i am still feeling a bit dazed, allow me to share the latest set of information that i am now processing, sorting, stacking, compiling and filing in a mental folder marked: my weekend trip to mactan with the fam.

kuya, not too long ago texted me asking if i had plans during the holy week, to which i said no. i am probably one of those ppl who believed that the best place to be during the holidays is to stay put in manila since, this is the only time in the year the city becomes almost deserted. imagine congested manila.... TRAFFIC FREE and quiet :) however, his next question had me change my mind almost at an instant. true, my defenses were weak and my integrity, well, debatable. but really now, can you blame me, especially since the alternative was to go to fly out and frolic at glorious cebu!

from kuya's many trips and stories there, i have had visions of this place already. cebu, with its historical landmarks, its beautiful people, its tourists and of course... its FOOD! one place i had craved for and was enough reason for me to say "f**k manila!" was gelatissimo... gelato for the GODS!!!! anyways... lets talk about food later... like, in the next paragraph since cebu was practically one gluttonous escapade after the next and there will be more than enough room to talk about that later anyways. so... after i gave my irrevocable thumbs up to the holiday getaway, kuya got this ball a-rolling. a couple of calls and a few internet clicks later and we were set... booked.... 4 people.... 3 days, two nights..... at the shangri-la mactan resort and spa.

since i don't have flicker (and am too lazy to learn how to install it here, despite the possible fact that it might be really easy), let me just post pics that i grabbed from the hotel website and just tell my story in these pics in the order they happened.

flew PAL. was supposed to fly coach but due to kuya's frequent flier credits and undeniable charm, we were all upgraded to business class, which meant more leg room for our short, asian legs and food for our abyssal stomachs :) also... the flight attendants in business class were also a sight to behold... one in particular caught my radar, busted with his highlights, stance and the jade bangle that would peek out of his sleeve everytime he reached for something. in fairness, he was very cute. u just have to love eye candy so early on a vacay... while sipping juice on an upgraded seat! LOL!

landed in mactan international airport ahead of schedule and got shuttled to our ULTIMATE destination.... more than 15,000 square meters of luxurious pampering, enough to leave you spoiled and rotten to the core like the gotti kids!

after checking in, we were ushered into our rooms, the pool and the azure ocean in full view. down pillows, fresh glorious cotton sheets and a bathtub (i am easily pleased) and i could have died and went straight to heaven already.... BUT WAIT, not just yet!!! since i still had to have lunch....

... here at acqua. poolside. italian cuisine. contemporary design. very chic-ly done by the almario sisters (i immediately recognized their signature patterns). my dad was supposed to make the chandeliers for this resto but he backed out... sayang. good food, won't bother about the price, beautiful view.

strolled around the grounds to burn off lunch, and found myself "lost" and walking towards here.. the chi spa. inquired for their basic hilot and almost fainted with the cost (maybe this was how they relax you). mcvie mentioned for that price, it should come with a relationship with the masseur already! well, maybe not, unless that person is... :)


gym to burn off more calories and try the health club amenities. not too long later and still tasting the sea bass antipasti from lunch, we were already getting ready for dinner... here. outside the hotel, at ANOTHER hotel. this was day 1.

day 2 started with GYM again and a sauna.... my version of pampering... sweaty and guilt-free!

after burning all that unwanted calories, why not throw all that work out of the window by following it with a sinful breakfast buffet here. the tides.

my innie contemplating to be an outie, kuya and i decided to make full use of the sun to get a bit of color. i ended up getting myself burnt while wading through the pool. noticed also that ALL of the shang's outdoor furniture was by DEDON. OMG... DEDON!!!

after roasting... lunch was next in the agenda. chinese at tea of spring. the food was excellent... and so was our server... harold :) unfortunately, we was not part of the menu. LOL! (narnian... ikaw ang may salot nito!)

afternoon was free now (as if we had plans except eat) so we all went our separate ways. kuya got a massage that only execs like him deserve, while i got the one's only misers like me can afford. it was nice and quite an experience since i normally don't like having strangers touch me, more so since you have to be fully in the buff for it. got a sports massage. felt i could handle more punishment though.... didn't feel i was kneaded, mashed and tenderized enough.

greased, slippery and surprisingly hungry... dinner was next. cebu lechon buffet and fire dancers at the buko bar by the pool.

walked about some more to burn off all that pork and found myself falling in love with how the hotel looks at night, the landscape alit with torches with flames dancing in the sea breeze. went to our rooms to retire and lament on my enlarged belly. went to watch nat geo until i dozed off to hearing about the "devil's bible" and had a nightmare about it, waking me and kept me awake till well, i dozed off again... did i mention glorious cotton sheets? :)

woke up the next to exorcise the prior day's fat and steam myself to a prune. never though such a small steam room can suddenly feel claustrophobic when this giant of a white suddenly entered. thought this place can only handle ONE white boy... went to take a cold shower only to find him loitering there a few moments later.... ew... (red alert!!!) anyway!!!!

took the morning off after having breakfast to go to ayala center, cebu... to finally satisfy what my tongue and palate had long waited for.... GELATO FROM GELATISSIMO. P150 for a mountain of sin and i was in ice cream nirvana!!!! i may have been fattened, burnt, perved and then some but for that cup of luxury... it was all worth it!!!!

we "flew" back to the hotel to be rushed to the airport since we were running late. arrived finding that our flight was delayed. upon boarding, kuya got called to the flight check-in counter saying there was something wrong with his ticket.... we were being flown back home again on business class :)

now.... THAT was what i call a vacation!!!!! :)