I woke up 4am of Sunday, February 13 with my eyes blurred as it adjusts to the darkness of the room and the street light peeking from the outside. Oh no, my contact lenses are still on! And oh no, oh no, I’ve been wearing them since Friday, February 11! If only my eyes could talk, they would scratch my eyes off – hahaha. My head started to ache as I get up from bed and so is my back, as if a big woman had just put her full force on my back. And now I remember! I was reading the paper on my bed at around 4pm Saturday after I took my bath and doze off and now it’s 4am of Sunday! That’s 12 hours worth of sleep.I actually had no sleep since Friday night. I had a birthday dinner until midnight and got home past 12. I put the alarm clock at 3:40am in time for me to get up to go the airport to fetch G, a friend from SG. She kiddingly informed me she wanted to go to Tagaytay before she leaves for Iloilo at 6pm. Hesitantly I said yes, and hesitantly I drove (my first time to drive to Tagaytay with Ben!)
We took the Aguinaldo highway to fetch another friend, O, in Dasmarinas (he’s suppose to help in the driving but don’t want to and so) he’s just there for moral support because it is my first drive to Tagaytay (i have to stress that) and not because we want him to be there… hahaha …(peace O). And so we drive thru the long and traffic-free highway at 6am. G noticed that the sun isn’t up yet and wonder if it may turn to a gloomy day but we told her to wait since it has been that way since last week. And the weather turned out as perfect – chilly but warm – no need for the aircon to be turned on. Amidst the chitchats, we reached Tagaytay and drove away to find Sonya’s Garden. We all knew Sonya’s to be located somewhere in Tagaytay but it came and went and no Sonya’s Garden. We asked and asked and asked and asked more until we saw the yellow sign that bores Sonya’s. The manong told us it is 2kms away and so I pushed even more until we felt it is the end but no gate to greet us. When we still can’t find it, we asked themanang on the street and she told us that it is further down the road – and so 2 minutes later on a rough road the gate to Sonya’s opened.
Sonya’s Garden (www.sonyasgarden.com) is what it is from the website and the many blogs written especially for it – a garden and so much more! Flowers and flowers and flowers of every hue! A couple of wood benches with canopy and some water formation were set up to make the garden more interesting. A spa was also there of course, which explains my sore back. I now remember how relaxing the massage is when the lady was perfectly kneading my back against her soft and warm and yet forceful hands. And then the bakery teases the nose with the smell of freshly baked bread – their hispanis bread was exquisite. At 10 minutes before 10am, armed with pictures – I bet loads of it via G’s dlsr and her able hands and her eye for details – we left. Lunch was of course, a combination of bulalo (Tagaytay’s specialty), grilled maliputo (a local fish), sisig, and fresh buko juice while being lulled by the chilly air and the scenic Taal Lake just way below us. Some birds with varied colors fly up and above the trees nearby. We stop for some more pasalubong and with the hearty lunch we drove back the winding road back to Manila.
For some this is what it is – a nice drive, a perfect place, a relaxing spa and a nice meal. But for me, the conversations were much more satisfying. G is smart and a good conversationalist. She has good opinions of everything and anything. She is passionate and this is evident to the many things that she does and decides on. This afternoon is no exception – she peps me up when I told her I am done with the hope of finding the One (yep I burst the bubble). She passionately told me about The Secret which I also knew and believe in. She talked about believing and making them come true. We talked about the books we like and I informed her of my favorite radio station which she can also listen even in SG. She told me of how she missed receiving letters the old way – via post – and that most of her letters came from me (email or text me your post address girl, I may drop a line or two). And with that we missed our turn – ayayay. We have to drive through the next U turn slot to go to the right way. And then we talked some more. I can’t remember now what we were talking about when lo and behold we missed the entrance to the airport – hahaha. Is being our so engrossed with our conversation my excuse or am I really a bad driver? And then smoothly, we drove through and next thing I knew I am dropping them off (yep, we are with M, her brother the whole time).
Last thing I remembered, I reached home, doze off, and woke up on Sunday, February 13, 4am.
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Sonya’s is on my 2011 summer bucket list and I am so happy to scratch it off this early. Thanks G. Next time uli?!
I’ll wait for G to download the pics since i didn’t bring the camera that day.
Ben is my car’s name.
Sonya’s is really at Alfonso, Cavite.
And of course, I am still a believer of The Secret.
Unsweetened Musings 