I'm home

My family farewell. Shawn, Rachel and Uncle Rod.
Jaymee and Daisy left me at the airport.



I didn't get to do much shopping in the Philippines. Not sure what's all in there, but this is what I came home with.

May 26

Right now we are hanging out at the Royal Tagaytay clubhouse swimming and lounging around in the sun. After we eat, we will bowl and play ping pong. I wish I had a michelada and guacamole, but am substituting a with a San Miguel Light, ensalada filipina, and turon.


I feel all the ladies staring at me because I am not sitting in the shade and am already so brown. Daze is trying to make me feel better by saying they must think I am a superstar.

After yesterday, the lounging feels just right.

May 25

We ate an extravagant lunch at Josephine's. I passed the first test when I ate second helpings of mango and bagaong. The hosts say I can stay. Now they are trying to pressure me into outdoing myself with trying the balut...

We drove to Palace in the Sky

and then rode a boat to the foot of Taal, an inactive volcano. Then we took horses up to the top so that we could look into the center of the crater.


Daisy's brother's friend, 17, made a big confession that ever since I arrived, he feels like his girlfriend is watching over him. I asked if it was the way I was nagging at them, and he said no, it was because we looked just alike. Then Daisy and Jaymee said he kept saying that this was the best vacation ever... OOOkkk.... They sang karaoke for us all night.

Two extreme vacations. Pilipinas 09, yeah!!!

Add into the right day later

On the train, Cathy said, "Look his bag is better than hers. It would suck to have a boyfriend that has a nicer purse than yours. Too much pressure."　　Bags, eyebrows, shoes, hair, etc.- some of these guys are way too pretty.

You're my type...

Photobooth pics

Silence

May 24

I woke up at 9am to start to get ready to pack up and leave. We left the hotel way too early, 10:10, when everything was still closed. It was raining. Perfect timing to leave.

We met Pat's sister, mom and sister's gfriend at Wired Cafe in the mall at Shinjuku station. I needed to chack my email one last time to try to see if Daisy had any special messages for me. She did :)...


Right now I am sitting in the Yahoo Cafe. I have about 50 min to go until I get on my plane. I couldn't decide what to eat, but I figured this would be a nice last meal before being doomed to airport food.
From Sunroute Hotel, I took a bus to Narita Airport. Cathy hung out with my until it was time to go. She will now go off to hang out with her family in Yokosoka.

Meet up with the Carvajals around 10PM in PI.
Jaymee is really the one that found me in the madness of the Manila airport crowd. I was on the verge of being scared, but I knew Daze and Jay were there and knew what to do. I managed to keep cool.

May 23

Leave Osaka to go back to Tokyo, Sunroute Hotel in Shinjuku

Need to find somewhere with internet to not get too behind on blog...

May 22

We woke up at 7AM to get in a second round at the onsen. We were alone there and I didn`t have to worry about covering up my little tattoo. Cathy said if the old ladies came, they`d tell on us and we`d get kicked out and if that happened, they wouldn`t dare let us back in. Yikes. I broke the no tattoo rule AND Cathy broke the no camera rule. She took pics inside the onsen. We lounged around until about 7:40 then kind of got ready for breakfast. We went to the restaurant in our kimonos. It`s like being in Cuba in the summer and everyone walks around in bathing suits and tiny clothes, but in Shirahama, people walk around in their kimono hotel robes.

Japanese Breakfast
Nabe
A bowl of tiny fishies (didn`t touch)
Pickles
Rice
Dark Miso (Only took one sip. Too bitter.)
Went to the Viking comer aka buffet (Wonder who in the world came up with that translation?!...) and picked up some sausage (remember, these are mini polskas), Japanese yogurt with pineapple on top and a warm roll that I doused in butter and honey. I ate the sausage with rice. Topped it off with hot green tea. Very delicious.

Left Shirahama to Osaka

Shopping on Totombori Street