Just like what I've promised in my first post, now I'm giving this second part account of our visit to the City of Pines.

The next day was a day to remember as the cozy ambiance of The Verandah gave us a warm welcome amidst the cool weather. We came past the bakeshop and I caught the warm smell of breads and pastries. I suddenly thought of the specialty product here: the RAISIN BREAD which I so love and hope to buy as pasalubong for Tatang. I was engaged in such thinking until I came to the lobby which presented a very refreshing view of the lush greenery outside: a golf course, pine trees and log houses. I was tempted to take many photos (the camera crazy in me!), yet immediately dropped the idea when I saw that I was lagging behind my colleagues who were being ushered by the couple, whose generosity enabled us to gain access to this place by way of their invitation to us. So I put my cam inside my bag and walk fast to catch up with them at the far right wing of The Verandah where we were set to have an early dinner.  

When we have settled down on our seats, I was hoping (again) to pose for some photos with the log houses and golf course as back drop (you might think I'm so much addicted to camera, and I can't blame you for that :-) ), but the drizzle (oh again, the light rains) made it not possible for us. When our orders were served, Ann, my colleague, tried to get a photo of us and I was happy to see a clear shot of us against the light. Good job, Ann!

Our group at The Verandah

Btw, for our drinks, Pleng and I have agreed to try the drink for the month: the CUCUMVAN (a cucumber shake with vanilla, mint and basil leaves). Before the same was served to us, the waiter told us that they have no more mint, to which we said "it's okay". We gave it a shot when our drinks were served. And you know what, we didn't like the taste, something we partly attributed to the absence of mint which we thought can balance the taste of the blended fruit with basil leaves - though we are not sure of this, it's just our theory, anyway, ehe.

A glass of CUCUMVAN (on the right) costs P200.

The good news is, despite that, we still enjoyed and finished our dinner happily - baked mussels, crispy pata, kare-kare and sinigang na hipon, from which Sai had the most  hipon share  (haha! it's her fave:-)!  

I think a cup of coffee can calm down a happy tummy after a nice "burp"

And, oh yes, I forgot to mention, this time, my two colleagues, who forgot to bring their jacket last night, learned their lessons pretty well. This time, they enjoyed the moment with their jackets on! 

Before bidding goodbye to this place, those who have invited us handed us a wonderful 'pabitbit' of raisin bread. My favorite!!! Oh happy us!

The happy us :-)

And of course, we didn't let the chance pass by without going to the bakeshop:-)

For pasalubong, we took time to go to the Good Shepherd Convent. Again, another first for me. I stayed for a couple of years in the city and have gone back a lot of times yet my first time to get here at this famous pasalubong shop in town. 

Buying pasalubong

But instead of taking a photo of the signage of the place, I opted to take a shot of the beautiful flowers in the area:

Now, time to go home...What else have we got before traveling back to lowlands? Of course the strawberries! Oh the strawberries!

and my pretty strawberry model!

... and we bid goodbye to the place happily... with a personal wish to come back for some more...sooon. Hopefully :-)