Celebrating Birthdays in Baguio City

I was in Baguio last January 11-13 with my family. For a change, we celebrated my nephew and sister’s birthdays there (yes, they have exactly same birth date). We left at 530 AM from Angeles City and were in Baguio before 10AM. I have been inquiring few days about accommodations on different sites online but decided last minute to just look for a place to stay once we are in Baguio since most of the pictures that we see on some web sites are not as decent as they are in reality.

With me is a list of transient houses, apartelles, apartments and hotels and we started checking on them one by one beginning from Mines View down to Burnham Park. Of all that are in the list, only one was a good sight to behold and fairly-priced in terms of amenities but parking was an issue. When finally, the uncle of my sister's boyfriend told me that he was able to reserve a 2 bedroom apartelle for us that day. So after few frustrations, we headed to Princess Joanne Apartelle. The minute my mom and brother saw the place, we paid our stay for 3 days and 2 nights. Thank heavens!

I wasn't able to get pictures of the room. These  were taken from Princess Joanne Apartelle's FB site. However, rest assured that what you see is what you get. Promise :) hehe.

The apartelle is situated few kilometers away from SM Baguio but definitely worth staying. Everything was clean; from linens, beds, kitchen utensils, bathroom, refrigerator and the spacious parking area. Previously, we use to stay at Hotel Veniz which is just near Burnham. However, for this getaway, my siblings decided that we should stay where we can cook as we please to save a lot. 3 days and 2 nights stay costs us P5,000 (it was a discounted price! Rate should have been 3K per day for a total of P6,000).  The apartelle was spacious enough to accommodate 8 to 12 people and was fully-furnished. The wi-fi was also a plus!

FIRST DAY:  We were bringing viands, rice, cakes/desserts and sodas so we just had it reheated and took our lunch. We then decided to have at least 3 hours “nap” because the weather was conducive to sleeping; it was 15 deg C. When everybody was awake, we went back to Mines View; had a taste of our favorite dried squid, fish balls, corn on cob and checked out some souvenirs. After which, we drove to SM Baguio to buy foodies for my nephew and sister’s birthday celebration the following day.

My sister-in-law and nephew Jomi, enjoying the horse-picture taking at Mines View

SECOND DAY: My sister’s boyfriend who is an on-call chef at Holiday Inn Clark and my sissy’s friend woke up early to cook mouth-watering and delish breakfast. 

(Top to bottom) Tuna Pasta, Tocino, Pancake Tower, Bacon, Mixed Veggies and Special Scrambled Eggs

The whole family just sang the "Happy Birthday" song before the celebrants blew their candles!

They were also able to buy cakes from Vizco’s Restaurant and Cake Shop the night before by hiring a taxi but manage to keep it from us ‘til morning. They wanted to surprise the celebrants :-) Vizco's is located at 8GF Puso ng Baguio Building Session Road, 2600 Baguio City, Philippines. Store hours are Mon - Thu: 7:00 am - 10:00 pm, Fri - Sat: 7:00 am - 11:00 pm,  Sun: 7:00 am - 10:00 pm. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner too! For further inquiries, you can contact them at (074) 446-7082, (0917) 579-0962, (0920) 964-2407.

Cakes: Vanilla cake with fresh fruits baked by my sister's friend,  Mango and Strawberry Shortcake from Vizco'z Retaurant and Cafe Shop, Baguio City

As soon as we were done eating, first stop was again at SM Baguio because it was raining  hard. We had our lunch here and decided to stay for few hours more and just leave once the rain subsides. Around 5PM, we headed to Burnham Park, went straight to dry/wet market to buy “pasalubong” and something that we can cook for dinner. Roaming around the market, going back and forth and checking on who sells the lowest of its stuffs at the same time haggling was both tiring and time-consuming. When we were finally done at around 730 PM, we decided to go back to the apartelle so we can call it a day and be able to wake up early the next morning.

THIRD DAY: After having breakfast, we packed our things and checked out of the apartelle. We did not have an Itinerary so we went to spots that we just wanted to check again :)

Philippine Military Academy: This was our first stop. For many years that I have been going back to Baguio, I have never visited PMA. And I am the only one in our family who has never been there. LOL! Unfortunately, the “PMAier” guy did not allow us to enter the vicinity because my 2 sisters were wearing slippers. They knew all the time that wearing slippers was not allowed but since I was very insistent to see the place, they agreed. They told the guy that they won’t be getting off the van but he did not permit us to enter PMA so we left the place. On our way out, the guy told us in a very monotonous and strict tone “Ma’am PMA is free, but you should be wearing close shoes when entering the vicinity” to which I wanted to say “Sir, smiling is free. So please, make your face a little more pleasant to see” but get hold of myself. Ggggrrr!

Camp John Hay / The Manor: We went through the shops at Camp John Hay and see if there were some items on sale. The place was a bit jam-packed because one of TV 5’s “teleserye” was having their on-site shooting in one of the stores. I don’t watch TV often and the actors/actresses were not that famous so I didn’t know who they were. We had our “superduperheavy” lunch at the Filling Station, CJH and thought of walking to The Manor instead of taking the van to buy their best-selling blueberry cheesecake.

Walking around Camp John Hay and taking lunch at the  Filling Station.

Mine’s View and Good Shepherd: Since we were not able to buy some blankets the day before, we opted to visit Mine’s View again. 

Before leaving the place, we dropped by at Good Shepherd to buy some of their renowned delicacies and taste their own version of Strawberry Lemon Juice.

Strawberry Fields, La Trinidad: Before going home, we thought of buying veggies and strawberries in La Trinidad. The fog was so thick and the weather was gloomy. By the time we were here, it was already around 12 to 13 deg. There were very few tourists in the place because the rain was on and off. But nevertheless, we still enjoyed our freshly picked strawberries and the super cheap and crisp veggies!

Are you also planning of going to Baguio this coming February for the Penagbenga Festival? If that is so, do not forget to bring your furry jackets and boots with you! Enjoy and be safe! :)