The Soloista

A travel and personal blog of a solo wanderer

Sundays: Tagaytay

Even though I’m living in Cavite and Tagaytay is just an hour away, I’ve never been around visiting a lot in the city. Most of the time I ask google for places and directions because the only places I’m familiar with in Tagaytay are Starbucks and Mer-Ben’s. 😛 So last Sunday, together with my mother and cousin, we went on a half day trip in Tagaytay.

PINK SISTERS

It is an early call on a clear Sunday. It’s been a while since I woke up at 4:30 in the morning so it’s really hard to break up with bed. Even though it’s already late when I got up, I’m still the first one to wake up! So I thought we’ll be late for the 7:30 AM mass at Adoration of the Divine Mercy or better known as “Pink Sisters“.


Pink Sisters is a community of nuns praying and adoring God 24h 7d a week. You will hear them singing and praying on another side of the church bound by grills. Silence is strictly observe and you can tell with it with the consistent signs all over the place. Masses during Sunday are 7:30 AM and 5:00 PM.

If the parking inside the convent is already full, there are pay parking available outside. For PHP 30.00, you have a place to park and  is just a few steps away from the church entrance.

On the left and right side of the church lies a small window where one can write their wishes. Many says wishes dropped in here are being granted. I remember going here way back college, I think I wrote successful graduation as my wish. Hmm..

Picture taking is allowed but must be done silently.

COFFE BY THE LAKE 

Right after church we went to have morning coffee at Starbucks. This is the first place that comes into my mind when thinking about Taal Lake view. Well I think it’s not bad since the timing is perfect, there’s no crowd!

BULALO AT MAHOGANY

Neighbor restaurants are Pancake House and Diners Bulalo, both having a great view of Taal Lake.
I’m really after the lake view because to me, Taal Lake = Tagaytay. 

There are garden restaurants along Tagaytay-Nasugbu Highway which also gives a scenic view, but we don’t have a budget for that. Restaurants are expensive. But if you have the budget, you can try Bag of Beans, Leslie’s or Sonya’s Garden. I can possibly eat in there if I’m after a light meal.
Mahogany Market is pretty big and with parking space. This is the second floor of one of the buildings
We’re still early for lunch when we went to Mahogany Market. I chose this place for a delicious Bulalo sans the expensive price!

Mahogany Market is well, a market for all things. Wet and dry market, fruits, plants, clothes and souvenirs. So don’t expect a restaurant type of location nor a scenic view with fresh air, because just below the Bulalo eateries are meat vendors. There’s also another set of eateries at Mahogany Market which I don’t know where.
Bulalo is being served on a flat rate of Php350. There are other dishes served and the menu is the same in every eatery. We ordered crunchy tawilis and Paksiw na Lechon together with the Bulalo where soup is refillable. Bananas are placed on each table because they are free, eat all bananas that you can.

We check some plants after eating so we can also work our tummies. Decorative and fruit plants are available with prices as low as Php70.00. We bought a Lucky Tree because.. we need luck!

Since it’s still early and we want some more eye candies, we went to a nearby mall so we can also buy some groceries. The Ayala Mall Serin along Tagaytay-Nasugbu Highway is the only mall that I know in Tagaytay. I liked that we saw a furniture shop in here which sells affordable dining sets (Php8,000, 4 chair-glass top), sofas (Php13,000 for an L-shaped) and cabinets. Don’t expect a big mall though.
Getting up early really brings you to a lot of places. We were home by afternoon and it’s already fun. Imagine if we spent the whole day, we probably have Picnic Grove or People’s Park pictures by now. Now, that’s on queue.

See you Tagaytay on the coming weekends!
Mwah!
Ginuhitan ng pink na ballpen 😛

Pink Sisters

Directions:
By Private Car: From your location, go to Emilio Aguinaldo Highway. Going to Tagaytay, Pink Sisters comes first at 500m before Olivares Rotonda. Check out the left side streets, there are signs going to Pink Sisters.
If coming from Santa Rosa-Tagaytay road, head on to Olivares Rotonda then turn right at Emilio Aguinaldo Highway. On your right after 500m, you’ll see the sign for Pink Sisters.



By Commute: Buses going to Tagaytay are located at Coastal Mall Paranaque. Just tell the conductor to drop you off Pink Sisters. Fare is around Php70.


Starbucks

Emilio Aguinaldo Hwy, Tagaytay, Cavite


Mahogany Market