Before Burnout ... Baguio

My husband and I badly needed to get away...and it was perfect timging that our friend Rakel invited us to stay at her company's guesthouse in Baguio City. It was Axel's first trip there, my first non-working trip since 1998 and Andreas' first overnight there.

Things changed though - everything was a bit more commercial. SM Baguio now stood where Hyatt used to be, there's a color coding vehicular reduction scheme in the city and the parks seemed a little grittier than before. But we still loved the good old cold air, ube jam, snuggling indoors and running in the parks.

Food tastes so much better there, especially breakfast. As in, every day – sinangag, eggs, longaniza/bacon/corned beef, fresh fruits. Yum! We told stories, played boardgames, run outside on the hilly neighborhood – it was a lot of fun. No agenda, no big plans – just happy family wholesome togetherness. Hahaha...corny no?

And the shopping – there’s this surplus store inside Camp John Hay where I went crazy. Most of the export overruns here in Manila are for warm weather but since we’re migrating to the US this January, it was so ideal that I found long-sleeved toddler clothes, fleece jackets and winter stuff! Saya. I also got these great boots at the Ukay-Ukay for a song. I want to go back this December just to go shopping.

Best of all, we got the rest we needed.