Aeternum: The Park Estate Columbary

I was driving my way along C5 road inTaguig again and this view caught my eye and made me want to see it up close. So I did.

I am glad I did because it was as beautiful up close. Exploring the place, I found out that this whole landscaped and well tended garden is part of the Aeternum, a columbary.

I had so much fun taking photos...

This is where the vaults are. Thousands can be laid in peace in each.

The center of each structure is beautifully designed and decorated with flowers.

The vaults line up all the walls of the two-storey structure.

View of the outside from within...

Chapels or Meditation rooms are uniquely designed, inside and out.

A coffee shop and lounge right in the park, would you believe!

The Aeternum is truly unique in style and in design yet retaining the serenity and tranquility of how a place for our dearly departed should be.

Aristocart BBQ aka Reyes BBQ?

Aristocrat has always been a family favorite for decades. Sunday lunches when we were younger would mean either a Max's chicken (which I hope to blog soon) or Aristocrat's bbq with java rice along Roxas Boulevard after hearing Sunday mass.

Aristocrat had other branches around the Metro. And it was a surpise to me one time that the one in Greenhills had closed down. I was told that they had moved to another site, also in Greenhills and is now called Reyes Barbecue.

Mon and I checked it out. Same menu, same taste (more or less) and same java rice that is just perfect for my chix bbq. And a lot cheaper than the Roxas Boulevard branch.

I will never get tired of savoring such barbecued goodness!

The famouse peanut sauce and their own achara make the whole serving just heavenly.

But whatever the change in the name is really all about, I do not mind, as long as I get to enjoy my usual order of boneless chicken barbecue with java rice! Total bliss!

Fort Santiago Revisited

Visiting Fort Santiago is always an educational and enriching trip everytime. This is probably my 4th time... 1st was school trip a long time ago when I was in elementary; 2nd time was with my husband shortly after I got married; 3rd was with some balikbayans some 5 years ago; and lastly, a few days ago.

There is still that caretela ride you can take to bring you around, not just inside the Fort, but around the whole Intramuros area.

Long wide panoramic shot of the entrance to the Fort

Opposite view from above

I enjoyed taking pictures, this time, suprisinglyl so differently from how I looked thru the lens years ago... new angles, new compositions, new perspectives...

At the end of this tunnel was this chapel.

More photos taken in the garden before entering the main fort.

There is such great artistic detail carved on the main gate of the fort. And the moat is always a calming sight.

Rizal Shrine

Even Moe had a great time striking poses!

I was so happy to see the whole place well maintained after all these years. This is one place every Filipino show have visited at least once in his lifetime.

Pixie Forest

Pixie Forest is a mini carnival inside Festival Mall in Alabang. Yes, it is an indoor amusement park for kids!

Everything is so welcoming and colorful, surely a delight to a child's eyes!

I had a great time taking photos. It was fun to see the kids enjoying their rides and games! It was like being a child again.

Sumire was the first to get tickets and first to fall in line!

A carnival won't be complete without a Ferris Wheel.... at Pixie Forest, they call it the Fairy's Wheel!

Plane rides never fail to delight every child.

There is even a mini log ride aptly called Elfin Waves!

Sumire even wanted to try the Fun House.

And for the not so young, there are a lot of arcade games as colorful as these. Sumire was eyeing the priced bike to be won by the champ.

And for parents, they can even hold their kids' birthday parties right there.

For a short while today, I was young once more. A carnival never fails to bring out the child in each of us.