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| The Pool |
Today was our last day in Tarlac and we still had a lot of fun even without the pool. Though we woke up a little late because of our long day yesterday, we still had energy for one more road trip. It also occurred to us to check how Manila was since Pope Francis was going to pass by our house but there weren't any posts about it on Facebook yet hehe. So with time to kill, the kids just went around and took pictures. :)
We drove the Mazda 6 that Patrick used in the Canonball 1000 event. As a passenger, it's such a sweet and comfortable ride. But I can sense the responsiveness of the machine when Patrick changes lanes or when he has to overtake someone on the expressway. But it's such a huge car that parking in our garage was cramped that the vehicles needed to touch noses to fit LOL Our garage is "old-school" meaning it's a relic of the past so it's cramped for big modern cars hehehe
Uncle Bebot's place had a lot of plants and we loved the flowers. Some of them were dying from the cold though.
JR was the one who took us on today's road trip/tour since Ate Pinky and Kuya George's family went to Boracay :) He had heard that we took a scenic drive yesterday and he recommended that we try a different route, this time with the Monasterio De Tarlac as the ultimate goal. The Monasterio de Tarlac is located in San Jose, Tarlac and is known for having a Relic of the Holy Cross. It also has a 30-foot statue of the Risen Jesus which is a favorite spot for visitors since it overlooks the whole area.
The drive to Monasterio de Tarlac took around 1 hour from Gerona. We drove through Tarlac City where we took a right toward Uniwide Mall and then on to Carangian Bridge. It's pretty much a straight drive. We went in the direction of the Tarlac Recreation Center and the Tarlac Eco-Tourism Park in Bgy. Lubigan, San Jose, Tarlac.
At the Monasterio de Tarlac, there were a lot of people, primarily because it's Sunday and there were also exhibits of Pope Francis. We weren't able to go around that much also because it was raining a bit. We had to park a few ways away at a hill which was precisely why JR drove the Nissan Patrol.
After all that climbing, we headed to the snack shop/resto next to the souvenir shop. We didn't stay long because there were a lot of people. We just ate our snacks (siopao, chicharon and C2 iced tea) in the car.
The trip going back seemed to be shorter for some reason. Still, we were hungry by the time we reached the Urdu restaurant in Tarlac City. We placed our orders and in a short while we were eating really good and affordable food. JR said that Urdu is mostly known for its catering services but we were still lucky that they haven't decided to close down their restaurant.
This was the end of our road trip and we headed back to the house soon after. JR had to go by the store while we got ready to go back home. We did pass by the store to say goodbye to both JR and Tita Auring and to offer our thanks for letting us stay in their home.
On our way back, we stopped at the Shell of Asia and had dinner at Chowking. We came at the right time since we already had our orders and were eating our hearts out when the people started converging and lining up at the counter. It was really cold by then since it had been raining steadily since we left Tarlac.
When we were done eating, we walked around the place since it was our first time to stop here. Patrick naturally went to the Puma Outlet store. We stayed outside and waited for him to get Sharknado (that's what we named the Mazda 6) so we didn't have to get wet from the rain.
At the toll booth, Patrick decided to let Nodame (the teddy bear) drive LOL There was a long line you see and he was getting bored LOL
For the trip back, we paid a total of P380 on toll fees. P58 for TPLEX, P104 for SCTEX and P218 for NLEX.
This was such a productive Tarlac trip and we're so happy and grateful for the experience. Dana even commented while at the Monasterio that it was such a cool thing to do before she went back to school.
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| "Sharknado" |
Uncle Bebot's place had a lot of plants and we loved the flowers. Some of them were dying from the cold though.
JR was the one who took us on today's road trip/tour since Ate Pinky and Kuya George's family went to Boracay :) He had heard that we took a scenic drive yesterday and he recommended that we try a different route, this time with the Monasterio De Tarlac as the ultimate goal. The Monasterio de Tarlac is located in San Jose, Tarlac and is known for having a Relic of the Holy Cross. It also has a 30-foot statue of the Risen Jesus which is a favorite spot for visitors since it overlooks the whole area.
The drive to Monasterio de Tarlac took around 1 hour from Gerona. We drove through Tarlac City where we took a right toward Uniwide Mall and then on to Carangian Bridge. It's pretty much a straight drive. We went in the direction of the Tarlac Recreation Center and the Tarlac Eco-Tourism Park in Bgy. Lubigan, San Jose, Tarlac.
At the Monasterio de Tarlac, there were a lot of people, primarily because it's Sunday and there were also exhibits of Pope Francis. We weren't able to go around that much also because it was raining a bit. We had to park a few ways away at a hill which was precisely why JR drove the Nissan Patrol.
After all that climbing, we headed to the snack shop/resto next to the souvenir shop. We didn't stay long because there were a lot of people. We just ate our snacks (siopao, chicharon and C2 iced tea) in the car.
The trip going back seemed to be shorter for some reason. Still, we were hungry by the time we reached the Urdu restaurant in Tarlac City. We placed our orders and in a short while we were eating really good and affordable food. JR said that Urdu is mostly known for its catering services but we were still lucky that they haven't decided to close down their restaurant.
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| Dylan's order: Hamburger |
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| my order: clubhouse sandwich |
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| Patrick's order: beef pot roast |
On our way back, we stopped at the Shell of Asia and had dinner at Chowking. We came at the right time since we already had our orders and were eating our hearts out when the people started converging and lining up at the counter. It was really cold by then since it had been raining steadily since we left Tarlac.
When we were done eating, we walked around the place since it was our first time to stop here. Patrick naturally went to the Puma Outlet store. We stayed outside and waited for him to get Sharknado (that's what we named the Mazda 6) so we didn't have to get wet from the rain.
At the toll booth, Patrick decided to let Nodame (the teddy bear) drive LOL There was a long line you see and he was getting bored LOL
For the trip back, we paid a total of P380 on toll fees. P58 for TPLEX, P104 for SCTEX and P218 for NLEX.
This was such a productive Tarlac trip and we're so happy and grateful for the experience. Dana even commented while at the Monasterio that it was such a cool thing to do before she went back to school.
