Paying it Forward: Coastal Clean-Up 2009

During the long weekend H and I were invited to join the Coastal Clean-Up in Anilao,Batangas. Being a diver in drought H excitedly said "YESSS!". We were blessed with good weather from the moment we left our house at 5:30am ( can you sense the excitement????) up until H's last dive at around 1pm.

Each resort along the coast of Anilao was assigned a dive site to clean-up...we joined the group billeted at Balai Resort which was assigned to clean-up Bebots...pssst! pssst! Balai Resort is the venue of Judy Ann S.-Ryan A. secret wedding reception...*wink*

The humble welcome tarpaulin:

Briefing the giddy divers:

Ready for the divers:

Group picture before heading out to sea:

***oopsie! sorry for the B/W pic I forgot to change my settings =p

Treasures from the sea...not!

Among the garbage found under water were bottles of alchohol, a badminton racket bag,

plastic bags, and lots of twine. The most collected trash underwater is.....THE DIAPER! Would you believe that almost every diver was able to pick up at least one diaper and the occasional used napkin (eeww), aka white manta..... it just proves that humans are the major contributor of pollutants...so sad! =(

The event lasted the whole weekend but H and I stayed for a day only. We had to head back home to attend to another event.

Joining an event like this is such a good experience. It makes us more aware of the state of our planet. Each of us can do our share in saving the environment. Earth is our only home..let's save it before it's too late..so I say : " Love it, Live it, Litter FREE it "

First Dibs: Good Day! Buon Giorno

When Labuyo decided to shower us with rain, H and I decided to take a spontaneous road trip to Tagaytay. He'll drive and we'll decide what to do when we get there. Road trips love company so we invited the rest of the family to come along. By 3:30 we were on the road to our destination. Surprisingly, traffic was good considering it was a long weekend...oh yeah! maybe twas because of the rain and no one is as crazy as us to travel out of the Metro in the weather =P.

It was near dinner time when we reached Tagaytay ( Our family eats dinner at 6:00pm...that's why H and I always snack before bedtime...cuz we get hungrryyyy!)

The mission : Find a good place to eat.

The venue : The Cliffhouse

Since we've been hearing a lot of good things about Buon Giorno we decided to give it a try. It was everybody's first time to eat here but expectations were pretty high because of the reviews we've heard and read.

The food spread :

BASKET OF FOCACCIA BREAD with BALSAMIC & OLIVE OIL DIP Php FREE (priceless! for cheapos like us )

BUON GIORNO SPECIAL Php 202.00

- "A mix of our best salad ingredients drizzled with our well-revered house dressing."

Sorry, no picture for this dish since the others dug in the moment it was served. Too bad,because for me this has got to be the best order of the entire meal. The greens were fresh,the apple slices and grapes we crunchy to the bite and oh! the dressing is absolutely yummy...it has the right combination of sweetness,saltiness and tanginess.

POLLO E FUNGHI Php 280.00

- " For those who favor chicken, this risotto dish with mushrooms, make for an extra special meal"

H's take on his meal:

I was hungry, the waitress said the meal was good for two but I had it all to myself . Good for two was right, there was so much rice it filled me up almost completely. But if you were having it to share it would be enough for a date. Just make sure you get salad and desert to go with it. Im a glutton which is why i eat so much hehe. Sadly though the chicken could hardly be noticed in the dish except for the few strips that garnished the rice meal. Total lack of flavor. Thank goodness though for the mushrooms. They made the meal worth it. It could be a whole lot better if they had more mushrooms and let the flavor mix into the risotto more to make it more palatable.

GAMBERETTI E FUNGHI RAVIOLI Php 280.00

-"Stuffed pasta with mushroom and shrimp filling, topped with tomato sauce"

I was quite disappointed with this order. The tomato sauce was too salty. The ravioli didn't taste like it was freshly made. The shrimp bits used for the filling was not fresh since it wasn't tender to the bite but i did like the flavors of the filling...the shrimps, mushrooms and cheeses used blended really well.

NEW YORK Php 274.00

-"Assorted meat, bell peppers and cheese topping on a crisp, crusty dough"

The pizza looked wonderful upon serving. It smelled great but tasted only okay.

Overall, our first Buon Giorno dining experience wasn't a total disappointment. We just expected something more. The food was okay but nothing really great. I think the whole appeal of dining here is more of the ambiance

coupled with good stories and food to share with family and friends

while enjoying the climate and laid-back atmosphere of the country.

Buon Giorno Caffe & Bistro

Tagaytay Branch

Unit 4, Cliffhouse Tagaytay

Gen. Emilio Highway

Tagaytay City, 4120

+6346.413.2102

Mandaluyong Branch

G/L Building B, Liberty Center

312 Shaw Boulevard, Pleasanthill Mandaluyong

+632. 710.3515