The DJ who's not a DeeJay

We usually plan for vacation, listing down things to do, places to visit and people to see.  But this particular vacation was really for us to relax.  It's not like it's our first time to visit the Philippines so minimal research and planning was required.  So our plan was basically to visit family and friends, spend a few days out of town, and taste the foods we absolutely missed.

We thought of trying to combine all into one plan. So we decided on spending a few days in Tagaytay, south of Manila with our relatives and join us in eating popular Pinoy dishes.  And so my dad, mother-in-law and cousin joined us in a weekend leisure drive to the chilly city.


Our first stop in Tagaytay was Gerry's Grill.  We wanted to order everything in the menu.  Good thing there's six of us so we could easily order different platters of food and taste a little bit of everything, a combination of seafood and grilled meat.  Too bad we didn't have our checklist of Pinoy foods to eat.  That would've made ordering easier.

Gerry's Grill had a breathtaking view of Taal Lake.  A break from hot weather (and some traffic since it was a weekend) was also very welcome.
This is my idea of relaxing.

Gerry's Grill view while you eat

While we were there though, there was a rescue team nearby.  We found out that someone had gone over the steep cliff and has been down there for hours.  There were about 15 men pulling a rope little by little in efforts to rescue the victim.

My dad, being the curious one, tried to come closer to the scene to find out what's going on.  I escorted my dad back to the parking lot as we were on to our next stop.  Little did I know that I would have a close encounter with these rescue people again in a few days (check my succeeding blog posts to find out how.)

We finally got to our destination: Casa Maria Y Martha.  It's one of the lesser known bed and breakfast accommodations in Tagaytay City, but surprisingly at the heart of many landmarks including Our Lady of Lourdes Church and Ayala Malls Serin which are both conveniently located across the street.  Casa Maria Y Martha, recommended to us by a family friend, was a homey place.  Past reception, the ground floor looked more like a living room than a hotel lobby, which is a good thing.  This also led to their dining area which had a serene view of the lake.

the Taal lake view from Casa Maria Y Martha

Our Lady of Lourdes Church

dinner with family and family friends.  Fruitcake not in the pic yet.

It has been part of tradition in the Philippines that during Holy Week, our families visit several churches in observance of Visita Iglesia. With the numerous Catholic churches in the Philippines, you're bound to find several in the same vicinity. In other countries though where religious diversity is present, it may be more challenging to find multiple Catholic churches you can visit.

Because of this, I found it useful to share some Catholic churches you may visit for your Visita Iglesia observance, celebrate Easter Sunday or anytime of the year while visting Singapore.

There are a total of 33 Catholic churches in Singapore scattered throughout the island.
If you're staying within the central district, here are 3 churches particularly within the tourist vicinity that may be most accessible to you.


1. St. Joseph Church

Conveniently located near Bugis Junction and Raffles City mall, this church is walking distance from many hotels and tourist spots within the vicinity. The architecture of this old church is similar to those of in the Philippines because the history of St Joseph’s Church is intrinsically tied to the Portuguese Mission in Singapore.



Based on my personal experience, a lot of Filipinos attend mass here. There are masses in English, French and Latin. Every last Sunday of the month, the choir is led by a Filipino group with some hymns sung in Filipino. If you're lucky, the priest is also Filipino.

The church has a large accommodation but best to be here at least 20 minutes before mass to be assured of a seat since the church gets filled up fast.
Address: 143 Victoria Street Singapore 188020
Nearest MRT stations: Bugis, Bras Basah and Raffles
Easter Sunday Masses: 8am, 10am, 11:30am (French), 3pm (Latin), 5pm

A shrine inside the Sta Clara Church compound

This is the Immaculate Concepcion church in Balayan, Batangas. I was here a couple of weeks back to visit my relatives. It's standard for us to visit the town church.

Here, I took a picture of the church in all its glory. Too bad there were some "unglorious" moments captured as well. The lady in pink was scratching her nose while the guy in orange was blowing his nose.

Oh well, let's visit the inside.

This is an old church which dates back to the Spanish century. Portions of the church though were rebuilt. A computer printout posted on one of the posts captured my eye. I didn't realize what it said until I took a closer look:


It says "Ang simbahan po ay bahay dalanginan at hindi lugar lambingan". (The church is home for prayer and not a place to be sweet with someone). I wonder just how many couples have they caught to have reason to post this.