'NIGHT & 'MORNIN' @ THE BOUTIQUE

This is my final post on The Boutique. Promise. Hahaha!

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We retired to the room after dinner. All of the blogs I came across during my net search claimed that the entire place is made up so that guests will really end up spending their entire stay in the room. The Boutique has no other amenities. No pool. No game rooms. Nothing but the rooms. The wonderful, wonderful rooms! =)

One of the few concessions that The Boutique makes to entertainment is its DVD library. Techies would find the place to their liking. Impressively, each room is set up with an LCD TV (yes =)), a DVD player and a cool-looking MP3 speaker. (Then again, maybe it looks cool to me only because I don't own an iPod. Haha.)

Their DVD selection is quite "extensive", but we have seen most of the good ones and do not particularly care to see the rest. (If you do end up staying, you might as well bring your own set. =)) V for Vendetta was on the list though. Neither of us has seen it, but I have heard only good things about it. Two of my friends actually wrote V-related blogs and since I generally trust their tastes, V for Vendetta--by default--became our anniversary movie of choice. Haha!

We settled into our gigantic, Papa-Bear-Alice-in-Wonderland cross of a bed and happily propped ourselves up with the pillows (them of the different shapes and sizes), exchanging and rearranging until we finally found the perfect contours for our back. Hay.....**Sigh...Dreamy, dreamy sigh...* =)

We got a call from the front desk asking us if we were ready to retire for the night and if we would like our complimentary churros con chocolate' (as in tsokolate-Eh) sent up already. As tempting as the idea may have sounded, I regretfully turned the churros down. We had overeaten BIG TIME during dinner and I didn't think another round of snacks before bedtime would be a good idea. (Imagine what our funeral would have been like. Guest: "Ano nangyari?" Family member: "Ay, namatay sa sarap!" HAHAHAHAHA!!! Hindi maganda. Ngyaahh. Hahaha. =)) Besides, with both Hubby and I propped up like contented cows on the pillows, deciding on who would get up to answer the door when room service finally arrives would have brought the world dangerously close to World War III. Haha!

We happily settled in, but fell asleep mid-way through the movie. I suppose the day's events had finally taken its toll and we were off to dreamland in no time. Haha! Zzzzzzzzzzz......patay. Haha! =)

I will spare you the gory details between Good Night and Good Morning (;D)) but waking up @ The Boutique is something else. We had previously drawn the curtains before jumping into bed, wary of the harsh morning light rudely interrupting our sleep. Looking back now, we should have left everything well enough alone.

If we had, our sleepy eyes would have slowly waken up to the soft, misty, morning-dew-filled view of the Tagaytay Ridge.

Hubby Sweet couldn't help but marvel as soon as he drew the heavy curtains back.

W.O.W. Wow. Wow. Wow.

It quite literally takes your breath away.

(Feel free to insert a moment of silence here...haha. =))

After having our fill of the sights, there was nothing else left to do before breakfast (which would be served "in-bed"). We decided to finish V where we left off, and was just at the final scene when room service finally rang. Hubby S wouldn't budge so I was forced to answer the door. Instead of the bellboy, the receptionist was at our door, handing me this gigantic bouquet of spring flowers. "Happy Anniversary, Ma'am!", she cried out, excitedly. Even as I mumbled a surprised and feeble "thank you", the confusion must have shown in my expression. I tried to think back as to whether I told them it was our anniversary when I booked the room. I was fairly sure I did not.

"Surprise yan, galing kay Sir," she giggled.

That's when realization hit me, "Oh, that's what he was talking to the receptionists about last night!" I had seen him whispering quite conspiratorially as they all giggled. I thought he was just being his usual self.

Hubby Sweet finally got up from the darn bed and hugged me, "Happy Anniversary, Tweet."

Kiss. (In front of the obviously kinikilig na receptionist. Haha! 'P)

Breakfast was ushered in after that with the waiter asking us if we'd like it set-up in bed or on the lanai. "The lanai please," we responded simultaneously. =)

Very few experiences would beat eating a special breakfast as you enjoy a front-row view of the wonders of nature. The experience is actually quite spiritual. It all of a sudden made us realize God's awesome power to be able to create such beauty. In the quiet of that particular Sunday morning, away from the hussle and bustle of city life, we found ourselves humbled and much more aware of the tremendous blessings that have been sent our way. Overwhelmed by the experience, Hubby Sweet actually got teary-eyed. I myself was reduced to silence.

We joined hands and said a prayer of thanks. Truth be told though, in the face of everything we've received, I don't think we can ever really be thankful enough. (But, dear God, from the really bottom of our hearts and the very core of our being, SUPER THANKS anyway. =))

The night before, we had ticked off our breakfast choices in the menu board that we should leave outside our door before 9:00 p.m. Although American and Continental breakfasts are available, both Hubby and I went for the Filipino breakfast. How could we not?

The magic words: RIB-EYE TAPA. Fabulous! Hahaha! Just imagining it made my glands salivate.

Since Hubby also went for the tapa, I wanted to go for something else, but the only other thing remotely interesting to me was the bulalo corned beef. I almost went for it, but having just had bulalo for dinner, I had second thoughts. I also, quite stupidly, thought that it would be like the corned beef sinigang in Sentro, and I didn't really feel like having soup in the morning. (I recently and quite belatedly found out, however, that the bulalo corned beef was actually the marrow/shank beef cut, prepared like corned beef! Waaaaaaaaaaahhhh...just imagining it makes my glands salivate TOO. Haha. Oh, well. Next time na lang! =))

Our breakfast menu roll-call:

Rib-eye tapa with garlic rice (another one of those things that would make you go "Hmmmmnnnn....." ^_^)

Eggs, sunny-side-up (how apt! =))

Freshly baked rolls and toasts (The toast is actually an interesting cross between sliced bread and a croissant--like some weird but delightful offspring that came out of an illicit affair back in the kitchen, hahaha. =)) .

The bread was served with side servings of guava jelly, orange marmalade and strawberry jam.

Dessert was mango and apple slices laced with yoghurt and sweet milk (Not too sweet, perfectly light ending to a perfect meal! =))

I had brewed coffee which is the only drink that can kick-start me in the morning (otherwise I'd be floating around the entire day. =))

Hubby Sweet had his fill of Tsokolate-eh. =)

'Twas heaven. Pure culinary heaven. =)

An officemate asked me over lunch recently whether I liked being married. Having heard that I recently celebrated my first wedding anniversary and knowing that I had a blast during my 20's and early-30's, he was asking me to compare my single years with married life. (My personal theory is that he is seriously thinking of proposing to his girlfriend of 5 years, and being "such a guy", he was trying to build a pros-&-cons case as to whether it was the right thing to do. Hahaha. Gumawa pa ako ng chismis! Susko. =))

My answer came relatively quickly and it was relatively simple. "Marriage has its pros and cons, and heaven knows it ain't perfect. And, yes, you do give up a lot. You can no longer take off on a moment's notice. You always have to consult your husband/wife before you decide on the big things. You no longer decide for yourself. You are no longer allowed to act alone. You make concessions, but heck, you know what," I explained to him as I sat back and smiled, hit by a sudden, warm realization, "YEAH! Yes, I like being married more that I liked being single!"

Now, considering I really loved my single years, that's saying a lot! Hahaha.

Yes, I suppose that's one more blessing I ought to thank dear God for. Yey! =)

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TIPS!!!

We maximized our stay until 12:00 noon, and was quite sorry to have to go. We enjoyed our stay tremendously, but given its pricey tag, we would have to reserve our future stays for special occasions. (It's actually cheaper during weekdays, but still....The operative word is cheap-ER, not cheap. Haha! =))

Contact (046) 4131885 if you're interested.

You can also drop by @ The Boutique for meals and the view (the restaurant is NOT exclusive to in-house guests). 'Wouldn't recommend it though. There are other places to eat in in Tagaytay. Reserve The Boutique for the full experience. =)

BTW, the breakfast view comes only with the 2nd floor rooms so if you do decide to stay here, book either I Dream, I Dare, I Lust or I Desire. (NOTE: The Jungle Room, the Matrix Room and the Egyptian Room are all found in a totally different hotel chain, hahaha! 'P)

I Escape, I Surrender and I Love are all on the first floor. Since they all open up to the courtyard, you wouldn't have the luxury of enjoying your private breakfast with the view. (Hanggang breakfast-in-bed ka lang--which isn't all that bad, really. Hehe. =)) Consider yourself warned though on the perils of staying in the first floor rooms because in some of the blogs that I read prior to booking, stay-in guests had to contend with "day-guests / restaurant patrons" accidentally walking in, all the while thinking the rooms were still part of the common areas. Ngyaaaaahhhh....eh buti kung hindi sila conscious! Haha! =)