Aboard MV Logos Hope

I love books. I love the sea. I love meeting new people. I love having fun. I love exploring something new and exciting. What better way to mix all these things than to go aboard the MV Logos Hope.

MV Logos Hope is basically a ship which sells books. Its crew is made up of volunteers from all over the world. MV Logos Hope now replaces the MV Doulos which has visited the Philippines many years back. I haven't tried going inside the MV Doulos that's why the bookworm in me is twitching to go and check the MV Logos Hope.

The ship was docked at Pier 1. For my first visit, I went there with my friends. We joined the queue of people waiting to buy their tickets and go inside the ship. It was kinda hot since we went there in the afternoon and the queue was quite long.

At last, when we reached the ticket booth, we were greeted by a cheerful smile from one of their crew members. 

As we went inside, we were first ushered to a row of seats with a screen at the front. One of the crew was making a presentation about the MV Logos Hope, how the books are priced, location of the exit, and other fun stuff that we can do inside the ship.

When the presentation was finished, we then hurried to the shelves of different books. They have a quite a range of books like kids books, novels, cookbooks, Bible, and so many others. They sell supplies too like notepads, notebooks, and pens. Of course, it's hard to leave the MV Logos Hope without a souvenir, so they sell those kinds of things too.

      

As you get past the array of books, you will then enter a hallway with pictures along the wall. As you continue walking, you will realize that the pictures portray a modern version of a famous story - The Prodigal Son. It was really interesting to look at, and a good place to have your pictures taken too.

 

Aside from all those things, they have an area where you can place post-its on the wall for your messages about MV Logos Hope, an area where kids can be entertained, an area where you can listen to their band while munching on some snacks, and if you want an educational tour about HIV, they have that too.

                                                    

 

As we were going out, the crew gave us some booklets and free books! I really enjoyed my experience there that I had to go back with my mother and sister. Here's a pic of some of the books I bought, as well as the booklets given to us.

Discovering Cafe Egao

Yesterday, me and my friends suddenly had a spontaneous agreement to visit Family Park in Talamban for a fun photo shoot. After a few hours of posing, clicking the camera and laughter, one of my friends suddenly mentioned about going to Cafe Egao. Since we were all hungry, we all decided to give it a go since it was just a stone's throw away.

I learned from Google that egao is a Japanese word which means "smile". True enough, when we arrived at the place, we all can't help but smile and get excited with the place since it is a Japanese cafe (I like Japanese  stuff) and the place looks so cozy and warm. It is quite small but I like it that way since it gives a more intimate setting. Having too many people there would probably ruin the setting.

When we entered the cafe, we were warmly greeted by the staff and ushered us to a table. Seeing that we were all carrying bags, the owner (I don't know his name, but he was Japanese) then gave us an extra chair where we can place our bags. I felt it was very hospitable of them.

Having been into a few cafes in Cebu, I was amazed at the prices in their menu. Most of their food and sweets are at Php77 only. Pasta? Php77? It was really a good deal. However, their coffee variants are priced at Php100 except for one called "World Coffee" which was at Php150. The prices are still lower though than  those of other famous cafes here in Cebu.

 

I ordered their Squid Steak and Kakigouri (flavored shaved ice). I had really no idea what they look like or how they taste but they sounded interesting so I tried them. My friends ordered Okonomiyaki (Japanese-style pancake), Italian pasta, Carbonara, and a dessert called anmitsu.

Straberry-flavored kakigouri

Sizzling squid steak

Italian pasta

Okonomiyaki

Anmitsu

Look at all that food at Php77! They were all really delicious that you would want to order all of their food to have a taste. It was also really thoughtful how they served our food. They probably noticed that we took a bite out of each food that's why when our Kakigouri arrived, there were four spoons placed in the saucer! I was amused and impressed at the same time. ;)

While they were preparing our food, I noticed that the owner himself prepared the food with his staff. It was pretty cool, and I also saw that he himself brews the coffee. 

The owner preparing the food behind the counter

I'd highly recommend this place to my friends. I haven't tasted their coffee yet since I'm not a coffee-drinker but I might try once just to see how it really tastes. For sure, I would come back again and again to this place. :)

Facebook page: CAFE EGAO :-)

La Belle Aurore bookshop

Are you the type of bookworm who firmly believes in the saying "Do not judge a book by its cover"? Are you the type who gets excited when finding a good loot amongst an array of old books? Well, La Belle Aurore is your place.

I've always dreamed of going into an antique bookshop and find an old but very interesting book to read. I've seen those kinds of shops in the movie Inkheart and I've wondered if there's one that exists in the Philippines and most of all, in Cebu.

I heard about La Belle Aurore and then got excited to go there. It is located in Hernan Cortes St., Mandaue City. They recently opened a new brance in Junquera Extension, Cebu City but I haven't got the chance to visit there. I heard they host poetry readings there, which is something I would like to experience even for just once.

Anyway, one Saturday afternoon, I invited my friends to come with me to the branch in Mandaue and see for ourselves how it really looks like. From Hi-way Mandaue, we rode a jeep going to Country Mall. We stopped near Matias and walked the rest of the way towards the bookshop. You can actually ride a tricycle going there, but since we figured out it was quite near, we just decided to   enjoy walk.

We then finally saw the sign at the right side of the road and entered the bookshop.

My friend, Shine, at the entrance

As we entered, I can't help but be amazed at seeing a lot of shelves filled with books! The place feels so warm and cozy. It is really ideal for someone who wants to spend time reading books. They also have seats in corners where you can read the books that you like. Since most of the books are pre-loved, prices range from Php30-200. They also have new books which they sell at the original price.

Eager to see all the books, we then scanned the shelves and saw that they cover almost all genres and types of reading material. They have novels, inspirational books, cookbooks, mangas, kids books, etc. 

The place is also filled with interesting decorations such as newpaper clippings, pictures in the walls, quotes, and letters, which I thought was pretty neat. It just adds to the wonderful ambiance of the place.

  

I really fell in love with the place and I'd definitely want to come back again and again there. It's the perfect place for a bookworm like me.

Facebook page: La Belle Aurore Bookshop

Two versions of fishing: D'Pond and Wiggy's

Have you ever tried fishing? Me and my friends wanted to try how it felt to be the ones catching the fish we would be eating. That's when we decided to visit D'Pond in Yati, Liloan. You need to look for a sign at the side of the road for D'Pond. You then need to ride a tricycle going to the exact location of the pond.

Once you get there, you need to inform the people in charge if you will be renting a cottage and what type of cottage. There are cottages that float and some are just at the side. There's no entrance fee at D'Pond, which is nice. You then need to pay for the improvised fishing rods (Php10 each I think) and the fish feeds to lure the fishes.

 

The place was peaceful since there were only a few people there on that day. It's a good way to spend a weekend afternoon if you want to be away from the city and reflect.

Catching the fish was just quite easy once you throw the feeds. But getting them out of the water is quite tricky, but fun. It was fun at first until I noticed that the fishes don't die immediately once they are out of the water and placed in the provided container. It was like watching them die in a slow, painful death. I may be overreacting to this, but I just really pity them. Because of that, we just caught one fish each. Another reason was that one kilo of bangus would cost us around Php300+ so we made sure to just catch as few fishes as possible. Aside from this, D'Pond stated in their rules that once you catch a fish, you should never throw them back again in the water since this will just eventually lead to their death and contaminate the water.

You can actually let the staff cook your fish but you need to pay them. We just decided to bring home the fishes and just order some other food. We ordered talaba and bangus sisig. Their food was good that's why we ordered a second set of the talaba.

  

One thing I liked about D'Pond is that they take a picture of their guests and print a copy with their logo for free. If you request for another copy, that's when you pay Php50 per copy. They also post the soft copy at their Facebook fan page, which is quite cool. It's like another version of a photobooth. 

If you are quite bored of fishing, they also have videoke and zipline there too but we didn't try them out since we just went there for the fishing experience.

After visiting D'Pond, we then decided to go to a public beach just to get a glimpse of the sea. That's when the staff directed us to Wiggy's. We just saw the usual things you see in a public beach: families swimming in the beach, lovers, drunk men singing in videoke machines. That was until we saw two men in the sea walking towards the shore holding a big piece of fishnet. It was like a manual kind of fishing. We can't help but be curious and approach them when they reached the shore. Other people approached them too. 

We saw that they've caught small fishes in their net. We asked them if they were going to sell the fishes. They said no and would just eat the fishes for dinner. Having lived in the city since I was young, I can't help but be amazed at actually seeing how they obtain their food and at their simple lifestyle. Made me think of how the Filipinos in the past used to live. It must have been interesting.

It was indeed an experience to remember: having planned to go fishing using improvised fishing rods at a pond and accidentally finding another version of fishing at a public beach. It was an interesting day. :)

Facebook page: dPond Cebu Fishing

Short trip to Danao

I was bored one Saturday morning so I decided to invite two of my friends to visit Danao. We had no idea which particular place we would visit there. We just wanted to be spontaneous like Dora. 

So we decided to meet at SM in the afternoon and rode a jeepney to Danao (27). We had no idea where to stop but just decided to ask the konduktor to drop us near the church. We each paid Php35 for the fare.

Upon arriving, we then looked for the church which was facing the sea. The name of the church was Sto. Thomas De Villanueva Parish Church. It looked like those old churches found in the southern part of Cebu.

 

We then lighted some candles to offer prayers and to pay some respect for the church. We then decided to go to the plaza which was just nearby. It was pleasant since it was also near the sea. The view was nice and I've always loved the sea breeze.

We also saw a lot of boats nearby and some locals gathering seafood. We also saw some little crabs near the shore which were kinda tempting to catch. We then decided to go to Danao Fish Port hoping to get a glimpse of how it's like but it was already 3PM so it was all deserted. We then just decided to grab a bite at the 2nd floor of the fish port and enjoy the view.

We munched on siomai and halo-halo while taking in the scenery of the place. The halo-halo was surprisingly delicious at Php35. I would gladly prefer it over the one in a famous fast food chain. 

The scenery was just so serene I could stay there all night. The sea, the simple lifestyle of the people, it all seemed surreal to me. It was beautiful and peaceful at the same time.

Too bad we only spent half a day there. If we had more time, we could have explored other beautiful spots in Danao. But in that half of a day, we already saw a lot of its beauty and it was really worth it. If I can go back there again, I'd definitely want to see more of its beautiful places and share the experience with everyone.

For the love of chocolates: Ralfe Gourmet Chocolate Boutique

If you are a certified chocoholic or just can't seem to get enough of chocolate, then Ralfe Gourmet Chocolate Boutique is the place for you. They have an eat-all-chocolate-you-can buffet every 14th of the month. I think the menu varies every month, so there's always a surprise every time you go there. According to their Facebook page, price for the buffet is Php195/chocolate lover.

We were lucky because we went there before the Sinulog Festival and they had a special promo which was for 1 day only. The price was only Php99/person. It was their way of giving thanks to Sr. Sto. Niño. Sweet deal, isn't it?

Ralfe Gourmet is located in Casal's Village across Sarrosa Hotel in Panagdait, Mabolo, Cebu City. Getting there is a bit tricky though since you still need to go inside the village and locate the place among the houses. Once you get past the guard house, turn right and go straight until you reach the second corner, and then turn left. Walk straight ahead until you will find a vacant lot that's full of grass/weeds. Across that is the boutique.

However, you need to make an appointment first with them before you go there. This is to ensure that they can accommodate the guests well and prepare enough chocolates for everyone. The place is quite small but it really feels warm and cozy. Maybe because it's just connected to the house of the owner.

Once you've set up the appointment, make sure to come on time since you will only have a limited amount of time to enjoy your chocolates. I think it was 1 hour and 30 minutes for us, since there are other scheduled guests after us.

When we got there, I was surprised that Ed (I think he is the one in charge there) was waiting for us and warmly greeted us. I was impressed that he really took the time to ask for our names and a few things about us and then started telling us some info about Ralfe Gourmet. It felt like an educational tour for us too and it was pretty cool.

He then ushered us to the buffet table and told us tidbits about how the chocolates were made. He then left us to enjoy our food and to welcome other guests. As we were eating, he occasionally comes to us to ask us if we are enjoying the chocolates (and the absolute answer would be yes!).

The buffet table

We were in awe as we saw chocolates here and there, in all its forms: moist chocolate cake, chocolate bars, chocolate cookies, hot choco, chocolate fountain. It's really easy to fall in love with the place! I felt I was with Charlie inside the chocolate factory.

                                  

                                    

After we finished eating, Ed gave us a bit of lecture about how cacao was used in the making of the chocolates, as well as other chocolate products they are selling. Once we were done, he went outside with us to bid us farewell. He then recited our names to make sure he got them all right. He does this with all the guests, which I feel makes us feel important and not merely ordinary customers.  As for customer service, I'd give them 5 stars.

It was really a sweet, educational, and worthwhile experience for me and my friends. I'd definitely go back in there if I had the time and bucks. *wink wink*

More pics:

 

                     

Facebook page: Ralfe Gourmet Chocolate Boutique