May 5,

We both slept great and did not get out of bed until 0800!! We decided to get up and around; had our Javas and breakfast – after Jeff went to it. He said he went to Uncle John’s, which is like a 7Eleven here. We had yogurts, graham crackers, and split a cake/muffin. Both our voices are hoarse from singing yesterday, and Jeff’s cold had progressed for the worse. We talked with my sister; showed her the Manila skyline; and heard her husband had a good birthday. Then we went out to get me some coffee. Jeff had found a roaster right near us. The one I bought was called Jet Fuel, wired blend. WooHoo! It has nuances of chocolate, nuttiness, and caramel. Then we went to the Robinson’s Grocery Store in their mall. We bought most of the items on our list – mostly breakfast stuff for the next few days. Then we went back to our studio place on the 33rd floor. We talked with Jeff’s sister and her husband; showed them our view of Manila as well. I know I have said it many times before but it is a blessing to be able to see and keep up with family from the other side of the globe.

Now we went back to the Robinson’s Mall and walked around to get steps. We ate lunch here at Curry House CoCo Ichibanya. It is a Japanese Curry Chain Restaurant. I had Fish Cutlets with carrots, potatoes, onions and mushrooms in their curry sauce with rice and a ginger soda with a sprig of fresh rosemary. Jeff had Curry Noodle soup with Chicken (it came with a bib to wear🤣) and a side of a Pork Cutlet with a San Miguel Pilsen. It was a very good curry sauce! We really enjoyed the meals… it has been awhile since we’ve had curry out.

Back to our place and it started raining so we stayed in watched it envelop the city. Evening was popcorn and YouTube.

     May 6,

Up and about. The day is hazy, with air pollution!! Yuck!😝 We know it’s air pollution, as Jeff had looked it up! We haven’t had it this bad since our foodie month in Bangkok. I had my new Java – which was good👍🏻. Jeff stuck with juice. We had breakfast of oatmeal, yogurt, and sourdough bread. It was another lazy morning, as Jeff is now coughing like I was.

At 1230, Jeff E-hailed a Grab taxi and went for a prearranged free tour. We arrived just at 1300, when the tour was to begin. Our tour was called – Malacañang Heritage tours, featuring the Road to Malacañang (Bahay Ugnayan) and Presidential Museum (Teus Mansion). The tour started at one place, the Bahay Ugnayan, which translated to “House of Connections”. This restored heritage mansion chronicles the life and journey of the Filipino 17th president, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. We ascended the same staircase he did when he was elected in 2022. Our guide took pictures of us ascending the stairs – like we were the new president coming into power! Latte-dah… It was fun. But the museum went over the timeline starting when he was born to Ferdinand Marcos Sr., a former President. There were pictures of when his dad, mom and he with his siblings ascended these stairs for his dad’s presidency; and then the current one of him as the president with his wife and three sons. That was neat and a moment for him I bet! Anyway, the guide and placards described his whole life.

Then we were loaded up into a minibus and driven down the Road of the Palace Complex to the second place of the tour, The Teus Mansion. This mansion’s history involved Valentin Tues, who is recognized as establishing Tanduay Distilleries, and owned the mansion, hence the Teus name. Our guide walked us through the Presidents of the Philippines. Jeff and I both thought the Baguio guides’ coverage of their leaders was better. I asked about the Filipino flag and he explained it. The top block of blue symbolizes peace with the red block symbolizing courage. The sun has eight rays that represents the eight provinces that were under martial law in 1896 during the Philippine Revolution; the three stars represent the countries three main regions. The tour finished at around 1400. We loaded back into the minibus and were taken where we started.

We decided to walk about a mile to Popeye’s we saw on our way to the tour. It was still “hazy” and hot. At the Popeye’s we shared a one piece Spicy Chicken meal with fries and Cajun rice, and a two piece Spicy Chicken meal with a biscuit. I had an iced tea; Jeff had a lemonade. It cost us 502 PHP ($9). Then we walked to the Robinson’s Mall and did some laps to get more steps. We stopped at the Robinson’s Grocery store for a light supper stuffs. Our evening was chill. Around 1700 we heard a huge, rolling clap of thunder, saw lightening and then after an hour or so it began drizzling. We ate a some feta cheese and black olives with pan toasted bread and split a mango. It was a couple of laid back days.