TheFranciscos.Net

After a very long and relaxing vacation in Manila, we’re now back here in Pittsburgh. Nothing like being with family and friends during the holidays. For some reason, Christmas and New Year is just so different in the States compared to Manila. There’s just more of that holiday spirit, at least for me, going around in the Philippines.

Among the highlights of our trip was a 3 day stay in beautiful Boracay. Zoe absolutely loved being on the beach for the first time and she had a blast swimming in the ocean and playing in the sand. Aileen and I mainly just took in the scenery and lounged around. Being at the beach for the first time in years felt wonderful.

Christmas and New Year was also a lot of fun, with the time spent between my family and Aileen’s. It’s overwhelming being a part of Aileen’s family, mainly because they have so many family members – 6 siblings and 10 grandchildren. It’s a lot of fun though because when everybody gets together, it’s an instant party.

Another highlight (at least for me, I hope it was the same for Aileen as well ) was our celebration of our 5th year anniversary. We booked a room at “historic” Oakwood. I found the hotel and the rooms to be decorated nice and simple, but radiated an overall elegance. I semi-surprised Aileen with 5 dozen roses (1 for each year of marriage) and an anniversary ring, which I presented to her after our night out. I say “semi-surprised” since Aileen apparently knew about the roses from an email to my mom that I accidentally left open on my computer. She didn’t know about the ring though, so at least part of it was still a surprise.

I have to say that the way the setup to the roses was excellent, since the staff took the time out to spread rose petals from the door all the way up to the bed, where they laid down the 5 bouquets. We capped our stay at Oakwood by having an excellent breakfast (with the best tocino I’ve ever had), and getting a massage at the spa. All in all, it was an anniversary to remember.

Like the saying goes though – all good things must come to an end. It was sad to end our vacation, but we have a lot of great memories from it. There really is no place like home.

And now… back to the grind!

Check out our pictures from Manila:

Boracay

More Boracay

Even More Boracay

Christmas

Various Nights Out

New Year

5th Year Anniversary