Lobo Beach

In this part of the world, summer is already in its full blast (March-May). The heat is unbelievable so you either face it head-on or put your back against it and go to a cooler place! Now, let me share the first part, facing it head-on by going to the beach and enjoying the summer heat. The Philippines has a lot of beaches and you'll never run out of options, be it white sand, brown sand, gray/dark sand, strong waves, still waters, marine sanctuary, etc. I've been to white sand beaches in Calaguas Islands (see my previous posts here and here), Samal Island (see post here), Pagudpud in Ilocos Norte, Apo Island in Negros Oriental (it's a marine sanctuary and one of the best places where I've seen a lot of schools of fish and corals), Matabungkay in Batangas, and the gray/dark sand beaches of Bagasbas and Del Carmen in Camarines Norte.

Now, I'm sharing the brown sand beach in Lobo, Batangas. We had our team building last May 2-4 in Almalin Beach Resort (website). It was a nice, little place situated far from the hustle and bustle of major towns. It may not be as picturesque as the white sand beaches but it was lovely nonetheless.

Now, this is me smiling like a little kid. You see, when you're in a place like this, you just can't help but be happy.

I've also discovered my new favorite activity, paddle boarding. Getting up early in the morning, paddling while the sun rises, seeing the wonderful view of the sea, sky, and mountains - everything is just serene. I get to witness the beauty of God's creation, reflect about life, and just take in every single moment of it. Ah, this is life!

Sweet Tooth Cravings: Passion by Gerard Dubois

After mural art hunting in Bonifacio High Street, we headed to a French cafe called Passion by Gerard Dubois located at Shop C2 at the NetPark, 5th Ave., BGC (see their website here) to satisfy our sweet tooth cravings.  Well, they not only offer desserts, they also have pasta, baguette, sandwiches, salads.





Now, let's go to the sweet stuff!

Gelato bar

Macarons

I ordered a Mango Mont Blanc and Chocolate Gelato while my friends got Chocolat aux Noisettes and Marble Cheese Cake.

What I love most about their desserts is that they're not really sweet. I mean it's obvious that they did not pile up on the sugar, which is a good thing. The flavor is definitely there. If you got something that is chocolatey, in my case the gelato, you can really taste the strong chocolate flavor. I'm also a fan of the Chocolat aux Noisettes. Two thumbs up for their desserts!

However, the experience would have been perfect if we had some brewed coffee to go with those sweet stuff. When we got there, unfortunately, they didn't have an available coffee. Thus, I only had water and my friends got some soft drinks, which is a bit off.

And their service is not that efficient. My friends have to wait for quite some time before someone cleared the table. The staff should be more attentive whenever there are customers.

Ultimately, I have to say the food was really great and I'd like to go back to try the other desserts. And I'm hoping for a better customer service.

P.S. When eating in restaurants or coffee shops, I also like to look whether they have good comfort rooms because you'll never know if you're gonna need one. Hehe. And this has a clean CR with hand wash and tissue paper.

*all photos taken by me except for the last one which was by Shayne