Live your life everyday as if it's a special occasion.....

" Yesterday is history
Tomorrow is a mystery
Today is a gift......
That is why it is called a present "
                                          ...... from the movie, " Kung Fu Panda "


Life is uncertain. No one knows what lies ahead. Some people call this fate, while others accept it as part and parcel of our existence.

Death, as you will probably agree, is neither a respecter of age nor state of health.

Even with the huge improvements in health care, it is presumptous to think that we are destined to live long lives and die of old age.

There are many factors which can bring on premature death. Undue stress, unhealthy diets and unusual practices are some of them.

With all this unpredictability in our lives, I am reminded of a saying, " Everyday in your life is a special occasion ". Most of us take our lives for granted. And just because we are not that old or are not suffering from any major illnesses, we think this gives us the license to live our lives with gay abandon.

We throw ourselves headlong into one or two aspects of living, and procastinate on a huge number of others.

However, if we look upon every day of our lives as a special occasion, we may want to consider spending more time with family and less time at work.

And instead of waiting till we retire to take up that hobby or travel more, why not plan to do these a little sooner?

Someone once told me, " the words SOMEDAY and ONE DAY are fading away from my dictionary. If it's worth seeing, listening or doing, I want to see , listen or do it now!!"

A way to put life in perspective is to ask yourself this question: " If tomorrow were to be your last day on earth, what would you do today?"

Would you go out and eat your favorite food? Or would you put on that new dress which you have kept stored for so long, waiting for a special occasion? Or would you call the people you have alienated and make peace over past misunderstandings?

I don't know about you but I like the idea of living for today, for you and I know that tomorrow is promised to no one.

Amoroma Restaurant - Tagaytay City

I have been a Italian foodie fan ever since i can remember... and this time ... i have found another Italian restaurant outside the metropolis... called Amoroma or " I love Rome ". It was a restaurant in Alabang before it moved to its new place in Tagaytay. Its owners are Chef Nino and Pholie Maestropietro. This restaurant boasts of the " only ONE in the country that serves black truffle mushrooms from Campoli, Italy".

The walls of his restaurant had the ambiance of an italian trattoria in Italy... with a lot of old fashioned Italian photographs on the walls, the familiar red and white checkered tablecloths and soft Italian music playing.

We wanted to try as many dishes as possible in order to taste what he had to offer...here are some of the dishes we tried....Beef Carpaccio with arugula, spinach with pine nuts..( these were very good!) According to Nino-- he doesn't scrimp on his ingredients so as not to alter the taste of the dish. Then he served us... vittello tonatto ( which i liked the best), and a pizza napoletanna... our main course was his Fettuccine with Tartuffo ( black truffle mushrooms) and truffle oil... this is a " must try " when you have your meals in this place!!!

Chef Maestropietro also imports his own italian wines...The red wines are: Pinot Nero Anselmi, Santo Moso Taurasi 2002 and Rossa Montalcino 2004. His selection of white wines are: Chardonnay delle Venezia 2007, Pinot Grigio Fruli 2007. 

How to get there: use the Sta. Rosa Exit going to Tagaytay.. and once you get to the end... turn right. It is 100 meters from there.... 

He has some rooms for rent for guests who would like to stay over.... all his linens and towels come from Italy. They are moderately priced. Although his restaurant isn't on the ridge... you can see the view of the Taal Lake from the second floor where his rooms are located..

 

For those people who love good Italian cooking.... something that's definitely not fusion.... but something you can call COMFORT FOOD .... I recommend this place ....... AMOROMA!!!!!

Singapore Weekend part 2..... Botanical and Orchid Garden, Night Safari

After breakfast... I went down to the concierge and asked how to go around the city without the help of a guided tour. I wanted to go to the Botanical and Orchid garden of Singapore.

The Botanical garden is a large park close to Orchard Road. It took me 15 minutes by taxi to get here. This is a place to relax and admire all the tropical plants. You can wander around the garden at your  own pace. A variety of styles of gardens are present, formal and more naturalistic - theme. They have bonsai displays, the ginger gardens, the succulent gardens, the eco-garden and a section of rainforest.

Inside the Garden.... the Swan Lake..

As you follow you botanical garden map... I was awed with all the other  bronze sculptures found on the garden grounds.

The highlight of this botanical garden is the orchidarium or their orchid garden..  They even have a section of orchids that are named after celebrities or politicians that pass thru Singapore. They have 700 types of orchids from around the world.

here are some photos inside the orchid garden..

The gardens make a pleasant walk. I saw many people wander around the garden with children of all ages. The entrance to the botanical garden is free and to get inside the orchid garden you have to pay $5.

Had an early dinner with a very good friend, Edith, at Marina Mandarin.....Their famous mouth- watering Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice.

After dinner I took a tour to the Night Safari....

Although I was not able to take any photos of the Night Safari... the lights in the park was so dim and we can not use FLASH... but the 40 minutes ride was an experience. There was a walking tour after the ride... I opted to go and watch the Tribal Fire Brigade from Borneo.... I enjoyed the 30 minute show.

After the show I still had another 20 minutes to spare before going back to the bus... so I went to experience the FISH DOCTOR.... The fish are imported from Turkey..... a session of 15 minutes with the little fishes nibbling at your dead skin on your feet costs $18. You will be surprised that these little doctor fishes from Turkey can help promote blood circulation, ease psoriasis , minor eczema, lightening scars and also acts as a stress reliever.

I reached the hotel nearly midnight.... tired but happy..... WHAT a day I HAD!!!

So how did you spend your  weekend???