A Weekend at Villa Escudero

Hi everyone! It's been quite a while since I last posted an article here. I've been so busy at work and when I am at home during the weekends all I wanted to do was rest my weary bones. :-) Still quite busy, and will be  for a couple more months but since I have a little respite I decided to write.

My sister in law arrived from New York and she wanted to spend a weekend at Villa Escudero with her family, and me and my older sister tagged along. Villa Escudero is a plantation and resort located at the boundary of San Pablo, Laguna and Tiaong,Quezon.

If you want to experience the Filipino country life and culture, this is the place to go to, whether you visit just for a day or overnight. For their rates and amenities, you can check those here.

We left Manila around 6 in the morning, and drove for around 2 hours to arrive at the resort. The resort promotes Filipino culture, so the employees are clothed in traditional Filipino clothes. Upon arrival, we are treated to refreshing welcome drinks while facilitating the check in, afterwards guests are encouraged to explore the place.

They have a private museum which houses a collection of antiquities. There are various activities to do, like river rafting, nature watching, fishing, and of course, swimming. We visited the museum and took pictures on the grounds before we headed to the waterfalls for lunch.

                

Loved seeing greenery all around, which was very refreshing to the eyes. It was a nice change of view from the city.

The gang minus my brother, who was resting at the reception area because he drove all the way from Ilocos and then on to the resort. They obviously love the color pink as several buildings were painted in this rosy color.

                 

The building behind my sister is one of the private residences. Also painted pink.

                 

There is a tank, a small plane, and a cannon on the grounds as well. Not sure why they have those though.

                

This is the area where we had lunch. Tables are set up by the water, but I did not take pictures as it was not my first time to visit. Lunch was buffet, which is included when you stay overnight, or just for the day. If you stay overnight, dinner and breakfast the next day is also included, both buffet meals.

Picture I took of the other buildings on my early morning walk the next day.

The entrance to the pavilion, where they hold the cultural show, and where dinner and breakfast is served. The cultural show starts at 2 pm, and it showcases Filipino folk dances and music.

Loved seeing the colorful flowers in bloom all around the resort.

The lower pool, one of two. There is also a play area for children at this area. Took this picture early morning as well.

The furniture was also very nice, almost all wooden, some made of bamboo, which makes the ambiance very welcoming.

The jeepney, a kind of transportation which is uniquely Filipino.

It was my first time seeing a purple banana flower.

Took this picture just outside our accommodation at dusk. We stayed in two rooms at the building called the Longhouse, which is actually a long building with individual 'cottages' named after flowers and local trees.

I love coconuts! From juice to fruit to milk and everything else, so when I saw this very short tree with so much fruit during my morning walk, I just had to take a picture!

This is their events place. Last time we went, there was a wedding taking place so we could not explore the area. This time, there was none, so we were walking around freely.

This is the upper pool, where we swam, and only adults are allowed here because the water id deeper then the lower one. There was a rainbow after a light drizzle, then there was another one on top, but was very faint and a man-made camera could not capture it, unfortunately.

This was such a nice view greeting me on my morning walk as I was listening to my music. Who would not stop to admire such a view? I not only admired it, I also took a photo!

This is the place where river rafting is done. I did it on my first visit, but this time around, by the time it was not too hot, there was a really long line, so we did not do it.

We were also serenaded in the early evening, just after coming in from swimming and before dinner time. Serenading is another Filipino culture which was passed on from the Spanish, I think.

Next to the events place is a chapel, so weddings could be officiated at the chapel, and then the reception at the events place. All open spaces so the greenery all around can be enjoyed.

It was a nice weekend, spent with family. It was a time to recharge and just catch up with one another, done through countless times of eating and just enjoying each other's company. We also bought lots and lots of fresh rambutan picked at the village where the employees live.

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