Tagaytay Revisited

If you are looking for a mild cold weather on a hot weekend, I will recommend you to revisit the famous relaxation and vacation place in Cavite – Tagaytay. I called this a “revisit” because I know most of us have already been to this famous destination of Cavite province. I myself have been in Tagaytay for a countless times but I still find it worth to have a revisit to this place. Definitely because of the mild cold weather but with some new sights, good old cuisine to taste and the ever-charming overlooking scenery of Taal Lake and volcano, Tagaytay will always be worth for a revisit.

In Panorama: The famed postcard photo of Taal lake and volcano overlooking view from Tagaytay.

The proximity of Tagaytay from the metro makes it an ideal quick escape for those like me who are looking for a short vacation. So after my work shift together with my workmates, we hop on the earliest bus ride to Tagaytay, Cavite. Travel time is just one and a half hour coming from Pasay area and at the early hours of the morning. We arrived early in the morning and to enjoy the most our quick visit; we planned to do what Tagaytay visitors normally do like food trip and sightseeing.

Since we arrived in the morning, we sample first the famous Bulalo (Beef Shank Soup) to refresh our senses at Green Ats Bulalohan and Restaurant which is open for 24 hours. Bulalo is made of a hot stew from beef shank with beef meat, corn cob and vegetables like cabbage and potatoes. Just the aroma of Bulalo is perfect enough for withstanding the cold weather of Tagaytay so what more in indulging its hot stew. It was perfect for the cold weather of the place!
 

Tagaytay's famous Bulalo!

The sun starts to shine...

Cavite sunrise...

Green Ats has a perfect terrace view deck of Taal Lake and volcano so we waited until sunrise to enjoy the popular view of Tagaytay. After enjoying our Bulalo meal and dawn has passed, the sun started to rise. It slowly lighted the beautiful view of Taal Lake with Taal Volcano, known as the world’s smallest volcano in the center of it. I know this view has always been popular in postcards and travel magazines already but this view of Tagaytay is it timeless charm. And though, Taal lake and volcano geographically belongs to Batangas province, you will never get tired of this beautiful view from the ridge of Tagaytay. For me, this view of Tagaytay is a view that every visitor will never forget.

It's more fun in Cavite!

Overlooking view of Green Ats Bulalohan and Restaurant.

Each one of us dreams to fly.

We were still full from Bulalo, yet we continue our food trip at Mushroom Burger. It is 10 minutes away from Green Ats Bulalohan and Restaurant and along Tagaytay-Nasugbu Highway. Mushroom Burger is famous for its burger made of organic mushroom! For me, it was a perfect breakfast treat in combination with hot coffee. The burger patty seems to be like an ordinary meat patty burger but very mushroom in taste! And I find it healthy too! Since it is made of mushroom and organic vegetables, it promotes good digestion. After finishing our “heavy” breakfast and a few chats, I usher my travel mates to proceed to our next destination in Tagaytay.

Perfect combination for breakfast - Mushroom burger and coffee.

Pine trees around Tagaytay City.

Located in Barangay Asisan is Puzzle Mansion. The mansion is a museum that boasts a Guinness Book of Records for the most number of collection puzzles on display. The museum has two floors of halls of collected puzzles of different pictures that will fancy, entertain and amaze the visitors.  Some of the most attractive puzzles found inside Puzzle Mansion are portrait of famous Philippine politicians like President Aquino, famous paintings like Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci and Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh and world famous landmarks like Taj Mahal of India and Red Square of Russia. The museum facilities also boast hotel accommodation for its visitors, a wishing well and souvenir shop full of puzzles, of course. Most of the activity that you can do in Puzzle Mansion is to have souvenir photos with the numerous puzzles of all sizes but aside from it, there is nothing to do in the museum.

How many puzzles can you count at Puzzle Mansion?

Record holder.

Van Gogh's Starry Night in puzzle version.

Souvenir shop of Puzzle Mansion.

More puzzles, more fun!

Our last destination is another famous place in Tagaytay, the Tagaytay Picnic Groove. The park has great recalls of my childhood memories for it has been a popular place for our family trips and outing. The park also has a perfect view of Taal Lake and volcano too, where visitors can do picnic in the huts located in a slope facing the view. The park also has cable car ride and zipline for an exciting activity. And for the adventurous, it has an eco-trail where explorers can do canopy walk and concrete platform walk as an optional activity. But the famous activity in Tagaytay Picnic Groove is horseback riding activity that I’m sure most of us have a fond childhood memories of. Souvenirs shops are all abound around the park. Some parts of the park were poorly maintained that I hope its management will do action soon since the picnic groove is still a popular place in Tagaytay. The picnic groove until now still appeals to a lot to Tagaytay visitors so hopefully its improvement will happen soon.

The stunning view at Tagaytay Picnic Groove.

We could still visit People’s Park Palace in the Sky which is another must-see attraction in Tagaytay too but our time is limited. I hope there will be changes already to this mountain peak park because the last time I went there it was badly neglected and in need of maintenance. Or visit the famed gardens of Sonya’s Garden and taste their organic treats in Alfonso, also near Tagaytay. But I definitely enjoyed my revisit to Tagaytay! I get to explore it enough to satisfy my senses. And it still has a lot of fond memories of my childhood trip memories. It was worthy to revisit Tagaytay again. Its charm goes beyond the scenic view of Taal lake and volcano but soars to great travel memories now and then. Tagaytay is a great place to revisit again and again in my home province of Cavite.

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Tagaytay Revisited is the narration of my first trip of the year that happened last February 3, 2014 with my workmates. It happened just out of thinking where to go a quick escape from the city which happens Tagaytay as the nearest place to go. It was a wonderful revisit to the old time popular destination in my home province for all this time it still has a charming way to call you for a visit. After all, it's more fun in Cavite!