"THIS IS THE LIFE"

SILANG, PHILIPPINES

Temperature: 28 Degrees Celsius

Track of the day: "Big House," Audio Adrenaline

"Do you feel that?" I ask Alecs, as the sounds of twittering birds fill the morning air. "The cool

breeze?" he replies opening the large wooden doors to our private balcony, "it's so nice that we don't even need a fan." Alecs stands at the edge of the balcony breathing in the fresh crisp air overlooking a peaceful farm with looming mountains in the distance. We wander about our wing of the house, flipping through the many paintings done by Tito Noel, showering and finally heading downstairs. Following the sounds of voices, we find Tito Hans sitting under the large covered patio watching Tito Noel and the gardener tending to the many flowers, trees and plants in the lush sprawling garden. "Good Morning Tito," Alecs says taking the seat across from him, "wow the garden is so much more beautiful in the morning," he adds. Alecs is indeed right, the garden shines like a nickle in a jar of pennies, with the large infinity pool and it's cascading waterfall highlighting the plethora of colourful flora and fauna. That cool breeze

blows through a wind chime near the bahay kubo (quaint nipa hut) and we walk up the path to find Tito Noel near the large trellis in the corner of the garden. The meticulously manicured gardens are what the dreams of horticulturalist everywhere are made of. Each plants is strategically placed for both aesthetic appeal, their pleasant floral scents and even the ability to ward off mosquitoes to which we find none. Back near the pool is a lovely little cabana tucked behind some leafy green trees and some lovely climbing vines. "Breakfast is ready," Tito Hans shouts from the patio and Tito Noel, Alecs and I make our way to the dinning room. Sitting at the long thick dark wooden table I can't help but feel like royalty and looking over at Alecs who is sitting quite straight backed I can see he feels the same way. One of the two live-in maids/cooks places our meal on the table - a delicious looking array of longonisa, garlic rice and fried eggs. When we have all finished our meal it is promptly cleared from the table and Tito Noel agrees to give us

a full tour of the house now that it is daylight. Starting from the massive front doors we turn right to the first wing where we enter Tito Noels sprawling beautifully decorated room, with it's many well-positioned accents, paintings and unique pieces of furniture. We pass through the enormous en suite which I am convinced is larger than my entire old room exiting on the other side in Tito

Hans' room. This room has a much more rustic nautical charm with many pictures adorning the walls, including a particularly interesting one of their old yacht in New York. 17-year old Nikko (their shitsu) snoozes peacefully in his bed in the corner near another patio overlooking the garden. Beside the patio doors is another window where we can see the beautiful view of the pool and the mountains. From here we are taken to the library where hundreds of books adorn the shelves creating a masterpiece of literature enticing any reader to curl up here with a good book. As we exit this wing of the house we enter the main foyer with its impossibly high ceilings and grandiose stature. Here the comfortably decorated sitting room with grand piano is the centre and focal point to the whole house with giant sliding glass doors on every side creating the illusion that the house continues on forever. A massive kitchen overlooking the pool is rarely used as below

the maids quarters has its own kitchen where food is generally prepared. Back in the guest wing of the house we make our way to the room, passing another large guestroom and find our beds already made-up. "Wow, talk about service," I say to Alecs as I head

to the bathroom to brush my teeth. We spend the remainder of the day catching up and exploring the many nooks and crannies of the house, garden and surrounding gated community.

"I could get used to this weather," I say to Alecs the next morning, feeling the cool breeze pass through from one window to the next. A farmer leads his cow out to pasture in the

distance and we prepare for another day at the resort....I mean the new house. After breakfast we all pile in the Toyota Fortuner SUV with leather seats and are taken to another development where these two own yet another piece of property. The full-time live-in driver Jay starts up the engine, winding through the quiet development out into the real world. A twenty minute drive away has us in another gated community where Tito Noel tries to remember which lot is his. When he is finally convinced this is the lot we step out to examine the beauty of it's location, at the foot of a mountain overlooking the sprawling countryside with a pristine golf course in near sight. "I think we will have lunch at the golf course," Tito Noel says, stepping back into the vehicle and with that we are off. Before too long we are back at the house where we all join together in the pool for a refreshing swim as the sun reaches the highest point in the sky. 'This is the life," I say to Alecs floating on the crystal blue surface dwarfed by the mountains afar, "the epitome of retirement." Just as we are leaving the pool Tito Jorge, the eldest of the Reyes siblings comes for a nice visit. We all join on the patio chatting about family, our travels and much much more. Unfortunately the visit does not last too long and Tito Jorge is off until next time. Over dinner we are informed by both

Tito Hans and Tito Noel that they are both abused by each other - Tito Noel for his constant purchasing and Tito Hans for not understanding why it is necessary. "You two seem quite suppressed," I say laughing, "especially here where you

could just head to another wing of the house to escape each other." Tito Hans smiles as does Tito Noel and we continue chatting and flipping through old family photos before packing it in for another night.

"Okay I will leave you at the travel agency while I go run some errands," Tito Noel says the next morning as he and the driver drop us off at Vietname Travel in Manila. Within the hour we have our money fully refunded and a new set of plane tickets to Bangkok. Philippine Airlines quoted us at $350 per person to Bangkok while Cebu Pacific charged $290 together with 15kg of excess luggage. Needless to say we purchase the cheap one and meet back up with Tito, heading to Philippine immigration to straighten out our passports. We arrive back at the house around 6PM in time for dinner with valid extended visas in hand. I stop in our room where we find our clothes freshly laundered, smelling of flowers and even pressed. "Did they buy me a new shirt?" I say to Alecs, examining a white blouse I had laundered, "I think it's more white than when I bought it." Before we have time to realize it's nearly midnight and we pack it in for the last day here at CasaNoah.

"I think I will take a nap," Tito Noel says around noon the next day, "that's what life is like here, relaxing and doing what you want." I look at Alecs, nodding approvingly and we both

decide a nap sounds more than ideal. By the time we wake up feeling refreshed we are all heading out for dinner in Tagaytay so Tito Noel can make up for forgetting Tito Hans' 70th birthday yesterday. "You see what I mean," Tito Hans says, "I am a battered husband, he doesn't even remember my birthday after all these decades together." We settle in for a delicious Italian meal overlooking Taal Volcano, an active volcano that last spilled Lava in 1969. We all laugh and joke with each other well into the night enjoying the refreshing atmosphere, delicious food and delightful company.

Tomorrow we are off to Lucena City, Alecs' hometown some 3.5 hrs away by bus.

We are sad to leave this paradise of resorts but excited for new adventures and reunions with more family.

Until next time so long,

Alecs and Meg in Silang

Ps. Check back in 24 hours to see the videos of the house which we were unable to upload today.