ANGEL THOUGHTS “The fruit of silence is prayer. The fruit of prayer is faith. The fruit of faith is love. The fruit of love is service. The fruit of service is prayer.” Blessed Mother Teresa of the Missionaries of Charity

Tagaytay, with its crown jewel of a "lake inside a volcano inside a lake" remains a favorite destination among weekend travelers. They drive up in search of romantic venues, great food, spiritual refreshment, fresh air, cloudless climes, and magnificent moonlit nights. Some stay for the day and play golf, others come to eat and sightsee. This growth in local tourism continues, despite the horrendous prices of gasoline and diesel!

Even the Missionaries of Charity of Mother Teresa has established a ‘house’ there, right beside the popular Pink Sisters chapel and convent, but in an out-of-the-way road, tucked away in the "Bukal," (Spring) an oasis of prayer and peace.

If you feel you need quality time with the Lord in front of the Blessed Sacrament, this is the place to visit. They don’t really encourage hordes of visitors, but they won’t turn away a lost soul or two. Ring the door bell and ask if you can pray in their adoration chapel.

The sisters live and work on the charity of people who want to shaire their blessings, so bring some groceries or a sack of rice once in a while. The other sisters from other "houses" hold their retreats there, so eggs, sugar, vegetables, and other groceries are welcome. Tell the nuns ate Deedee sent you!

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The other attractions of the city include the strip of grilles and restaurants with their view decks overlooking the lake. Some are local origin, others are clones of popular restos in Metro Manila. On weekends, they are all lit up and the strip is like a mini-Greenhills or Makati business center. But the oldest hotel in the city, the historic Taal Vista Hotel, now owned by the SM family and operated by the Fuego Group, still has the best view for guests. (Except from my home and of course I am biased!)

This is true especially at night when you can stargaze and watch the lights of the lakeshore towns. Taal Vista Hotel will soon (before Christmas this year) be inaugurating their new extension wing (retaining the English Tudor-style facade) with more rooms and ballroom space which will add to their allure as a convention hotel up the mountains. Their Ylang Ylang spa is legendary and conventioneers always include this indulgence on their agenda.

The team of the hotel led by the soft-spoken "gentleman of the old school" Mr. Itoi has a new attraction for those who fancy themselves budding singers. Now, you can compete in their Videoke Challenge at the Bougainvillea grand finals. Entrance fee for participants is R 150, and the amount is consumable in food and drinks. The groupings will be according to ages, so sing away!

Taal Vista Hotel’s Saturday lunch and dinner buffets, plus the Sunday lunch buffet, come with entertainment from a Filipiniana dance troupe, so bring your foreign guests and balikbayans.

For those who love to dance, the last two Saturdays of this month will be dedicated to disco dancing at the same venue. And for good music, hang out at the hotel lounge every Friday and Saturday evening. At 6 p.m., there is affable Rico Javier who is a one-man band and sings ballads, standards, pop, and dishes out dance music from his portable electric piano, too. Incidentally, he is blind, but aside from his shades, you won’t notice it. His voice is great, and so is his musical gift. His older brother Kuya Kiko is his "eyes" and drives him up to the hotel from Kawit where he resides. And across the road is the casino run by PAGCOR for the daring ones with cash to throw at the tables or the slot machines.

If you stay till Sunday, over a dozen churches and chapels will take care of your mass obligations. Favorites are the beautiful Lourdes church on the highway, the Pink Sisters’ chapel, the SVD church, or the quaint Ina ng Laging Saklolo.

Me? Whether I’m alone or with any of the family, it is the Focolare chapel for the 6 p.m. anticipated mass or the 10 a.m. Sunday mass, or occasionally, the 11 a.m. mass at the circular chapel of Tagaytay Highlands. All of them hold dear memories of Hubby, as does every place in Tagaytay!