Cebu Part 1: The Cebu Pacific fiasco, NS Royal Pensione, Casa Verde and Tops

Yey! Part 1 of the BFF diaries in CEBU: The Queen City of the South! :)We've had this trip booked early this year and it's one of the most awaited trip of the year for me. Too bad it was just me and BFF Trency, so we promised BFF Amanda that we'd make bawi and have another trip and to make it BONGGA! :)) And oh pardon this long post, this is going to highlight DAY 1 in Cebu City. :p

Mom wanted to see me off, so we first drove to Rockwell where I'd be leaving my car. Then it was breakfast over at Grams where we had a lovely breakfast of U.S. Tapa, fluffy eggs, and garlic rice, and of course COFFEE. Oh they call it Patriotic Breakfast. So good!


After a short breakfast with the Mother, I had to take a cab that would take me to NAIA Terminal 3, the assigned terminal for Cebu Pacific Air. We went early because the day before we left, a fellow blogger, Trip Or Treats and Carlos Celdran were cursing Cebu Pacific for their delay. We got scared we'd end up missing our flight, so it was better to be early.

Check-in went by smoothly, but Cebu Pacific's ground stewards were really MASUNGIT! Seriously, you guys have no right to be all grouchy at customers who are also really pissed off with your awful service! I wish I took note of the name of that girl who was super masungit. We get that you're tired and all, but it's your freaking job. If you want to be angry at the world, either you wait until after your shift ends or get the hell out of that job.

After surviving check-in, we had so much free time at our hands, Trency and I crammed research on Bantayan Island, our destination this summer. Thank God for Illy's free wi-fi, although it was on and off (well mostly off).

After having coffee, we decided to go to the departure lounge to wait for our boarding time. Since it was past 12NN, we had lunch at Let's Chow, a super cheap-ass Chinese stall. Trency had sharksfin siomai and I had wanton noodle soup. Really good! And for Php90 NOT BAD AT ALL! :)



Since our departure time was 1.55PM we went to our gate early. Our hearts sank when we heard the announcement that said our flight was going to be delayed. We were so pissed! It was my longest-ever stay at an airport! The stupid Cebu Pacific plane arrived past 2PM, and we got to board at around 2.30PM. And to top of our unlucky Friday the 13th stint, we were stuck on the runway for a good 20 minutes due to a congested runway. We were finally up in the air at around 3.30PM, our supposed time of arrival at Mactan International Airport.



Finally at almost 5PM, we had arrived in Cebu City. We quickly forgot about that harrowing airport fiasco and put on our vacation game faces ON! We were finally here! And no we weren't going to let anything get in the way!

We were to stay overnight in the city, so we only had a few precious hours. We checked-in at NS Royal Pensione, the hotel we stayed in when we were in Cebu last year for my cousin's wedding.



It's funny because the room they assigned to us was the same room we got when we stayed there. So there was that knowing feeling already. Plus the hotel's really cozy, and the staff, really friendly. It's a really modest hotel, but it has got the most basic necessities.




We were on our toes since we wanted to make the most out of our stay in the city. We freshened up a little then went to dinner at the famous CASA VERDE. Luckily it was within walking distance from our hotel.

Since it was payday Friday, families and barkadas filled the place up. Casa Verde has 3 branches, the one we went to was a house in a subdivision. It really is a HOUSE, with the restaurant on the ground floor and the living quarters on the 2nd floor.


We ordered the famous Brian's Ribs, which I must say must be one of the best ribs I've ever tasted. They served it to us hot, with the meat almost falling off the bones. I suddenly remembered why Mom loves meat that sticks to the bone. She says it's very TASTY, and I think these ribs are a true testament to that fact. The meat was very, very tender. However, Trency wanted more sauce.

Trency also wanted seafood, so we ordered this filleted shrimp dish. It was soooo good! It had 8 pieces, and we inhaled it! Forget about your diet when you eat at Casa Verde.

Then as if we weren't full, we ordered dessert: Lauren's Lava. We both loved how the warm chocolate syrup mixed with the cold vanilla ice cream on top. Plus it wasn't THAT sweet, so it was just perfect!

After dinner, we walked back to our hotel to decide on our next step. Trency's friend suggested we go up to Tops, the highest point in Cebu. So from our hotel we hailed a cab, please note that you have to talk to the driver. You'd have to ask them to wait for you. Luckily, we had a very accommodating driver, and for Php800 took us to Tops.

Tops is situated at the top of Busay Hills and is about 2,000 feet above sea level, and it offers a good view of both Mactan and Cebu. I must say, the view was absolutely breathtaking!





Even at almost 10PM a lot of people were coming up to Tops that night. It's open 24 hours and has a cafe and a bar. It's the perfect place to just lounge around and enjoy the cool, night air. Trency and I drank here, too.

After Tops, we went back to our hotel to rest up.

Stay tuned for our BANTAYAN ISLAND ADVENTURES. I'm gonna make it more of a photoblog, so you guys won't get bored with my narration. :)

CASA VERDE
#69 Lim Tian Teng St., Cebu City
Tel Nos. (032) 2536472, (032) 2538234, (032) 2536472

NS ROYAL PENSIONE
Juana Osmeña Street, Cebu City
Tel Nos. 032 254 5358
Website: http://www.nspensione.com/about_us.html