A much needed break from Manila. I was ecstatic to have my dear friend with me. We made the most out of everything Bohol had to offer. It is definitely one of the tourist destinations in the Philippines where people can get a good balance of pristine beach and a whole lot of other sights to see. Here is the first part of our trip.
For my first official trip for my blog, the perfect person to drag with me who would be patient enough to take my photos, have better ideas for lay outs (I even learned the term “flat lay” from him on this trip), enjoy food and nothingness as much as I do, even be equally excited to plan a full itinerary yet be totally ok with not following it, is my best friend of 19 years, Franco.
For such a long friendship, we haven’t gone on many trips together. Franco used to travel a lot on his own and I would get annoyed he would plan trips without me! Then when I started traveling, he was in “tipid mode” and couldn’t go with me when I wanted to leave. Finally, close to our 30s, we are on the same page! Both with start-up businesses, some savings in the bank, so much maturity and yet still this zest for exploring unknown territory. Our friendship has become intensely reliable over the last few years as we realized when all else fails, when there is no one else, he has me and I have him. So we felt very blessed to be able to enjoy each other’s awesomeness in Bohol!
He had never been before and I had already been a few times so I knew exactly where to take him. We spent hours Googling where to go and finally settled on the beautiful Bellevue as our home base!
The cutest tricycle ever greets guests at the entrance of the hotel.
The lobby looking out into the ocean.
One the hundreds of starfish by the beach front of Bellevue. There are much larger ones at the shallow part of the water.
His first time to hold a starfish.
Best way to work your core and get a tan. Paddle boarding!
The Bellevue Hotel.
Another way to get a tan while staying active. Kayaking!
And the nothingness starts… Spent a good amount of time playing with Franco’s go pro.
I am an ube monster. My most favorite Pinoy dessert.
The restaurant where Franco and I went to war with our stomach space.
The art of over ordering.
Chicken satay and crab cakes. I ordered the crab twice during this trip. I loved that they used fresh crab!
Yes, I do tend to order a lot. But I still try my best to choose healthier options like the shrimp ceviche, smoked tuna and bamboo & papaya salad.
Whoops. Pressed it too early on my phone. Not such a bad photo though! haha
Yup! I was taking the photo directly on my iPhone through the app that comes with the Panasonic Lumix GX7.
No beach trip of mine is complete without a massage.
Franco and I had the 90 minute Azurea signature massage that combines deep tissue and Thai stretching.
And the dinner buffet at Lamian that had fresh seafood, meats you can have grilled and an appropriate salad bar – something I need at hotels!
I LOVE nice hotel rooms. Especially the ones that have their own living room.
And having two tubs doesn’t hurt either.
The bed I wanted to bring home with me. Or never leave.
With the restful sleep we had, Franco and set forth to accomplish our jam packed itinerary where we explored the tourist spots. Stay tuned for part 2 of our Bohol trip!
Love your website bianca. Thanks for sharing your pictures and everything hope you can make lasagna and post it to your website. Thank you
I love lasagna!
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Thank you for reading!