[amidst the scent of pine trees & taste of strawberries: DAY 1]

we hied off to baguio last december 27 to celebrate our 18-year wedding anniversary. the 4 of us stayed for 3D/2N at the CHALET BAGUIO, a relatively-new hotel situated along upper military cut-off road. i discovered this hotel by chance thru agoda.com. yup, i booked our stay online since my hubby was "nagging" me non-stop for the accommodations. for almost 3 days, i was getting "no available rooms" answer to my inquiries. but i guess, our stay in CHALET baguio was meant to be because  everything was worth it. 

just look at the hotel's interiors...

seating area at stairs landing
just off the main lobby 

console table at 2f hallway

built-in console ledge

five-0-five

the ROOM

night table

back-lit decorative wall panel in fabric

flat tv mounted on accent wall

view of the pine trees

add to that, DULCINEA, most famous for its churros con chocolate,  is their in-house restaurant. 

chalet baguio's fb wall photo pic of DULCINEA

we had our complimentary breakfasts taken here. sadly, limited choices in limited proportions. true to its description - complimentary. but despite the serving size, we found the food yummy.

our first day began with our re-discovery of MILE HI CENTER inside CAMP JOHN HAY. this commercial arcade houses restaurants like MILE HI DINER, CARLO'S PIZZA, DENCIO'S, EVERYTHING NICE CAKESHOP & CAFE, etc. and stores  like the NIKE CAMP, THE COMMISSARY, ADIDAS, among others. it was in LITTLE JOHN's where we had our lunch.

we had these: 

MEAT KEBAB meal  for jillian

GRILLED FISH meal for kirsten

this RIB-EYE TAPSILOG meal was mine

BABY BACK RIBS meal for hubby

while waiting for our meals, my daughters & i doodled on the kraft paper placemats, just like what the previous guests/diners did on theirs when they were here. 

my eldest's 

jillian did a fashion illustration

i had orange & blueberry drawings 

see this wall of framed placemat arts from previous diners.

after finishing our late lunch, we went back to the hotel to check in & take a nap. our "driver" requested that because of the long drive he just made.

see the "dozing" boss-driver

my "twin-like"daughters in their
F21 varsity jackets

returned to CJH from CHALET. we had our anniversary dinner at CANTINETTA, an Italian restaurant. 

entering CANTINETTA at dusk

jill posing with the
menu wall board behind her

old-world chandelier
& view of the bar

 a part of the dining area

wines

our photo ops with the "main man" (read: financier, boss, driver)

*note his pa-cute poses (so rare for this man) ;)

they had this served for us 

bread with salsa & pate

while waiting for the 4 different kinds of pasta meals we ordered

i had TARTUFO

jill had PESCATORA

papa j had AI PORCINI RISOTTO

and

kirsten had  RAVIOLI VERDI DI SPINACI
AL POMODORO

after dinner, we sauntered to nearby starbucks but decided to forego after-dinner coffee since the place was teeming with locals & tourists alike. 

immediately, we went back to the hotel to get a full-night's sleep. 

end of DAY 1.