Pinky Amador performs Piaf classics at Sonya's Garden

Oh la la is all I can say about last Saturday night at Sonya's Garden where everything was transformed into Paris for the dinner concert of  BFF Pinky Amador aptly billed as "La Vie en Rose".

Clang Garcia who organized the event said she got inspired  after watching Pinky play the role of the legendary Edith Piaf onstage. She said that  "It was my first time to see Pinky perform during Piaf and I thought it will be nice to bring the romance of French songs to Sonya's Garden."

It was truly La Vie en Rose that night. The venue was bursting with the scent of flowers. And of course, the star of the evening - Pinky - was in her best form. She belted out all my favorite Piaf classics such as Padam, Padam (The sound of his, her Heartbeats), Mon Dieu (My God) , Mon Manege a Moi, (You're my Carousel), C'est a Hambourg (It's Hamburg), La Belle Histoire d'Amour and dueted  A quoi ca sert l'amour (What is Love) with Sandino Martin.

Pinky and Sandino sing A quoi ca sert l'amour

I must admit that when I met Sandino that morning, I thought he was too young to be the balladeer paired with Pinky for the concert. Well I had to eat crow that day because when I heard him rehearsing Autumn Leaves with a very deep voice, I had to ask who it was. He played the role of Theo Sarapo, the last husband of Piaf and thus, perfect for their duet.

After the concert, I actually encouraged him to do more singing stints. He said that currently [at 23 years old] he would like to focus more on acting and to finish his thesis for his Theater Arts degree in UP.

Kat and Clang in their French attire

Cocktails were served at 6pm and dinner which featured Sonya's signature dishes immediately followed at 7pm.

The first course was salad with freshly picked mixed greens from her greenhouse served with assorted add-ins such as nuts, egg whites, fresh fruits, vegetables and fresh fruits. The second course was pasta with different topping choices of fresh sun-dried tomatoes, ratatouille, mushroom, black olives and capers The third course was salmon belly and rosemary roast chicken. The last course was dessert of chocolate cake, banana and langka (jack fruit) turon and sweet camote.

Sonya supports local organic products 

The wine du jour was Vino de Coco, a coconut nectar wine brewed in Tacloban.  The wine uses the fresh sap from the flower of the coconut tree. According to Clang, "It is very rich in minerals and nutrients; even if you finish a bottle, you will not have a hang over the following day." We didn't finish bottle but we didn't experience any hangover the next day.

It was good that we stayed overnight. The next day I picked some fresh greens from the garden - lettuce, arugula, coriander and basil - and threw everything in the blender together with saba, mango, cucumber and ginger and made a green blend juice for breakfast. Then, we  pampered ourselves in the spa with Sonya's signature massage (a combination of tuina, shiatsu and swedish), facial massage using rice and hair spa using fresh aloe vera from the garden.

If you're free this Saturday, October 12. If you're free, do wear your berets and head out to Tagaytay and catch the final show!  For info, call (0917) 533-5140.

Clang Garcia with Sandino

Sonya's signature salad

spacious rooms at Sonya's Bed and Breakfast

full support from Pinky's classmates

with the mom and sisters of Sandino

The grand dame of  Sonay'a Garden signing her book 

Trek to Taal, the worlds smallest volcano

Through the years, I've always thought that the iconic photo of Taal is the active volcano.

iconic shot of Taal (right side) 

Well, it is not. The whole island (refer to map below) covers an area of 23 square km and is the volcano complex. Our guide said that there are seven craters on the island- two of which are active. However, I googled and found out that Taal actually has "about 47 craters or depresions formed either by direct explosive eruptions or by collapse or ground subsience."  Interestingly, Taal is considered the world's lowest volcano with the highest point at 311m above sea level compared to Mayon volcano's elevation at 2,463m.

Taal Volcano, map by Philvocs

with Gai and Moni at the jump off point in Taal Yacht Club

The three of us - Gai, Austrian healer Moni Platt and I hiked to the main crater.  Moni said that she tried to climb the volcano last April but due to eruption warnings, she wasn't allowed up. So  far, there has been 33 recorded eruptions since 1572, twelve of which occured at the main crater from 1749 to 1911. The 1911 eruption devasted the whole island and claimed a total of 1,034 lives. The last eruption was on October 3, 1977.

The whole trip to the main crater and lake will take half a day - about an hour from Manila to Talisay, Batangas, then a 30min banca ride (right photo) to Volcano Island, an hour on foot to the Main Crater and back.

If you want a faster option to go up, go ride a horse (left photo) which looks more like a pony though at P500 per horse.

Warning to hikers: go early.  The whole island is volcanic and thus, the ground is hot! There is an area where you can see steam coming out of the ground and smell sulfurous. Also, check Philvocs website for volcano activity. The alert level "1" is still acceptable to hike to the crater.

Aside from the regular touristy trail, there are other ways to explore the island such as the Calauit Trail and for the more experienced hikers, the Mt. Tabaro Trail (south-west).

Main Crater and Lake

the easy trail 

the Ridge