It's too darn hot!

Winnipeg's winter was so darn long and cold this year and snow still lingered on the lawns as I caught a cab to the airport Saturday morning. I was glad to get some reprieve from the cold. But from one extreme to the other. Landing in Manila almost 30 hours after that early morning cab ride I was hit with a tropical heat wave indeed.

One thing to always remember about Manila is that there's always tons of people and tons of traffic, so patience is the one virtue to remember to pack: everything you do will take time. So it worked out perfectly that both my plane and my ride were late getting in to the airport. Antonette and her brother got stuck in traffic and I got stuck in a mad crush of disembarking passengers trying to get through customs. Finding my friend worked out just fine, though, and we found each other and eventually her brother and made it home. I can't express how nice it is to be able to meet up with good friends in a now not-so-strange city.

Today we took it easy, ran some errands and planned the next few days' adventures. Found a cheap cell phone for 500PHP, $12 CDN to be able to contact local friends - a critical device!

Followed the expert baker on her errands to an amazing institution located just on the corner from her house: a castle wherein everything related to baking is sold or taught. Chocolate Lovers is a baker's dream store with anything and everything the casual or professional baker could need.

The Maniquis family home is across the street from a former movie studio once owned by a family that started up the Manila film industry back in the day. Along the street are homes once owned and occupied by the movie stars of old. Today, the family home is under renovations but the garden is still beautiful and the cats and Ringo the dog don't mind the busy atmosphere.