A quick trip to the Philipines

 We travelled to Davao in the very South of the country for a good friends wedding. We stayed at the Marco Polo which is in central Davao and availed ourselves of a "club" room. Great views over Davao from our room and the club facility. More than enough food and drink was supplied for breakfast, afternoon tea and canapes. The variety and quality was second to none! The only real complaints that I have heard about the hotel were from guests not staying in club. The hotel is aging but just in line with everthing else in the Philipines. I certainly recommend it for an easy stay.

The lovely clean lit pool!

Robertson getaway!

We travelled to the Southern Highlands and stayed in Robertson. 

Robertson has an interesting climate being quite high (around 800 metres) and yet on the edge of the coastal escarpment which ensures that warm wet coastal air, mixes with dry cool inland air causing fog or mist for many mornings and sometimes throughout the day.

Robertson itself is not particularly a foodies destination however both the Princess and I enjoy gardens!

 Many very high quality, private gardens are available to view at regular intervals. We stayed at a privately rented holiday house in Burrawang called "Long acre". The home was extremely well appointed and our friends agreed with us that everything was easy at "Long acre".

Information on Robertson open gardens can be found at robertsonopengardens.weebly.com. The little green stars on the photo of the map show where the gardens are, mostly within a very short drive of town. We visited four on our first day and covered 12km's. These gardens are of a very high calibre with most if not all of them being private gardens opened only for short windows.

Each of the gardens is evolving but showing beutiful aspects

This herb garden has many structural aspects and a "calling" arch in the hedge asking you to come forward and experience the view is paramount to the experience.

For our culinary experience in the area see our next post.