"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music."
From the same chef and co-owner of Pino and Pipino restaurants comes π (Pi), which serves breakfast fare and pies everyday from 7am to 10pm. Who said that Eggs Benedict, omelettes and pancakes are only for early mornings? And who said that cream pies are not for breakfast?
This is the skyline of the City of Manila as seen from the 9th floor patio of The Bayleaf Intramuros. The two neoclassical buildings just beyond the trees are the National Museum of the Philippines. The National Art Gallery is the building on the left, which used to be the Legislative Building. The Museum of the Filipino People is the building on the right, which used to be the Finance Building. Both were built in the early 1900s during the American colonial era, suffered extensive damage during WWII, and reconstructed soon after.
9 Spoons, the 9th floor restaurant of The Bayleaf Intramuros, overlooks the Club Intramuros Golf Course and has commanding views of the historic, neoclassical government buildings along Padre Burgos Avenue. Our table had a lovely view of the Manila City Hall and its distinctive clock tower. Aside from the lights and bayleaf-patterned screens of the restaurant, also reflected in the window is the keyboardist who provided the evening's pleasant dinner music.
Bonifacio High Street has many fantastic restaurants and is, therefore, very popular as an evening destination. Because of this, even the shops stay open late—until midnight, at least.
The evening Mass had ended, but the lights were still on inside the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, allowing us to see its lovely stained glass windows from the outside.
The windows are on the sides of the church and can't be seen from the street. You have to enter the church's compound to see them. They must be even more magnificent from the inside—where you won't see the metal grills—during the day.
The Rama IX Bridge over the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, Thailand is named after King Bhumibol Adulyadej. He is known as Rama IX and is Thailand's longest-reigning monarch, having occupied the throne since 1946. The Chao Phraya is one of Thailand's major rivers, and in English, it is called the River of Kings. The bridge was built in 1984–1987, and was renamed during King Bhumibol's 60th birthday in 2006.
Entablado, one of Ateneo de Manila University's student theater groups, is ending its season with a musical titled "Labaw Donggon: Ang Banog ng Sanlibutan," which is based on one part of a 28,000-verse epic poem from the island of Panay called "Hinilawod." The epic tells of the adventures of a goddess who chose a mortal to be her husband, and the adventures of their three sons, the eldest of whom is Labaw Donggon. Entablado chose to stage the play outdoors, selecting an area of the campus with a bamboo grove, which they integrated into the set. It was a great idea, and made Labaw Donggon's adventures feel more real.
The balcony on the second floor of the Regis Center wraps around two sides. Yesterday's photo was the view from the building's long, main side on Katipunan Avenue. The view from the shorter side on Fabian dela Rosa Street is that of a 24-hour, 2-story KFC (and some of the thick utility cables which give the Regis Center its power). Many of the KFC branches in Metro Manila also deliver, and this one does. How about the ones in your city?
The Ayala Museum's very elegant interpretation of the traditional Filipino parol, or Star of Bethlehem.
A stage was set up at the intersection of Ayala and Makati Avenues—two of the major roads of the central business district—for a street dance competition and lots of bands. The tents at the sides of Ayala Avenue housed food stalls, and for the duration of the party (which started at 7:00pm though we only went at 10:30pm), drinking liquor was allowed on the streets. 
There were lots of projection screens for people who were far away from the stage, whether by choice (like us) or because they could no longer get to the front because of the crowds.
At five minutes to midnight, Makati's mayor, Jejomar Erwin "Junjun" Binay Jr., and his family and political allies, were called onto the stage. Present was Junjun's father, Jejomar Binay, the current Vice President of the Philippines and the former mayor of Makati. VP Binay is reputedly going to run as president in 2016. About the only thing that ruined the night for us was the emcee introducing him as "the next president of the Philippines." A little too premature there. 
The city even had its own 2013 ball, but I don't think it dropped from anywhere—it was just hanging on the stage. Unless I missed the drop because I was looking at the fireworks.
In the Christmas Parks of the Ateneo de Manila University, the Jesuit Residence (where the Jesuits who work in the university live) and the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI, a Jesuit-run institute though not part of the university) were assigned the MIMAROPA region. An abbreviation for Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan, the MIMAROPA region is a long and narrow string of island provinces in the west central part of the Philippines. As you can imagine, boats are a major way of traveling around the islands, and the EAPI and Jesuit Residence's Nativity is set on a bangka, a small outrigger canoe which is the most common boat used in the country. The roofed shelter is optional and is usually found only on bigger boats.
The Christmas Parks of the Ateneo de Manila University are also thematic, with each group randomly assigned one of the regions of the Philippines to incorporate into their Nativity scene. Probably one of the most challenging regions is the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). How does one sensitively depict a very Christian belief in a Muslim setting? By not making any direct reference to the Muslim faith, of course. The Nativity scene is set on a vinta, a traditional boat with a sail of colorful vertical strips which has long been used in the islands of Mindanao. And as an additional detail, Joseph is also wearing a taqiyah.
One group, however, stated at the very start that they were going to build a Christmas Park but weren't going to join the contest—which basically meant that they were not going to limit their costs. The beautiful, delicate, life-size porcelain figurines alone probably cost more than the entire budget.
The group used indigenous products, though, with the most prevalent decorative item being coconut husks—on the ground and the ornaments on the tree. And while the members of the group chatted away and shouted directions from their picnic tables, their maids and drivers constructed and decorated the scene for them. I have to admit, there's a very big advantage to having a lot of money.
The bench of the octopi installation is under a large tree with no lights, so I only took a photo of the female octopus. I know it's a "she" because of her curvy, queenly crown; the crown of the male octopus is pointy and kingly. 
The giraffes are long, thin, delicate, and spread out on a wide expanse of lawn, so I decided to focus on the gracefully bending neck and delicate legs. Yes, they're wearing sneakers and crochet lace knee supports.
At Plet Bolipata-Borlongan's imagiNATION: Elephants are sturdy and can easily handle a teenager hanging onto them while carrying the rest of the gang.
In her notes for imagiNATION, artist Plet Bolipata-Borlongan says that tigers, lions, and other big cats are fierce so she conceptualized the piece with the bathtub bench between their jaws.
And yes, those benches are very comfortable, as my husband can attest.
At Plet Bolipata-Borlongan's imagiNATION exhibit, the kangaroos wait in expectation for someone to sit on the bathtub bench they are carrying in their arms before hopping off to a fantasy land somewhere.
