Away from it all

When my husband and I attended his cousin's wedding in Tagaytay City, we stayed overnight in Hacienda Isabella in Indang, Cavite rather than driving back to Metro Manila late at night. If your idea of an ideal vacation is doing absolutely nothing in beautiful surroundings, or maybe walking around with a book, plopping onto a comfortable chair in a quiet spot, reading for a few minutes before falling asleep for one of many refreshing naps, then Hacienda Isabella is for you. Its bedrooms don't even have TV (which is of no consequence to us since we really don't watch TV anyway). We were three small family groups and our rooms were in the Casa Blanco which has a patio filled with cushions and pillows just begging to be laid down on.



Hacienda Isabella is a four-hectare farm resort with several houses and cottages scattered throughout the property. The main house, with its floor-to-ceiling windows, has a wide veranda where banquets and performances can be held.



The main house serves as the resort's reception and dining area. There are several long dining tables and the food is served family-style with the platters placed in the middle of the table. The main house also has several bedrooms.



Part of the view from the veranda of the main house overlooking the two-tiered lawn, another house with bedrooms and a vine-covered gazebo.



You may have noticed by now that Hacienda Isabella is also an antique-lover's paradise. The entire resort is a showcase for all the collections that the owners have acquired through the years: furniture, birdhouses, lamps, paintings, luggage, doors, glass panes, even old wooden beams. This house had shelves filled with antique typewriters, still and video cameras, movie projectors, radios and other small equipment.



A single-bedroom cottage perfect for honeymooners, whether on their first or their fiftieth.



Hacienda Isabella has a large swimming pool in one corner of the property. But if you're still not tired of doing absolutely nothing, this little screened cabana just off the pool with two day beds is waiting for you.



For those who just have to do something, Hacienda Isabella has a billiard table in a roofed, free-standing patio. Aren't these old ice-shavers just lovely?



I would like to apologize to any City Daily Photo administrators who visit this blog if I've been posting so many out-of-town photos these past two months. We don't normally take so many trips outside Metro Manila and it has been an exceptional privilege to show off some of the beautiful places here, just two to three hours drive away. And I haven't forgotten that I still owe four more posts for the Corregidor Island series. Soon, I hope.

Urban or rural, natural or man-made, take a sightseeing tour of our world's diverse scenery!