Back (so soon) at The Peacock Garden

When I said à bientôt, Bohol! in my last post, I did not expect to be back so soon.

In fact, it was a very quick turn around.  We went to the airport, but got stuck in traffic en route, only to find out that the ALWAYS LATE Zest-Air flight was on-time for once, and we were told that we arrived too late to check in.  We made it in time to see the plane but they did not allow us to board.

OK, let me be honest. It's not really the airline's fault that we were conditioned into thinking that the flight would be late. We were running late and we cut it too close then we met an unexpected detour and traffic delays so we also were partly to blame. We had a choice between feeling sorry for ourselves because we missed our flight and get stressed about buying new tickets or we could be thankful for another day in paradise.  (cue Phil Collins LSS... Hahaha)

I always see my glass as half-full

It really helped a lot that my sister's friends brought us to the airport and they stayed to make sure everything was fine. They immediately helped us try to re-book our tickets, and when that did not work because ZEST-AIR CHEATS, they helped us buy new tickets, and they made sure we had a room ready for us at The Peacock Garden.

Since this is a glass as half-full post, I will limit my Zest-Air rant to 1 line. Zest-Air refused to rebook our rebookable ticket, and they also tried to charge us No Show Fees even when we showed up at the counter but it just happened to close on us. When we argued for our rights, they told us to fax our ticket signed by the counter with the time we arrived, but they also do not accept credit card payments over the phone so it was a losing battle for us to insist on waiving the penalties when we could not transact with them. The other option they gave was to go to a ticketing agent for an additional fee, but then they could not give us the total fee, because they said that our penalties were subject to approval. Their inefficiency pissed me off enough to decide to get a more expensive ticket from their competitor, just so I could deprive them of my business. If I waited for them to sort it out, I can already bet, I would miss the flight the flight tomorrow because I would still be waiting for them. Ooops, sorry, I couldn't rant in 1 line.

Now, back to my half-full glass, these are the things I focused on so I could enjoy getting left behind.

Note: I wrote about The Peacock Garden on the day that we arrived.  You can read about it here.  You can treat this as Part 2. 

1. We absolutely love the food!

If you remember our favorite dish from my first post, we really did order it once a day, to share as planned.

Deep Fried Camembert Day 2

Deep Fried Camembert Day 3

Deep Fried Camembert Day 4

Now, there's a chance to take a picture with all the fingers in one hand :p hahaha

I always try to share food with my sister, so that we can have a salad (which I insist on), a main (to try something new), and dessert.

This is half a serving of Caesar Salad.
My sister loves it because it has more fresh parmesan and bacon than greens.
I just tell myself it's good food me.

Pork Loin with a mustard flavored sauce
This was also good.  To make myself feel better, I donated my fries to Sofia.

For my conscience, I had all the greens...

...then I shared the 10oz Angus Steak with my sister.
It already tastes good on its own, but they serve it with a choice of Red Wine or Blue Cheese Sauce 

We had the homemade ice cream sampler for dessert.
Chocolate Mousse (in the center) is like Fried Camembert for my sister and Sofia.
They also order it everyday, sometimes they even have it twice.

The chef makes the most interesting ice cream flavors. I am trying to write this from memory so I might be wrong.  He has the more conventional flavors like Kahlua Espresso and Rum Raisin, but he also has clearly original flavors like the Coconut and Banana Curry (left most), my favorite Mango Chilli Coriander (yellow spotted scoop beside the curry one), Tropical Malibu (orange scoop), Cranberry Yugurt (pink), etc. 

I loved the Mango, Chilli and  Coriander Ice Cream so much,
I had to have it again the next day, but a big scoop.

My sister and I also tried and liked the Veal Sausage with onion sauce

and the veal cheeks served with mashed potato were very tasty and tender

My other strategy is I influence the orders of others, so I can also taste their food.

Sofia's favorite is Gambas.
She orders it everyday too.

I got yaya to order Salpicao one time.
It's different from the Salpicao we cook at home, but it's also very good.

One time, we ordered bread pudding to share as a pre-dinner snack
It's the first time I've seen bread pudding as a main course, but it's definitely filling.
It's very rich with melted cheese, and a creamy, mushroomy sauce.
I think due to it's richness, it's really best ordered for sharing in the middle.

My sister ordered Goulash which she really loved because it tasted like comfort food.
They serve it with Spätzle and red cabbage

My sister's fried had Tiger Prawns cooked in Peri-Peri Sauce with Spinach Rice
The prawns were ginormous!
I was too takaw to be embarrassed to ask for a bite to try 

I also do the same trick with dessert.

My sister had the poached pear with Vanilla Ice Cream.
This was a daily special and it was also good.
Sofia kept on eating the Ice Cream.

My sister's friend had the chocolate spaghetti with strawberry ice cream
Another unique dessert concoction of the chef.

For our supposedly last meal, lunch this afternoon, we ordered all our favorite light dishes.  This was because we thought we needed to lunch earlier than usual to catch our flight.  We should have just taken our time.

My lunch: half portions of Caesar salad and onion soup
With the house special Pinakwan shake and the Fried Camembert (not in pic)

I had yaya order Beef Stroganoff.
I liked it so much I sort of felt bad I never tried it before the last meal.

So when we missed our flight, my first thought was, I'm having Beef Stroganoff for dinner.  Hahaha.

And I did!

I wonder what we'll be in the mood for tomorrow.

2. We love the Fontana Aurelia Spa

I just realized, I don't have a picture of the Spa. 

I only have Sofia's picture running to the Fontana Aurelia Spa.
The spa has children's treatments available, but Sofia opted to nap instead of having a Chocolate Espresso Scrub or a Foot Massage.

The Jacuzzi beside the steam room will give you an idea of the general feel.

Yesterday, I was able to enjoy the Wild Rice and Dead Sea Salt Scrub, which was so relaxing I feel asleep as I was being scrubbed, and the Green Coffee Anti-Cellulite Wrap. Yes, I'm a sucker for marketing campaigns selling the no pain slimming result!

It's not really that painless... because the green coffee, due to its naturally ingredients,
smells quite bad. hahaha.  but no pain, no gain.

It feels quite nice when they put it on you, because they warm it up. Once you're fully covered in the mask, you're then wrapped in a big plastic sheet for 15 minutes.  The therapist is quite good at multi-tasking because while we were waiting, she did the moor mud mask on my scalp. It had a hint of menthol and felt and smelled really good.

This is how it looks just before you go for a rinse.

I had just enough time for a quick back massage yesterday, and it was over-all, a very relaxing experience. As soon as we realized that we had another day here, my sister's friend immediately booked us for more treatments at the spa.

Tonight, I had an essential body massage and a waterlily facial to soothe my possibly sunburned face. The different thing I've noticed is that they use a Massage Cream, instead of using oil. This leaves you with a just moisturized feeling after the massage, instead of an oily icky feeling. The cream just feels cold at first when they put it on you. 

I'm not really a facial person, but I'm a pamper me person, so when my sister's friend suggested the Waterlily Facial, I said, why not? I absolutely loved it! The therapist started by using a cleanser on my face, then she used an exfoliating scrub on me. At first, I thought it would aggravate the sunburn on my face but surprisingly it didn't even feel uncomfortable. Then she massaged my face with oil. Then she used a paint brush, and started painting the water lily mask on my face. I loved that part. It felt so nice and cool, and it smelled so good too. She kept the mask on for 15 minutes, but multi-tasked again by massaging my neck and shoulders while waiting. After rinsing this off, she used a toner, and finished off by using a moisturizer. It's a treatment that I will willing do again!   

After your treatment, they offer you Pomegranate Iced Tea, or a selection of hot teas

You can just sit and relax in the lounge while sipping your tea after the treatment

The Fontana Aurelia spa only uses Pevonia products.  You can contact them through The Peacock Garden for inquiries or appointments. It's really the perfect place to relax and de-stress or to reward yourself with all that pampering. 

Don't I look totally radiant and relaxed with less-cellulite? :p

3. We love swimming and it's even better with a view!

Sunset

My daughter is like a fish.
She can spend the whole day in the pool.

I love the view day or night.
This is the pool and the bar shot in vivid with my Canon S95.

The infinity pool and the sea.
Shot with the yellow + blue camera filters.

I better catch some Zzzzzzzzzzzs now because I want to make the most of tomorrow... and make sure we don't get left behind again :)