Plantation Bay at Cebu, Philippines

For our Thanksgiving break, we headed to Cebu, Philippines.  Specifically, we were at Mactan Island, which is right next to Cebu.  We stayed at Plantation Bay Resort & Spa (Kristin enjoyed that last part) from Wednesday through Sunday.  A beautiful resort with tons of activities for our kids.  Here are just a couple of pictures of the resort and our room.

 This was the pot outside our room that held the water where we could wash our sandy feet.  Note the handle says "Plantation Bay".

 Salt water lagoons through-out the resort.  This is not actually the ocean, but felt a lot like it.

 Our suite.  Two bedrooms like this.  Only the bedrooms were closed off and air conditioned.  The rest of the suite was outdoors.

 This was the building our unit was in. 

 A view of the ocean from the resort. 

Thanksgiving Summary

As Kristin would say, we didn't have room for a turkey in our Singapore oven, so off we went to the beach (Cebu, Philippines) to celebrate Thanksgiving. This is just a short post as a summary of our Thanksgiving fun.

 

Thanksgiving Dinner in Cebu, Philippines

Our Thanksgiving Turkey in Singapore (done for a school decoration)

Our Thanksgiving Tree (girls hand cut-outs) with each person's list of what they are thankful for.  You will also notice a couple of turkeys in the foreground, made by Emily and Jenna.

 A selection of pictures from our Thanksgiving fun in Cebu. 

Dad and Emily at Emily's Thanksgiving Party at school.  She did a great job participating in a Thanksgiving reading.

Tea at Raffles Hotel

Tea (or I've been told High Tea) at Raffles Hotel is a treat.  For such a treat, we went with the Gardners during their visit.  It was nice, if you are into those types of things.  I was on my best behavior.  Beautiful hotel with beautiful views of the city.  Below are just a few pictures from our very cultured day at the Raffles Hotel.

 The ladies enjoying their outing.

 Kristin's plate. 

The Singapore Bird Park

Another holiday in Singapore means that we are off for another adventure.  This time, we went to the Jurong Bird Park.  A beautiful setting, with lots of birds.  Everyone's favorite part was the bird show, with funny pelicans, tall flamingos, owls, parrots, and many other flying creatures. 

Some species of bird that we weren't familiar with.

 

Waiting for the show to start.

The Super Trees

The Gardens By The Bay also includes the Super Trees.  These are monstrous man-made trees that also are solar powered.  Several of these trees have walk ways that connent them, and one is even a restaurant.  That we will have to do some other time.  This time, we just walked around them and enjoyed the scenery.

Look how big the Super Trees are!

 

A few tame lions around the Gardens By The Bay.

I guess we needed a drink. 

Beautiful views.  What an amazing city.

Gardens By The Bay (2)

More Gardens By The Bay, as we headed for the Flower Garden.

Our sweet Anna and Emily

The crazy sisters

Gardens By The Bay

A new park opened just after we moved to Singapore called Gardens By The Bay.  A beautiful park down near the ocean and Marina Bay, with incredible views of the city.  We visited for our first time with Phil and Jeanne Gardener, who was visiting us from Peoria.  We had a great time, and will highly recommend this adventure to any who visit us in Singapore.

A family picture at the top of the Cloud, one of the indoor gardens at Gardens By The Bay.

A picture of the girls with Phil and Jeanne. A huge waterfall as you enter the Cloud ... meant if you wanted a picture, you might get wet.

Fun with the waterfall ... and umbrellas.

A picture to show the height of the Cloud and the walk ways around the building.  Amazing place.

Views from inside the Cloud looking out towards the city.

Some of the many beautiful features that we saw.

 

Family picture in the mouth of the lion.