The Farm at San Benito

So, as we get ready to embark on our last great travel spree, I figure I should blog about some of our past trips for posterity. In mid-Sep, Husband and I went to The Farm at San Benito, which was his birthday gift to me. This lush little paradise is tucked away in a town called Lipa City just outside of Tagaytay. We left early on a Friday afternoon and made it down there in about an hour, so it is very close to Manila.* The Farm is meant to be a place to detox and relax. All of the food is raw and organic, and it was delicious! Even Husband loved the food options so much that we bought to cookbook (for me to attempt after the pregnancy, natch). 

Another big draw to the Farm is the spa there, which offers just about everything under the sun. Unfortunately, as I'm discovering at many places in the Philippines, there isn't a whole lot I can do while I'm pregnant. There is a strong belief here that touching a pregnant woman in the wrong way can cause her to go into labor, so I was limited to getting a prenatal massage, which was very disappointing considering the vast menu of services they offer at their spa. I did also take a couple of yoga classes, but I had to modify the moves myself and the instructor did not seem to know what to do with me. 

We stayed for 3 days/2 nights, and I thought that was a perfect little getaway from the city. The staff was lovely and very accommodating, certainly one of the best customer service experiences we've had in the Philippines. We also discovered that the place is very pet friendly, so we decided that we would have our driver bring the two little ones and our dog down for the day on our last day there, so they could also enjoy the experience. The grounds are quite large, and the kids really enjoyed exploring all the little nooks and crannies in the half day they spent there. The Farm is meant to be a retreat, though, so I'm not sure it's really appropriate to bring your children for long periods of time, but we did see a few other kids there. 

*Higher traffic times would probably equate to a 2-3 hour drive