Do you agree that spending time with family outside your home is healthy? I do. Sometimes, a change in environment can be relaxing and can pull you out from a rut. Especially when you’ve stayed at home most of the week. I’ve always imagined having several picnics with my small brood but honestly, I feel that family picnics are unusual in the Philippines. Why? Because we barely have areas to lay a picnic mat!
I am not giving up on this fun, creative, and cheap bonding activity though. My first picnic with Ashton was in Luneta Park, it was okay. More recently, we tried Picnic Grove in Tagaytay which was also just okay. From all the areas I tried, my top choice is Ayala Triangle Park.
Ayala Triangle Park
The park is smaller but well-maintained. Sometimes, I wish Ayala Land would buy the Philippines (sorry). The grass area is clean without a spec of plastic wrappings whatsoever. There are plenty of park guards and the park goers are family friendly. We were staying at the Manila Peninsula so one afternoon, we setup an impromptu picnic.
I bought food from a Jollijeep (carinderia on wheels all over Makati, and I will blog separately about other carinderias) and Daddy Az turned his big scarf into a picnic mat. Jollijeeps provide utensils for free, just ask. Of course, the rule of thumb anywhere we go is to bring your own water. This saves us money from buying bottled ones.
When planning a picnic you should also prepare for outdoor activities you can enjoy. We always bring a small soccer ball, next time we’d also bring Ashton’s scooter. Ayala Triangle Park has nice running and biking trails for everyone.
Of course, restaurants line up the park in a nice way. I love BreadTalk so one afternoon, I indulged in a Pork Floss with house coffee while watching Ashton play soccer with other kids. Ahhh I could stay there forever.
TICC – Tagaytay International Convention Center
I bet many won’t know this but after staying in Tagaytay for several weekends now, we’ve adapted to what locals do. TICC is like the PICC in Tagaytay. They have plenty of grounds you can lay a picnic mat on. Just this afternoon, we looked for a shaded area and laid our mat there. The picnic mat is a gift to my mom that I unearthed from her closet. I brought my homemade spaghetti (with some more leftover mozzarella cheese), pandesal, and our own drinking water.
The food was delicious with the Tagaytay breeze. We were the only human beings there and so enjoyed the peace & quiet too. Sometimes you’d ask yourself if it’s legal to have a picnic there especially when you’re the only one doing it. But look, if more moms setup these picnics then more picnic places would pop out and our kids will enjoy more environment instead of whole day strolling in an air conditioned mall.
Note: Above places are free, we also tried other picnic areas which are good but have entrance/cottage fees.
Do you love picnics too? Please share your favorite picnic places and tips via comments below 🙂
