Bella storia

Life is a story, or rather, a series of stories, and often, it's in the re-telling of these stories that they come alive, sometimes taking on a life unexpected.

- DOREEN G. YU

Memories are funny, they play tricks on us; what one remembers about a person or thing or event may be quite different from what another person recalls. Samesame, but not same, as they say.

I recently took part in two walks down memory lane, each a beautiful story, and did so with a raucous, rambunctious group of friends who turn any and every get together into an all-out near riot. My title comes from a wine-surprising for one who doesn't drink the Bella Storia Merlot, an organic Italian red that drew unanimous raves and was the highlight of a special anniversary dinner the gang attended.

We spent a wonderful chilly weekend at the Taal Vista Hotel to celebrate the lighting of its towering Christmas tree of capiz parols crafted by the artisans of Pampanga, as well as its 85th anniversary, which featured a dinner of amazing surprises that chef Jayme Natividad conjured up. Think chocolate ravioli, Caesar's salad as an aspicjelly, chicken pot pie as a soup, paella as tutong and a chocolate volcano, complete with smoke, for dessert.

All of us being seniors, we remember it as Taal Vista Lodge, where you can have halo-halo in a half coconut shell while looking out onto the volcano crater and lake, pulling your sweater close because then as now, the breeze was to us city folks downright cold.

It was Commonwealth president Manuel Quezon who thought of developing Tagaytay as a tourism draw.