By ERNEST GONZAGA
Last week, a whirlwind of whimsical encounters from one posh destination to the next via land and air, deluged my social calendar, swept off my handy traveling-hobnobbing shoes and inevitably made me eschew a few fab soiree de Manille. Still, c’est magnifique! A little French connection was in order at the onset of the week. It was a marvelous rendezvous with the bon vivant and affable Ambassador of France to the Philippines, H.E. Thierry Borja de Mozota at the fantastique French official residence situated at the haute Forbes Park. The French mansion reminds one of a manor, the facade of which is an enigmatic sight of immaculate French windows in contrast to the verdant wall vines, the quaint vestibule accentuated with an abstract bronze sculpture leads to a spiral staircase to the private rooms and an interconnecting antechamber ushers to the spacious lounge and reception area illuminated by soft lights and a view of the outdoor pool and garden. Though as I linger around the splendid French official home, I was stunned and goose bumps were all over my body. It was a strange and uncanny feeling of sort. I knew I had visited the place some years back; initially I just couldn’t put my finger on it. It turned out that it was the former house of the well-known socialite and TV host the late Elvira Manahan who had a controversial and untimely demise right in her room on the second floor of the house some time ago. Bonte that the feeling immediately went off when the convivial and ebullient Ambassador Mozota started the tête-à-tête amidst flow of wine and luscious canapés.
Traipsing from a French jovial repartee to a getaway with former topnotch Manila model, interior designer and Hongkong based Tess Schoefer, who flew in town for a couple of weeks break. Tess and I flew in to Cebu after spending a day in the Bali-inspired resort house of Via Marquez Hoffman in Nasugbu, Batangas overlooking the breathtaking Nasugbu Bay. Via’s house is nestled atop a multi-leveled hill, inspired with grace, simplicity and serenity, in an oasis that is frequently tempestuous. Unfortunately, the view of the sea wasn’t as spectacular as it once was, as signs of water discoloration were already sighted in the area triggered by a looming coal leak incident cause by a barge carrying approximately a total of 8,100 metric tons of coal from Indonesia that ran aground right in front of Via’ seashore home.
In Cebu City, we settled at the palatial 18-bedroom villa of one of Cebu’s prominent couples, the amiable Oscar and Mariquita Yeung. The sprawling villa located at Bitania Hills in Lahug, Cebu is called Villa Mariquita. The interior design of the mansion was done by Schoefer. We were welcomed and treated to a sumptuous cocktail and dinner by the gracious couple and in attendance were Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, Cebu Congressman Benhur Salimbangon, dashing new politician Glenn Anthony Soco, London based Cora Schweimler, Cebu International Convention Center’s Marisa Nallana, Rick and Clarissa Aznar, Emerson Benedicto, soon to wed couple Cris McKowin and Carla Yeung, Paolo and Michelle Garcia among the few. Everyone enjoyed the mouth-watering Chinese fare, including the famed lechon-Cebu served and the endless pour of pricey wines until the wee hours.
We spent the following day doing a high fashion photo shoot of Schoefer for Images Asia magazine. Cebu’s first-rate designer Carrie Santiago provided the garbs for the photo shoot and took time out from his hectic schedule and assisted us all throughout. The up till now restricted Carrie’s collection is yet to be previewed this October in his Manila fashion show presented by ABS CBN network.
Meanwhile, in Manila there was a party I truly missed, the birthday bash of a dear friend, beauty connoisseur Camille Agbayani held at the exclusive Tower Club in Makati. Of course, Camille’s horde of friends came in full force headed by Camille’s sister Manette Agbayani, Fe Dixon, Geena Zablan, Lani Schoof, Tina Ferreiros, Len Olbes, Beth Victoria, Anna Sia, Cheloy Igancio, Becky Garcia, Carla Sibal, Theodore Cranendock, former Ambassador to the Netherlands Theo Arnold, Manila Hotel’s Leon Keekstra, lawyer Edwin Espejo, Dean Decker, well known aesthetic surgeon Dr. Joni Dizon, Francis Manalo, Richard Tiu and media friends Donnie Ramirez, Resty Vergara and Joy Fong, among others.
In a breeze, the week’s fete whether missed or not were all incredible and awesome. As they say in French, tout est bien, qui finit bien, all’s well that ends well. C’est tres bien!
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