THIRD STOP: Queen Margarette Hotel, Lucena City

Rising majestic at the outskirts of Lucena City is Queen Margarette, the premier hotel in Quezon province and the rest of Southern Tagalog. It is a luxury hotel with convention and banquet facilities and the venue for major events in the region. Business conferences as well as personal celebrations of well-heeled Quezonians are held here.

The Queen is owned by a dear cousin of mine, Edna Aycardo Dy and her husband, Francis. This is our third stop in our Cruisin’ Quezon series. We have an invitation to celebrate Ate Edna’s birthday and the blessing of their newest café, Emerald Garden.

The evening starts with cocktails at Emerald Garden Café.

After the ribbon cutting and the blessing, we move to one of the ballrooms for the birthday bash.The entrance of the ballroom is festooned with a giant mask that sets the mood for the

evening.

It’s Mardi gras time! Inside, we are transported to another world. The walls are swathed in colorful drapes. The ceiling is dripping with crystals. I couldn’t decide if the pièce de résistance was the fantastic center stage or the fabulous cuisine.

Entertainment for the night is a rocking performance from a group of dancers. Of course, we also dance the night away and trim the excess pounds from the feast. But the best part of the night is meeting up with a former classmate and the fun time with my cousins. Pretending to be celebrities, we had the official photographer tagging after us to record our red carpet moments. Move over Kris Aquino and Lucy Torres.

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