Artsy Birthday at Bellini's & Pinto Art Museum

I always say that I'm not the creative type of person. For the past birthday's I've had, I'd usually just celebrate it by eating out with my friends...in a place near my house, since I'm lazy like that. Haha! This year, my birthday was made extra memorable (and artsy!) because I spent it in two very beautiful places and in the company of wonderful friends.♥

To start off our day, my friends and I had brunch in Bellini's, located in Cubao Expo. It is a quaint Italian restaurant that offers authentic Italian cuisine. This is also where parts of the movie One More Chance were shot.

The restaurant is an exquisite work of art in itself. Step inside and you'll be transported to Italy! Floor to ceiling murals adorn the entire place. It serves as a beautiful backdrop for photos, don't you agree?

While waiting, complimentary bread sticks were served.

Bellini's serves the best-tasting pasta I've tried so far. In other restaurants, you'd get big servings AKA quantity, but here you'd get quality. You can even opt to have your pasta freshly made. It may be a bit pricier, but it's definitely worth it.

The non-pasta dishes we had were just okay, though. On our next visit, we'd definitely go for pasta again, plus pizza.

With Mr. Bellini

We had complimentary sweet wine to end our meal. Cheers!

Bellini's Italian Restaurant

Cubao Expo, General Romulo Ave., Cubao, Quezon City

(02)913-2550

Open from Monday-Sunday: 11:00-23:00

After lunch, we went to Pinto Art Museum, located in Antipolo, RIzal. This particular trip was very fun for me since it was my first time to visit a museum, for real!

It's actually quite easy to go to this place via commute. We just rode an FX from Cubao to Antipolo (P50.00). We got dropped off near Ynares Center, then took an 8-minute tricycle ride (P40.00/ride, not per person) going to Pinto Art Museum (Grand Heights Subdivision).

 

The entrance of this place was very simple, and it's a stark contrast of all the creative artworks housed inside the 1.2 hectare property. Housed inside the museum walls are over 300 extraordinary paintings and sculptures.

This is one of my favorite paintings - I even made it my phone's wallpaper since it's so colorful. Some parts of the painting look luminous and so alive. This artwork gives that "anything goes" feel.

This sculpture was made entirely of wires. Who knew you could make something this beautiful from scrap materials?

And THIS! This "sculpture" sitting on a swing is my favorite artwork. I was so amazed when I saw it. It has the image of a person that's about to disappear.

The place itself is very lovely. The doors, ponds, even the structure of the buildings are all picture perfect. During our short trip, we saw couples doing their pre-nup shoots here.

I am nothing without You.

It was in this part of the museum where we stayed for quite some time, since the weather was too hot outside. This painting is perfect for photoshoots! ;)

Complete attendance!

 

The traditional "taas kamay and paa" photo I have to do during trips

There was also a room which resembled a real bamboo forest. It was dark, but the concept was very creative.

 

We are the kids that your parents warned you about.

Even on their walls, I saw these cute falling sculptures.

Pinto Cafe is inside Pinto Art Museum. They serve set meals and snacks/desserts such as these Halo Halo and Blueberry Cheesecake ala Mode for around P200.00 each. I liked the Halo Halo since it had salted caramel ice cream on top, but I loved the blueberry cheesecake with the vanilla bean ice cream.

Pinto Art Museum is beyond beautiful. I had a hard time crafting this post, as I was running out of adjectives to describe how amazing the place and the artworks are. You just have to see it for yourself.

Pinto Art Museum
1 Sierra Madre St., Grand Heights Subdivision, 1870 Antipolo, Rizal
(02)6971015
Open from Tuesday-Sunday: 09:00-18:00
pintoartmuseum@yahoo.com

Rates:
P150.00 for regular ticket
P120.00 for senior citizens and PWD with valid IDs
P75.00 for children and students with proper school IDs

I ended the day having dinner with my friends at Shakey's, and they surprised me with this giant cake. Thank you! :D I loved this day since seeing all the artworks made me feel so...cultured. Haha!

I had a very memorable 25th birthday, and I'd like to thank my friends for spending the day with me + #TopeTravelandTours for arranging the day's activities. :)

Love,

Helen

Photo Credits: Helen Blas, Christopher Chan, and Genevieve Go
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