Baguio revisited day 3

This is our last day at the City of Pines; we would have extended our unplanned vacation, but we received the news that my sister had given birth to her second princess a while ago. So we packed our things and decided to cut short our vacation. Before we went down, we decided to visit the Mansion house and the adjacent Wright Park. We were not able to take pictures of the place because some of my companions were more interested in buying souvenirs and "pasalubongs". On our way to the Kennon Road, we dropped by at Ibays Silver Works to buy some... your guess is right; we bought some silvers.

Then it's bye-bye to Baguio...

Lunch was held at a chicken house halfway from Baguio to Manila...

Baguio revisited day 2

This was our second day at the City of Pines, and this day was very special to us because this was my brother's birthday (1/11/11). While my brother was preparing their breakfast (which consisted of ripe mango, banana, yogurt and some ice cold drinks), I invited my parents for an early walk. We headed to the Good Shepherd convent but it was still closed, so we decided to go uphill and proceed to Mines View Park to, what else, view the park. I told my parents that it was good to visit the Mines View Park very early in the morning to catch the rising sun behind those beautiful mountains, and that is what really happened.

Then we headed again to the town to visit other tourist attractions; we went to the Grotto to pray. But going to the Grotto was not easy, because I forgot the right road leading to it, so we had to navigate the long "shortcut" and alas, we found the place just in time. Two of our companions chose to use the stairs leading to the Grotto, while the senior citizens (my parents) rode with me in the car on the way up to the Grotto. Again, ambulant vendors swarm on us selling all kinds of religious items, like fresh strawberries (?).

After praying and "tacsyapo-ing" in the Grotto, we had to return to the Baguio market because my brother wanted to buy some items in the market (and experience first hand how a pickpocket works). We dropped them there, and I told my parents that I will bring them to the Baguio slaughter house located at Brgy. Sto. Nino for our breakfast. This was literally a slaughter house, but some enterprising guys put up a restaurant where you can eat the newly slaughtered meat, cooked Filipino-style.

After that, we again returned to the market to fetch my brother and his companion. I then suggested to them that we visit the Tam-awan village, to which they all agreed. They all asked me about what we can expect of the Tam-awan village; I frankly told them that I had no idea. When we arrived at the village, everybody was amazed at the beautiful native huts and works of art by resident artists; I learned from one of the staff of the village that you can't rent the huts. Another attraction of the village was the "sketch artist" who, for a minimal fee, will draw your portrait "live".

Next on our itinerary was the strawberry farms, but when we asked some locals on how to get there, a guy told us that it was about 8 kilometers from where we are (Tam-awan), so the idea was scratched. Someone then suggested that we should eat our lunch and, in my mind, I know it was SM Baguio time again. So off we went at Gerry's Grill.

Baguio revisited day 1

Whenever I hear someone is going to Baguio or to any other place outside of Manila, I feel a tingling sensation on my spine. For me, that translates to a vacation. So when my brother and my parents told me that they were going to Baguio, I personally invited and volunteered myself to become their personal driver, come bodyguard, tour guide and porter.

Our "take off" schedule was 7 am sharp, and boy, did I think that everyone was excited, because at exactly 7 am, we were cruising the NLEX (North Luzon Expressway) on the way to Dau exit, going further to the connecting SCTEX (Subic, Clark, Tarlac Expressway).

Our first stop was at Idaan restaurant, located in Gerona Tarlac, which was always advertised as "halfway to the North". This is a themed restaurant (a la Disneyland) that floats in water with big statues of different varieties. There is also a bridge called "One Kilo Bridge"; if you can cross the bridge and avoid falling in the water, the establishment will give you a free kilo of fish, which you can cook the way you want it. Another attraction is the Tacsiyapo wall where you can throw just about anything to release your angst. After taking some pictures, we headed off to our target destination, Baguio.

Upon arriving in Baguio, the first thing I noticed (except for the very cool weather) was the way they handled their traffic problem. The last time I went there, the traffic was a big joke. But now, the flow is manageable, thanks to one-way streets and re-routing plans. Because we arrived in the city of pines at mid-afternoon, we decided to take our late lunch at Barrio Fiesta restaurant. The food was good, but the serving was bad. Likewise, the place was good, but the waiter was bad.

After our late lunch, we then proceeded to the Tower condominium, located at Gilbratar St., near Mines View Park and a convent. This is the place where we will be staying for the rest of our vacation. One of our companions, who knows someone who happens to know the owner of the place, was the one responsible for our minimal rent fee. After disembarking and having given our room assignment, it's time to doze off to recharge.

First on our itinerary is the famous Burnham Park and Session Road. They say that you've never been to Baguio if you didn't see these places of interest. Here, you can see lots of people from all walks of life, and most of all, there are a lot helluva vendors plying their trade. Well, that is common in tourist destinations like Baguio anyways.

Dinner time comes and we decided to eat at SM Baguio... what? Traveling for almost five hours just to eat at SM Baguio? I think I saw three to four SM's on our way up to Baguio. Anyway, that was the decision of the majority, and as the designated personal driver, come bodyguard, tour guide and porter, I have no choice but to follow. While we were eating out at SM Baguio, one of our companions noticed that there were tears in my eyes as I was eating my half done steak. I told him that it was a tear of Joy (pun intended). But really, those tears belonged to the steaks that I was eating, because, as I wanted to explain to him, in Manila, I ate steaks at all SM outlets three to four times a day.

the morning after

Nabigyan na naman ang mga party pipol na magwala, yan naman yata talaga ang ugali ng mga tao kapag may okasyon. Saan ka ba naman nakakita na magsasagad sa toma habang hinihintay ang paghihiwalay ng taon, tapos kapag sagad na sa alak ay magpapaputok naman ng goodbye philippines.

Sabagay minsan nga lang sa isang taon iyan. Ang nakakatuwa lang sa tradisyong ito ay yung pagpapalitan ng mga pagkain ng mga magkakapit-bahay.

Kaya ang laman ng mesa namin kagabi ay pancit na may mani, pancit na kulang sa gulay, pancit na lasang menudo, pancit na may lamang tirang fried chicken. Tapos may nagbigay din ng macaroni salad na kamukha at kalasang kalasa nung makaroni salad na pinamigay ko rin sa mga neighbor.

Ganito ang nangyari, nung nagpamigay ako ng ginawa kong macaroni salad sa mga neighbor, yung palang isang neighbor ko ang nakatanggap ng macaroni salad ay yung kasambahay nila. Hindi naman alam nung may ari ng haws na sa akin galing ang macaroni salad na iyon. Nung inutusan naman niya ang kanyang kasambahay na pagbibigyan din ng luto nilang macaroni salad kaming mga neighbor, ang naipadala sa kanya para ibigay sa aking macaroni salad ay yun din mismong bigay ko sa kanilang salad. Siempre natatakot kontrahin nung kasambahay yung amo niya at sabihing galing din sa akin ang nasabing macaroni salad. Kaya hayun nagbalikbayan ang macaroni salad ko. (take note: dun pa nilagay sa lalagyan na pinadala ko rin sa kanila).