LakByahe: Ilocos Sur: Day 1

So here's our day 1. We arrived at Santa at 11 o'clock in the morning. Had our lunch as post-grad celeb ni Inna at 12 pm. Kunting tambay. And hello sa umpisa ng pag-explore sa Ilocos Sur at around 3pm! :)

Since we got to Sur via bus, our titos and titas contacted a van and hire 'em for our Vigan tour. 

On our way to Vigan, Tita Susan insisted to stop at the view deck to have our picture taken with a eautiful background -- the bridge, river and mountain. The bridge is called Quirino Bridge. At nag-trivia pa si Tito Gilbert! Isa daw 'to sa mga tinawirang tulay ng aming Fadir nung sya'y isa pang siklista. Kaya ayan, napa-pose tuloy kami. ☺

Sorry, but I can't help not to share this cute photo of my cousin, Dora este April Joy. Ang pretty lang kasiiii.

After the picture taking at the View Deck of Quirino Bridge, we head off to St. Agustine Church, Bantay.

Inside the church, there are so many record books where you can write your prayers and petitions. And that's me, seriously writing down all my prayers.♥

The altar of the church

Beside St. Agustin Church is the famous and old bell tower of Bantay. Matanda na ngunit matibay pa. ☺

At syempre, inakyat namin ang bell tower

At ang pinaka-tuktok kung saan lima hanggang sampung tao lang ang pwedeng mag-sabay-sabay ng akyat. Medyo luma na ang mga sahig kaya bongga ang kaba namin ni Aj. See the smiles in our faces? ☺

Groupie sa labas ng simbahan

Bilang ang mga may edad ay nagmamadali na, diretso naman agad kami sa Baluarte.

Different kind of animals is what you'll see in Baluarte. Some just roam around with the visitors and some are roaming around in their big cage.

The lovebirds and the visitors

Oh, and you can ride with the little horse pa.

photo credit: Jarie

Medyo f na f lang namin ni Jam ang mag-picture sa kanyon. Hihi.

 

The groupie

This is one of the funny photos taken during our visit in Baluarte. E kasi naman, todo pose kami sa harap ng cage ng isang tiger at kume-Katy Perry pa ang peg namin tas puro blurred pala ang kuha ni Tita Gina. Sayang nemen ang effort! Hahaha!

Afte Baluarte, ang last but not the least is the Heritage Village,Vigan City! Ika nga, save the best for last. Yey! Those old houses and emapanada! Nakakaatat!

Sabi nila, this is where you can eat delicious homemade Vigan and other Pinoy cuisines. E sa dami namin, goodluck naman. Haha. Pwede next time na lang? Kaya 'yan, papicture na lang outside the cafe. :) 

Famous in Antique pieces -- Lucy's Antique Shop

One thing you'll notice in the Heritage Village at isa sa nagpapapuno at nagpapaganda at nagbibigay paninindigan sa pagka-old ng lugar, ay ang mistulang parada ng mga kalesa. ♥

Gandang-ganda si Kuya and Jam dito sa building na 'to. Parang ang sarap kasi mag-Evita Peron dito oh. 

Ito yung mga pictures ng in-effort ni Kuya:

Oh di ba? Pumo-potograpiya! ♥
Photos edited by me. (Kelangan nasa eksena din no? Haha)

Teka. Empanada kamo? Go to Calle Crisologo and look for Irene's! Hihi.

The made-to-order yummy empanada filled with vegetables, egg and Vigan's longanisa. Waaaah. I ate two or three of this! Their sawsawang suka is yummy too! This is a part of heaven for me! Haha!

Si Ate Shawie at Kuya Gabby. Hahaha.

Happy faces. Full tummies.

We we're trying to look for Rowilda's Loom Weaving to personally see Abel weavers pero sa gulat namin, we saw a familiar face! We bumped into our cousin, Michael (the payatot but cute in yellow shirt). He was in Vigan for their educational trip. Truly, world is soooo small! ♥

Groupie photos sa Heritage Village ☺

The Calles in Heritage Village is so clean kahit na napakaraming tao/turista/bisita ang nagtutungo. ♥ Soooorrry. But i changed color of the photos. Gusto ko lang ma-achieve ang pag-ka-old ng setting. Hihi.

After eating empanada at Irene's and the souvenir-buying, we decided to go to Plaza Salcedo na since malapit na mag-7:30pm. But we found ourselves eating empanada again while the kids and Tito Simeon and Tita Susan ate at Mcdonald's.

Evelyn's Empanada's yummy too pero medyo di kami na-satisfy. Parang ang unti ng laman. :( For us, it's Irene's who won our heart and tummy! Sorry Evelyn's. (Madami naman kayong customer kaya di nyo kami kawalan. Haha.)

Groupie photos while waiting for Evelyn's Empanada. At sa sobrang dami ng umo-order sa kanila, medyo matagal kami naghintay kaya nag-isaw/barbecue/hotdog muna kami sa gilid. Hihi.

Ang cute kasi ng Mcdonald's dito kaya di namin napigilang mag-picture. Umo-old building din kasi ang peg oh. ♥

Ito na talaga. After the street-food-trip, we went to Plaza Salcedo. Since, di pa naman umpisa ang dancing fountain, we passed by the Cathedral of Vigan kaya lang sarado na. Kaya hanggang labas lang at nag-picture taking na lang. Hihi.



At sa spotlight ng Cathedral, ay may nagpapaka-artista ang peg pero may nag-photobomb. Hayaan na lang natin at siya ang nag-finance nitong bakasyon. Haha.

The Cathedral of Vigan

Medyo matagal-tagal pa nag-start ang Dancing Fountain kaya Kuya decided na bumili muna kami ng mga nakalimutan naming bitbitin sa bakasyon na ito -- toiletries, slippers, medicines ko. At napatagal kami kaya itong Ate Car e todo tawag na. Yun pala, umpisa naaaaa. Ayun. Mega madali ang mga lola nyo at ito nga ang bumulaga sa'min.

I super enjoyed the Dancing Fountain and the crowd/audiences. Seems everyone is on a party mode lalo na sa gilid na kung saan pwede kang magbasa at maligo habang sumasayaw at nagpapakasaya. Sayang kasi di namin alam disin sana'y nagdala kami ng extra clothes. Haha. (Sayang din at di na namin nakunan kasi lowbat na ang camera and phone ni Kuya)

But we ended the night with this photo (pinilit kahit lowbat na ang phone), to remind us that we enjoyed this place so much and it inspired us to travel more. It is also an affirmation of our long dream. Which is, to see first the beauty of the Philippines before exploring the beauty of the whole world. 

Sorry sa mga mata naming ni-reflect ang flash. Haha!

That's it for my Day 1 of Ilocos Sur diary! Please come back for the Day 2! But first, please read our Day 0 muna kung di mo pa nababasa. Enjoy!