The Collective @ Makati is really full of gastronomic wonders! It was here where I discovered the hottest chicken wings (at Wingman) and honey coffee flavored vegetarian ice cream (at Ritual). Lately, our visits to The Collective are triggered by this merienda craving for Ilocos empanadas. And these are not your ordinary Ilocos empanadas, mind. The restaurant ... READ MORE
Snapshots of our Ilocos Tour 2012
Now that we're done with most of the Christmas reunions and cleaning our apartment, I can relax a bit and organize the rest of the pictures from our Ilocos tour. You've seen most of the highlights of our tour: the picturesque Kapurpurawan Rock Formation and Kabigan Falls, and the impressively designed Malacanang of the North. Below are the other highlights of our Ilocos ... READ MORE
Malacanang of the North (“Malacanang Ti Amianan”)
Before I totally get busy again (in preparation for the New Year), I wanna show you one of the landmarks we visited in Laoag, Ilocos Norte during our 2-day stay there. The Malacanang of the North (“Malacanang Ti Amianan”) served as the official residence/mansion of the late President Ferdinand Marcos whenever he's in Ilocos. It's located in Suba, Paoay and sits on a land ... READ MORE
The Secret Wonders of Ilocos Norte: Kapurpurawan Rock Formation and Kabigan Falls
While numerologists and ordinary folks alike were preparing for or discussing about the end of the world last December 21, 2012, AJ and I were vacationing at Laoag and Pagudpud in Ilocos Norte, unmindful of all the hype about end of the world date (if there is such one). We were actually in Ilocos in December last year, but there were 2 special places that we weren't able to ... READ MORE
A Weekend at Laoag
Sorry for the blog hiatus. I was at Laoag last weekend for work and I'm glad we managed to have some R&R there as well. There's just so much to see! AJ and I were there last December but it was in my second visit that I was able to see the town of Sarrat and stayed at Fort Ilocandia Resort Hotel. Fort Ilocandia Resort really has a very pretty landscape that is ... READ MORE
Day 2 in Ilocos: Laoag and Pagudpud (continuation)
In my last post about our 2nd day in Ilocos, I mentioned about Paoay's best secret. It's none other than their famous sand dunes and Kuya Jeremy really urged us to give it a try as it's an experience that we will never forget. When we made a brief stop over at the Paoay Lake Viewdeck, Kuya Jeremy by then has sold us the idea of seeing the sand dunes and going for the ... READ MORE
Day 2 in Ilocos: Laoag and Pagudpud
Our 2nd day in Ilocos was spent at Laoag and Pagudpud. The travel to Laoag from Vigan was approximately 2 hours and we were arrived in Laoag shortly before 8 a.m. A visit to Laoag won't be complete without seeing the Paoay Church, famous for its distinct architecture highlighted by the enormous buttresses on the sides and back of the building (from Wikipedia). Next we ... READ MORE
Vintage Vigan
Before I write the travelogue of our recent 3-day trip in Ilocos, let me share with you the photos I took when we went to stroll around the famed Calle Crisologo in the heart of Vigan, south of Ilocos. This is just a preview of the many other wonderful places we went to see there. Calle Crisologo boasts of many old houses that dates back to the Spanish period (or the ... READ MORE