I fell asleep in the car as we reached the first few towns of Ilocos Sur. I woke up and opened my eyes. I thought I was warped back to the Spanish Era. My mum told me happily that we finally arrived and then I smiled. We're finally in Vigan, Ilocos Sur.
Our day one in Ilocos started with a lunch slash merienda at Grandpa's Inn. We ordered a few Ilocano delicacies like the famous longanisa, poque-poque, dinuguan, and pinakbet. I stared at the food, only bothering to eat the longanisa. After that, we walked to the Gordion Hotel where we stayed for our first night. We dropped off our bags and started exploring Vigan. Of course, when in Vigan, start with Kalye Crisologo. At around five o'clock we heard mass at the Vigan Cathedral which was in Ilocano. We went back to the hotel and picked-up Mum, so we could have dinner. We ate dinner at Cafe' Leona which is a known restaurant in Vigan. There were so many customers when we arrived. I ordered eat-all-you-can pasta and California Maki. After dinner we went around Crisologo and went pasalubong shopping.
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| Grandpa's Inn |
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| Gordion Inn |
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| Vigan Cathedral |
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| Shopping at Kalye Crisologo |
Day two started with hotdog, egg and garlic rice. We had breakfast at the hotel which had a restaurant by the ruins. As soon as we were packed and set, we headed to Ilocos Norte where the more interesting events happened. First, we headed to Badoc and saw the church. We then proceeded to Luna House which my most favorite part of the whole trip. It was amazing and I developed an interest for Juan Luna. We went to Paoay church which is one of the most amazing churches. They had really nice Christmas decor especially the Nativity scene. We had lunch at Herencia, which was not so good because of the slow service. But then, the food was good especially the pinakbet pizza and I finally tried the poque-poque which was really good. Now, I'm craving for it. We went to Batac where we looked at Marcos memorabilia. We weren't able to go inside in one place because the caretaker wasn't around. I also had my first Ilocos empanada there. We proceeded to Laoag where we checked-in at Java Hotel. We left our stuff and we went to Santa Monica in Sarrat which is another beautiful church. We went to another Marcos museum which was the birthplace of Ferdinand Marcos. We went next to St. William's church and the sunken bell tower. After that, we had dinner at Chicken Ati-atihan which was good.
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| Badoc Church |
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| Juan Luna and I |
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| Paoay Church |
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| Marcos |
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| Java Hotel |
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| Sta. Monica Church |
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| Marcos Museum |
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| Sunken Bell Tower |
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| St. William's Church |
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| Chicken Ati-atihan |
Day three came and we packed our bags. We headed farther north. Our first stop was the Bangui Wind Mills which was really amazing. The wind was really strong starting from there. We headed farther north to Pagudpod which is the tip of mainland Luzon. Since it is the tip of Luzon, it is already the South China Sea. We went farther and was able to make a short side-trip to Cagayan but immediately went back. We headed South and saw the Cape Bojeador lighthouse which is the only lighthouse in the Philippines. We headed south again to the dome-less bell tower and church in Bacarra. Then, we went back to Vigan at the Gordion Hotel again and ate dinner at Cafe' Leona again. I also learned something about Vigan's history. Vigan was supposed to be attacked by the Japanese but the Japanese commander had a wife in Vigan. He made a deal with the parish priest. He would not let the Japanese attack Vigan as long as he protected his wife and children. Therefore, Vigan was spared. We also had coffee at Leila's cafe' which was a really cool coffee shop with Victorian style decor.
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| Bangui Windmills |
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| Pagudpud with |
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| Cape Bojeador Lighthouse |
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| Dome-les Belltower |
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| Baccara Church |
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| Leila's Cafe |
Day four came which was our final day in Ilocos. I woke up disappointed and saddened about the fact that it was our last day. I had breakfast again at the ruins. Then we headed to Syquia mansion which is the house of the wife of Elpidio Quirino. I learned a lot about the strategic location of the rooms like the girls, being next to the parents so they can keep an eye on them and the boys next to the library for their studies. Then, we went to Villa Angela Heritage House which is also a hotel. We also went to Padre Burgos' house which is just across the Vigan Cathedral. After that we checked out of the hotel. After successfully begging Dad to go to the Bantay Watchtower and Bell tower, we went there after shortly leaving Vigan. It was also a bell tower for the church. We went up the bell tower and I found out I was slowly overcoming my fear of heights. There were different bells for different purposes. The view from the tower was amazing and very strategic. Then, we went southbound toward home.
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| Syquia Mansion |
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| Villa Angela |
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| Burgos Museum |
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| Bantay Church |
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| Bantay Watch Tower and Bell Tower |
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| Bell |
My trip to Ilocos was memorable and fun. I discovered many things and learned a lot. This has been the longest road trip I have ever been in. At the end of the trip, I realized something. Ilocos is now at the top of my most favorite places in the world.
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| Ilocos Sur Ark |
After successfully taking a picture of the arc that separated Ilocos Sur from La Union, I closed my eyes again and braced myself for another long drive.
