Home Away from Home - Baguio City (Day 3)

How do I tell what happened on my last day in Baguio? :)

In the morning of my last day in Baguio, went to Our Lady of Atonement Cathedral along Session Road. Then pray for personal intentions and then took a shot of the church's facade.

Here's the shot of the Cathedral's facade. 

Then, went again to 50's diner for breakfast and after that headed home to freshen up.

Paid a visit to Philippine Military Academy via Loakan Road. Luckily, there was an honoring service for an official of Philippine Air Force, (I think a retiree.) so the plebes and other selected students of the academy are all lined up for the parade. :)

Here are some of the shots from the honoring service.

The Officials.

Of course, my visit will never be complete without a photo op with the cadets! Here they are! All snappy in their cadet uniform!

I also took a shot of the basic trainer plane of the Philippine Air Force Pilots. The SF 260 M Marchetti.  

After the ceremonies, went to SM Baguio to have late lunch. But instead I found myself sitting in Starbucks munching the famous raisin bread I bought from the Cordillera store inside the mall. 

It was the best tasting bread ever! No joke! I am not a bread-type of person, but for this one, I am willing to be converted! Hahaha

Here is the raisin bread I am talking about.

full of raisins!!! it's soo yummehh!

Stayed for a while in the coffee shop until my departure arrives. By 16:00 went back to Victory Liner to get my ticket and then boarded the bus going back to Manila. 

Home Away from Home - Baguio City (Day 2)

Goodness! Sorry for taking a month to actually write the sequel to my Baguio trip. Anyway, moving on, let's see if I can still remember the details of my Day 2 stay in Baguio. =)

Day 2 - 18 October 2013

Because it is so cold in Baguio, I wake up a little bit earlier than the usual. I checked it using the instaweather app and it says 15 degrees! Woohoo! This rarely happens in Manila so I took advantage of it! I decided to shred some bad fats away by having an early morning jogging/run at Burnham Park. =)

It was no surprise to see locals jogging or running around the park. I even saw old people doing crunches in benches and groups of people dancing to the tune of hiphop music while following their leader in their aerobic exercise. (I felt really inspired when I saw this 'coz these people value their health so much, they find time to do these things even if it was a weekday! No wonder, halos payat ang mga taga-Baguio! ;) )

let's do this!

Here are some of the photos of the park I took while resting.. hehehe..

After running for an hour, I decided to get breakfast at 50's Diner! It is located at 92 Upper Gen. Luna Road cor. Brent Road. If you're coming from Burnham Park, you can ride a jeepney going to Mines View Park or to avoid too much hassle, you can just get a cab and tell the driver to bring you there.

As the name suggests, this is a 1950's inspired diner that offers mostly American Cuisine. Inside, you will see waitresses wearing pink and dainty uniforms. The place is also surrounded with pictures from the 50's era. An example of which is that of famous celebrity Marilyn Monroe.

50's diner has a wide selection of menu. But I just ordered this.

tapsilog

After breakfast, I went home to freshen up. Then I went to SM Baguio. It was a 3-day sale during that time so there were so many people so I just went ahead to my next itinerary. But before going, I went to the viewing deck and took this picture. I just love how the cold weather here makes the sky so blue. :)

Because the weather in Baguio is cold for almost the entire year, it can sustain the growth of pine trees. And what better way to enjoy this is to take a walk in the park and savor the cool morning breeze! 

Well, I just went to some of the parks that is accessible to me. First stop is Wright Park. This place is surrounded mostly by pine trees. And as you can see from the photo below, there is this portion in the park where you have to walk (I think) a hundred steps before you get to the top. (This looks like that of Lourdes Grotto though)

 Because I was alone in this trip, a selfie is definitely in order. hahaha

Overview of the Wright Park, opposite it is The Mansion

Opposite Wright Park is The Mansion. This is where the President of the Philippines stays whenever he is around the area. 

And here is a picture of me in front of The Mansion. As you can see, a manger is already set up in time for Christmas already! :)

Next stop is the Botanical Garden. There's nothing spectacular about this place except for the Igorots who are sitting in front of the gate whom you can ask to take a picture with. Here's a tip: These Igorots will not allow you to take a picture with them unless you give something in return. =) They prefer monetary donation though.

Then, next stop is the popular Mines View Park. It is a jeepney ride away from Botanical Garden and it is a go to place for tourists who want buy Baguio's delicacies specially Ube Jams, peanut brittle, (all can be bought at Good Shepherd) souvenir items and or if they want to have a picture with the famous St. Bernard of Baguio. There is also an observation deck where you can see the breathtaking panoramic view of Benguet's gold and copper mines and the surrounding mountains that unfold before you.

 Sorry for the crappy photo. That's the mines view btw. hehehe

After I shopped for pasalubong, I asked the driver to drop by Camp John Hay because I wanted to see The Manor. Thank you to my cooperative driver, he took this shot as remembrance. 

I was so tired when I arrived home that did not notice I fell asleep already. It was only by 20:00 that I woke up and decided to have dinner at Session Road. My choice, Pizza Volante. 

I ordered the famous Pesto Pasta, pepperoni pizza and a glass of mojito. Can I just say that the mojito here is so strong compared to Beso Vinoteka's version? 

After dinnering, the night is still young. So I went to Burnham Park again for the night market (ukay-ukay).

That's it for my second day in Baguio! More fun activities coming up in my last day! :) Hope you enjoyed today's entry! :)

Home Away from Home - Baguio City (Day 1)

It's been a while! I haven't visited my blog for so long since I have become busy with work and my hospitalization. =( Yes, I had an accident from playing badminton.. anyway, enough about that already.. I just want to share my first solo Baguio Trip I had last October! =)

I have been planning to visit Sagada or Bicol region during my MTA (Mandatory Time Away) because I haven't been to these places and I just want to relax. But for some reasons, I wasn't able to go to these places because my travel buddy had some problems with the schedules and financial stuff. So I just decided to go to Baguio, thinking I'll be able to get some time off all alone! Hahaha..

So one fine Thursday (17 October 2013), I decided to travel alone. My dad finally approved of this and so he accompanied me to Victory Liner in Cubao to buy my ticket. =)

I am quite excited because travelling alone is something that I haven't done for years. Although I have been to Baguio once, it still excites me knowing that I'll be experiencing living on my own. (I said to myself, "Praktis na rin 'to pag nagsolo/move out na ako!")

I left Cubao Station at 07:00 and calculating the travel time, I will arrive Baguio by 14:00. 

I left Manila with an empty stomach. That's why, after two hours, I wanted to jump off the bus already to get some food! I had no ready to eat food inside my bag nor candy and so I had to wait for the next bus stop! It was only by 10:00 that I was able to grab some snack when our bus stopped by Tarlac.

Two more hours on the road and we reached Sison Victory Liner Bus Stop. I didn't eat heavy lunch because, in about 1.5 hours, I will reach my destination already. I just ordered Squidballs there to keep my tummy at bay by the time I reach Baguio. 

I reached Baguio at exactly 14:30. I didn't have a hard time finding my transient home since it is the same home that we have stayed when me and my BPI colleagues went there 2 years ago. It just felt odd at first since the room is good for 6 and I will be sleeping there all alone. Hahaha

Since I was tired from the 7 hour long drive to Baguio, I just decided to spend the night in my new home there resting. For dinner, I read about this restaurant that offers generous servings of their menu, Good Taste Restaurant. 

Because this will be my first real meal for the day, I ordered the following: Siomai Soup, Fried Rice, Half Buttered Chicken and Miki Bihon. All orders are good for 4 except, Siomai soup and rice. I had to take home the excess and eat it for breakfast the following day!

I was so full that night. And by 17:00 outside, it was so cold already. So, when I finally reached my home, I decided to take a picture of the neighborhood. I asked my former colleague who is also staying in a nearby hotel what the temperature was in their room. She said, "Bless, 25 degress dito at naka-aircon kami!" Apparently, temperature outside is much colder than inside the hotel. I checked it using InstaWeather App. Hahaha! It says, 16 degrees! Woohooo! Bed weather indeed!

I had to turn off the fan already. It was so chilly! I had to make use of 2 blankets just to keep myself warm that night!

That's it for my first night in Baguio! I slept early because I know I'll be on a much more adventurous day the following day! =)