A door in Vigan/Monday Doorways

One of the doorways along the historic Calle Crisologo in Vigan.

Linking to Louis la Vache's Monday Doorways

Crisologo Museum/Monday Doorways & Our World-Tuesday

My first contribution to Monday Doorways---another meme to enjoy.

The main door of the Crisologo Museum in Vigan, Ilocos Sur.  It is housed in a century-old mansion of the Crisologos, a prominent political clan in Vigan.  The museum was established after the patriarch of the family, Floro Crisologo, then a Congressman, was gunned down inside the cathedral in 1970 just as he stood up at Sunday mass to fall in line for communion.  The murder hasn't been solved.

The rooms in the Crisologo mansion exhibit family photos, book collection, antique furniture and china, gowns and shoes of the widow, religious artifacts and other memorabilia.  It basically shows how the family lived in those days---the 20-seat dining table fits the life of a political family.

Crime scene photos, the slain politician's bloody clothes and shoes, news clippings of the murder occupy the former office at the ground floor of the mansion.  They are too gruesome to be posted here.  Crisologo's widow Carmeling, then the provincial governor, promised she wouldn't take any action to exact revenge and she didn't.  But her eldest son Bingbong did, infamously burning down a village occupied by supporters of their family's political opponent.  He went to jail for that and became a born-again Christian.  Some years after his release from prison, he was elected to Congress. Source

Receiving/Living room

The master's bedroom

Vigan is now a safe place, with its 18th century ambiance and calming rhythm of  kalesas clattering on cobblestone streets.  But long before Ninoy Aquino's murder on the airport tarmac, Crisologo's killing inside the cathedral symbolized just how bloody Philippine politics is.  Source

Linking to Our World Tuesday

On the road [Photo Hunt]

@ mirandablue

The dirt road to Kapurpurawan rock formations in Ilocos Norte---a three-kilometer unpaved road that led us to the rugged coast of Burgos, and the amazing sight of the white rock formations.

We were on the road for about 4 hours from the city of Vigan, and we were ecstatic when we finally reached this bridge.  A few minutes from our final destination---the white beaches of Pagudpud.

@ mirandablue

"I have noticed that even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road." ~ Stephen Hawking

And here's one of Metro Manila's major roads, EDSA, on a Monday morning.  This is approaching the tunnel at the intersection of EDSA and Ayala Avenue in Makati City.

@ mirandablue

Posted for Photo Hunt

Closed [Sarado]

@ mirandablue

Nagtataka ka ba kung ano ang nangyayari sa likod ng saradong pinto?  Hindi ka ba natuksong sumilip or maki-tsismis?   O naiisip mo ba ang taong nagtatago sa likod nitong pinto na maaring nabibilanggo sa kanyang sariling mga takot?

Do you wonder what's happening behind closed doors?  Were you ever tempted to take a  peek or eavesdrop?  Or do you imagine a person hiding behind a closed door is imprisoned by real or imagined fears?

Posted for Litratong Pinoy

@ mirandablue

For Thursday Two Questions - you are invited to join and answer these questions:

1.  What did you do last night?
2.  What's the funniest thing you've heard today?

Itchy [Photo Hunt]

@ mirandablue

It was about 4 o'clock on a Saturday afternoon when I noticed people waiting in line at a street corner in Vigan.  At first, I thought they were lined up for a lotto outlet...then I noticed the pink sign.  They were waiting in line to buy pan de sal, the most popular bread in the Philippines, for an afternoon snack.  It is unusual to see customers lining up to buy bread---Mulawin Pandesal must be very popular around here.  The girl in pink looks itchy to get her hands on the freshly baked pan de sal.


A photo of pan de sal here.

Posted for Photo-Hunt

Grandpa's Inn [My World]

@ mirandablue

Grandpa's Inn was recommended to me by a friend in Laoag City.  I was looking for an affordable place to stay in Vigan that is near the Heritage Village and good restaurants.  This inn is at the perfect location in Vigan---it stands at the corner of Bonifacio Street and Quirino Boulevard, a mere 3-minute walk to Calle Crisologo.  The rates are affordable and there are good restaurants within the inn called Cafe Uno and Kusina Felicitas, serving authentic Ilocano cuisine.

@ mirandablue

The entrance to Grandpa's Inn is a brick hallway that leads to the reception area.  The bricks, I gathered, are the original bricks of the 18th century Spanish home of the Donato family.  This is the family's residential house that was converted into a 19-room inn in 1979.  There are curio items at the reception area like an old piano, a violin and trumpets, a couple of antique glass lamps, vintage telephones and brass vases and plates.

@ mirandablue

@ mirandablue

I wanted to experience one of their culturally-designed rooms, unfortunately, they had already been booked.  The inn has the Calesa Beds (horse-drawn carriage), Karison Beds (carabao-drawn farm carriage) and Pasagad Beds (farm sleds).  I was able to peep into the Calesa room and took this photo.  It looks like the calesa beds are only for people about my size...if you're taller than 5'2", you have to sleep in a fetal position.:p

@ mirandablue

Our room was on the 2nd floor, and the photo below is the living room area.  Most of the furniture here are antique, carved wood probably made from narra, combined with solihia (woven rattan).  The inn has a warm, welcoming ambiance of old homes and I was happy to note that there was no musky smell, and we didn't see any ghost!:p

@ mirandablue

@ mirandablue

Our room was cozy and comfortable.  I loved the carved wood headboard, the brick walls and wall-mounted capiz lamps.

@ mirandablue

Stairs to the ground floor/reception area.

@ mirandablue

The inn has a massage service, provides a tour guide for big groups and has free wi-fi.  Grandpa's Inn is a lovely place to stay in Vigan.  

Posted for My World-Tuesday

Miniature [Photo Hunt]

@ mirandablue

A miniature "calesa" or horse-drawn carriage 

Calesa was one of the modes of transportation introduced by the Spaniards in the Philippines in the 18th century that only ilustrados or rich Filipinos and high ranked officials could afford.  They are rarely used in the streets nowadays except in places frequented by tourists and in some century-old preserved cities like Vigan. The miniature horse is carved from wood and the carriage was crafted from metal. I took these photos in Granpa's Inn and Calle Crisologo at the Heritage Village in Vigan, Ilocos Sur.  

@ mirandablue                             Grandpa's Inn, Vigan

 My sister with the real calesa at Calle Crisologo.

@ mirandablue                                                                                                        at Calle Crisologo, Vigan, Ilocos Sur

Posted for Photo Hunt

Calle Crisologo [My World]

No visit to Vigan would be complete until you walked through this street---Calle Crisologo at the Kamestizoan District.  It is a half-kilometer stretch of cobblestoned street lined with 18th century Filipino-Spanish architecture and replete with an old world charm.   While strolling at Calle Crisologo, look up and see the azoteas, capiz windows, ornamental ironwork and imagine young mestizas in  Maria Clara dresses giggling behind their abaniko (a hand-held fan).  The clacking noise of horse-driven carriage we call kalesa completes the ambiance of Vigan more than a century ago.

kalesas along Calle Crisologo

The old mansions at Calle Crisologo now house handicraft and curio shops, some furniture and antique dealers, pension houses and restaurants---I even spied a funeral parlor. We purchased a few touristy items here, also bought Abel-Iloko blankets---handwoven blankets known as Abel-weaving, one of the surviving traditional crafts in Vigan;  browsed through second-hand books, and had coffee at The Perfect Cup, Vigan's version of Starbucks.

Vigan City, the capital of Ilocos Sur and 407 kilometers north of Manila, has the most extensive surviving ancestral houses that dates back to the 15th century Spanish colonial period.  West of the city is the South China Sea, it is accessible by land and by air from Manila, Baguio, Laoag and other parts of Luzon.

old world charm

the most photographed street in Vigan

Calle Crisologo at dusk

This post is linked to My World-Tuesday

Lunch at Cafe Uno - Vigan

Fish Escabeche

We were very tired and sleepy when we arrived in Vigan late Saturday morning.  We've been traveling all night and half of the morning---we just needed to crash.  After checking in at Grandpa's Inn,  I was told at the reception that our room was not ready yet.  We can either wait at the lobby or at Cafe Uno, a quaint corner coffee shop inside Grandpa's Inn where there's free wi-fi.  I turned around to tell my companions, but they're all gone.  I found them all set up at Cafe Uno---in the guise of "working".

        Franzia and Sally "working"                           waiting for lunch to be served

Determined to eat "healthy" and sample authentic Ilocano dishes, we opted for Kusina Felecitas' menu. Kusina Felecitas is the inn's signature restaurant that serves Ilocano cuisine.

Franzia's choice was Ensaladang Talbos ng Kamote (Camote Tops Salad) with bagoong (fish sauce) dressing.  Zhallyn and Franzia drooled over this salad--unfortunately, I don't like kamote tops.:(

The Fish Escabeche failed our expectations.  The fish was fresh but the dish was bland.    

I loved the Ginisang Monggo--and this one has ampalaya (bitter gourd) and Bagnet.  Bagnet is deep-fried pork meat---an Ilocano delicacy.  The Crispy Bagnet was a winner, the side dish of KBL (kamatis, bagoong, lasona or chopped tomatoes, fish sauce and onions) was addicting we had to restrain ourselves from     slurping it or mixing it with steamed rice.

Bagnet is definitely not for those who worry about their clogged arteries.  The oil-soaked Bagnet is cholesterol-laden but the crispier Bagnet is, the harder it is to resist.  We had  Bagnet overload during our 3-day Ilocos trip--Bagnet at lunch and Bagnet at dinner!  Yikes, need to exercise soon!

Posted for Food Trip Friday and Food Friday