Saturday, March 30, 2013

Ilocos Diaries: What to Do in Vigan

Vigan is such a small town that one day is enough to explore the city. It's best to hire a private van so that it would be easy to navigate the different places you want to see within Vigan.

Here are the attractions we went to:

1. JUAN LUNA ANCESTRAL HOUSE AND SHRINE
We first dropped by the Juan Luna house in Badoc, Ilocos Norte since it was on the way from Laoag to Vigan. Juan Luna is an acclaimed Filipino painter whose most famous work Spolarium is housed at the National Museum.

IMG_8292


IMG_8275


The two story home made of clay bricks and molave wood is the largest colonial house in Badoc. Aside from seeing where Juan Luna lived during the early part of his life, the home also pays homage to Juan Luna with reproductions of his work and other memorabilia displayed at the first floor.
IMG_8298


IMG_8280


IMG_8286

      IMG_8284


IMG_8291

2. BANTAY BELL TOWER
The Bantay Bell Tower, built in 1591, served as the city's watchtower against possible enemy attack. One needs to climb a few flights of stairs to have a brid's eye view of Vigan from the tower.

IMG_8308



IMG_8316

Bantay Bell Tower is also popular because the movie Panday starring Fernando Poe Jr. shot some scenes here. See the hole? It was courtesy of the Panday crew who made the cut for a crucial part of the movie. WTF!
IMG_8318


IMG_8319
Movie Over History

3. ST. AGUSTINE CHURCH
A few meters from the Bantay Bell Tower is St. Agustin Church, one of the oldest surviving churches in Ilocos Sur. It's impossible to miss the church when going to Bantay Bell Tower.
IMG_8328

 4. BALUARTE
Baluarte is a zoo owned by Chavit Singson featuring exotic animals that roam freely within the complex. Admission is free but I couldn't help but feel bad for the animals because they looked lonely and out of their element. Don't forget to take a picture with the tigers which Baluarte is famous for.
IMG_8355


IMG_8336


IMG_8345



IMG_8353


IMG_8358


IMG_8363

5. RUBY JAR FACTORY
Ruby Jar Factory is said to be recognized by the National Commission for the Culture and the Arts for its exceptional skill and ingenuity in traditional jar making. Visit the factory to see how jars are made.
IMG_8415


IMG_8386


Whenever a group arrives, a demonstration is conducted by this expert jar maker. Those who want to try are given the chance. It might look easy but it's actually not!
IMG_8397


IMG_8401


IMG_8388

6. CAFE UNO
In the middle of touring Vigan, we made a pit stop at Cafe Uno for lunch. Cafe Uno, Uno Grille, and Kusina Fecelitas are operated by Grandpa's Inn so we were able to cross-order from the three restaurants.
IMG_8370

What we had for lunch:
IMG_8373
Crispy Bunog 
Just like tawilis, it was easy and addicting to eat.

IMG_8376
Vigan Longganisa


IMG_8374
Bagnet
I was getting tired of eating longganisa and Bagnet at this point. 

IMG_8372
Gamet Soup 
Soup of seaweeds and bennek, a local fresh water shell. 

IMG_8371
Yema
Horribly bad. We have yet to hit the jackpot when it comes to sweets at this juncture of the trip.

7. SYQUIA MANSION
The 6th president of the Philippines, Elpidio Quirino, hails from Vigan and Syquia Mansion is his wife's ancestral home. Syquia Mansion is one of my favorite stops in Vigan.
IMG_8476


IMG_8419

With the help of our very friendly tour guide, we were able to go back in history and relive how the wealthy Filipinos used to live. 
IMG_8442


IMG_8422


IMG_8450


During the administration of Pres. Quirino, functions were also held at the Syquia Mansion. I can imagine that they frequently used this spacious dining hall for meetings. 
IMG_8434


IMG_8425


IMG_8453


The mansion is still being used by members of the Quirino family when they are in Vigan. Here's where Cory Quirino stays when she is in town.
IMG_8462


IMG_8431


IMG_8446


IMG_8440

8. CALLE CRISOLOGO 
Calle Crisologo is the main tourist attraction of Vigan. It is filled with Spanish style houses along  cobblestone streets. 
IMG_8492

IMG_8487


We took a calesa to tour us around the block. It was a great way to see the streets without exerting much effort.
IMG_8497


IMG_8515

IMG_8517

IMG_8532

What surprised me was how commercial Calle Crisologo is. The souvenir shops and restaurants that lined the street ruined the mood for me.
IMG_8558

IMG_8493

IMG_8577


IMG_8569

IMG_8565

IMG_8557

We did stop by Irene's Vigan Empanada to finally try the famous delicacy of Ilocos.
IMG_8546


IMG_8540

The emapanada was freshly made which I think was the secret why it was delicious. 
IMG_8544


IMG_8551



IMG_8553

We waited for night to fall at Calle Crisologo...
IMG_8573

It offered a quiet, romantic vibe at night. 
IMG_8619

If one has the time, I would recommend a visit both in the early morning and late evening to have two different experiences. I preferred our night time jaunt because gone are the commercial establishments and the chaos that goes along with it. 
IMG_8617


Nearby Calle Crisologo is its town plaza where a lot of food hawkers are positioned.
IMG_8595

The empanada here was actually more delicious.
IMG_8590


IMG_8581


IMG_8587


IMG_8586

IMG_8584

IMG_8588

We ended the night at Cafe Leona with fishballs,
IMG_8635

sisig,
IMG_8634

and shots of tequilla.
IMG_8631

HOW APT!

Touring Vigan in less than 24 hours was both educational and interesting but it's something that should be done only once. There's no point or reason to go back.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

i really liked your blog cheers!be going there december

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...