day one hundred and twenty: january 27, 2016: vigan
The Spanish influenced city of Vigan is one of the New 7 Wonders Cities, voted in by people around the world. One main street, Calle Crisologo, is the center of this old city beginning at a large square headed north. Old cobble stones make a narrow road not open to motorized vehicles, only calesas or horse drawn carriages in Filipino. The street is lined by old buildings with European architecture. Lucky for us, my dad's friend was from Vigan. She showed us around and even gave us a tour of her cousin's home, which was on this main street. The layout inside was very open with high ceilings and windows and balconies overlooking the street - you can only imagine what it was like to live here many years ago.
Although we visited a few other local sites including a local pottery maker, hidden gardens and the local zoo, we enjoyed just hanging out on and around the main street the most.
In the afternoon, we tried CJ's Empanadas to try the local empanada which Vigan is known for. Unlike empanadas we're used to that are baked, these are deep-fried and the filling consists of egg, strips of potato, and other veggies. Yummy afternoon snack!
As we waited for the sun to set, we encountered a bicycle gang of young boys cruising up and down one of the side streets. Jonathan managed to snap a group photo of them at dusk.
day one hundred and twenty-one: january 28, 2016: vigan to manila
No other words needed aside from the fact that we drove 8 hours back to Manila. I think it was all a little bittersweet for us because we know that it means that our trip is over and everyone is headed their own separate ways in the next couple of days.