ILOCOS: Bell Tower of St. Agustine Church in Bantay

ILOCOS: Vigan - Baluarte love birds

so cute! so sweet! so adorable! <3 <3 <3

ILOCOS: Vigan - Butterfly Garden at Baluarte

butterfly garden at baluarte, vigan city, ilocos sur

hatching room

i dunno why these butterflies are so snob! LOL! cause its the first time i entered a butterfly garden where the butterflies dont 'entertain' their guests. they just hover over your head, fleetingly caress your shoulders and one single move and they shy away and fly as fast as they can. sigh, so i was really really careful not to make sudden movements when i was taking the pictures cause they are flighty? i dunno the word, but that's it. at least this one looks like enjoying my camera :)

ILOCOS: Vigan - Baluarte ni Singson

the mouth of one of the life-sized statues of dinosaur at baluarte ni singson in vigan city, ilocos sur.  one thing i can say is that this place is really big (about 80- hectares) and it is a mini zoo, a butterfly garden, with man-made falls, and they even have a live animal show for free. wow! chavit singson must be really really rich to afford to open this to the public for free. yup free to anyone and you can have picnic inside and the rest rooms are clean! to be able to find a nice c.r. at a free public place is very rare specially in the province so big kudos to the owner. :0

ILOCOS: Vigan - St. Paul's Metropolitan Cathedral

cathedral of vigan also known as st. paul's metropolitan cathedral 

bell tower of the cathedral of vigan

the cathedral's main door

just wondering if this is a coat of arms of something? just above the main door of the cathedral. anyone enlighten me please, thanks.

Cathedral of Vigan.  Like most stories of centuries old churches in the Philippines, this cathedral was first build on wood, has been on fire and toppled by earthquake but erected again on the same spot, and has been occupied by the american forces during the war.

so i guess, you could say that our churches are stubborn and strong eh? no matter how many times it goes down... it will always rise.

ILOCOS: Vigan - people watching

ILOCOS: Vigan Old Houses

Vigan Heritage Site kinda remind me of Intramuros, only here there are more souvenir items and most of the old houses along calle crisologo are stores unlike in intramuros where most of the casas are turned into fine dining restaurants.  most shops sell you usual pasalubong stuff and of course ilocano delicacies like bagnet and tinubong

cobbled stone street of calle crisologo, this street i think is vigan's most photographed street. lots of calesa's plying through the streets, the motorcyles and tricycles and modern vehicles are off limits and only ply the main roads which is good.

i heart vigan shirts

cafe leona, the house apparently belongs to a distant cousin of Jose Rizal and is a young poet as read from the historical marker on its door, but its now a restaurant and read good reviews but wasnt able to dine here coz it was closed when we were there (twas black saturday)

kinda spooky staircase inside grandpa's inn, a bed and breakfast hotel at the vigan city

i just love old windows and doors, i wanted to take home with me one of those window

ILOCOS: Vigan 143

About 400 kilometers from Manila is the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Vigan. It is the capital city of Ilocos Sur located on the west coast of northern Luzon. One can see precious remnants of old Spanish architecture throughout the center of the city. Established in the 16th century, Vigan is the best-preserved example of a planned Spanish colonial town in Asia with a unique European atmosphere. Several museums exist for the many national heroes that were born here. Vigan is the oldest surviving Spanish colonial city in the Philippines. The name Vigan was derived from "Biga", a giant taro plant that grows abundantly along the banks of the Mestizo River. (Source)