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Showing posts from August, 2010

Revisiting the Past of Pila, Laguna

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The town of Pila is Laguna's response to the Vigan of Ilocos in that Pila's old homes have preserved the Spanish architecture that characterized them: carved wooden balustrades, wooden or iron bars crossing the shuttered windows that give natural ventilation,  recessed porches and balconies, interior courtyards, and rooms wide enough to hold a mini basketball game.  Every post and column is elaborately designed and even the walling is arranged in a way that is classy.   The total effect is enchanting.  It wouldn't be difficult to imagine a Don or Dona walking with a very aristocratic flair inside these homes, followed by his or her girlfriday.    In 2007, Pila's town plaza and surrounding ancestral homes were declared by the National Historical Institute as a National Historical Landmark.  Pila was bestowed this honor because of the many tangible remnants of Spanish occupation in the town, aside from that there have been many archaelogical finds in the 1960s in Bara

Puerto Prinsesa's Culinary Centers: Neva's Place

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Cebu Pacific's inflight magazine writes Neva's as one of the places to go to get delicious pizza and other kind of good food in Puerto Prinsesa.  It is a simple affair, nestled in a garden full of ornamental plants and trees, but the food is far from simple. Their menu is quite ecclectic.  No telling what they really specialize, I can only say, that what I tasted were all tasty and worth raving about. I am a lover of crepes and even dabbled in my kitchen sometimes to test my culinary skills about crepes, so I did not miss this opportunity to try Neva's Austrian Crepe for only P50.   Most crepes are sweetened only by their filling, but Austrian crepe is already sweet in itself, so I think it's what makes it different from others.  I had it for breakfast and it sustained me till my next meal. 

Puerto Prinsesa City Secrets: Tiangge, Tiangge: "Pasalubong" Haven

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Like any tourist destination, there are many souvenir items for sale at every tourist site in Palawan.  If you go to Honda Bay, there are vendors that sell souvenir items such as t-shirts, fancy pearl jewelries, ref magnets, key chains, and the like.  They are very affordable.  T-shirts can be bought from P100 - up in Honda Bay, while some items sell from P10 - up.  Thinking that they are very cheap, many would jump at the chance to get these items and buy in bulk, just what had happened to me.  However, I was prevented from spending more in pasalubong when I saw the wisdom of asking the ubiquitous tricycle drivers of Puerto Prinsesa.   Tricycle drivers make very good resource people about secrets in a town or place (naturally) They directed me to the best place to go when 'pasalubong' shopping in Puerto Prinsesa:  The TIANGGE, TIANGGE!  We are all familiar with the concept of the "tiangge."   Many stalls side-by-side each other selling wares that are almost simi