norte exposure

took a much-needed long weekend for an "ilocos tour" of sorts. first stop was laoag, where we were greeted by the grand capitol building.

we arrived at night, and just had time to do a quick walkabout that area before going to sleep. in the morning, we went to the cathedral and the sinking belltower.


we also went around the city, around the plaza, to the old city hall (which is a two-storey brick building), and to other old structures.

we visited family friends that my dad insisted i should see. and i was not disappointed. they took us to fort ilocandia where a room cost around P5,000 a night! the owner used to be roque ablan, but he has since sold the place to a chinese businessman. so most of the visitors there are from taiwan. they get there via the laoag airport.

we then went to the beach. i didn't have a swimsuit with me, but couldn't resist walking up and touching the china sea with my feet!

next stop was the town of paoay, whose cathedral is a UNESCO heritage site.

we couldn't help but look around...and we found the ruins of a convent just next door.

we stopped near paoay lake for a photo op.

we went to the town of batac for lunch. we ate at the famous Glory's, which they say is the best ilocano empanada. here's how they make it: the crust is made from rice flour. the dough is thinly rolled out, then they put in strips of papaya and bean sprouts in a circle, in the middle oif which they crack a fresh egg, then top it with bits of cooked longganisa. then they seal it and deep fry. you can eat it with vinegar or catsup. worth a try! yummy!

i'm sure you're wondering why it's colored orange (because of the atsuete they use)--the color of kwek-kwek--well, nobody was able to tell us why. we found out later, at the museum, though, that the size of the empanada has increased since when it started in the 1930s.

i know my lola's relatives live in the area, but didn't have a way to visit them. maybe next time.
we went to the marcos museum, which is just across a bridge from the batac church.

the marcos museum is located along a line of houses, all owned by the marcos family. there's the house where imee lives.

the mausoleum, in the next house, was creepy. the caretaker would stand at the door, and everytime visitors would come to the door, he would turn on certain (pin?) lights and creepy music. it was really weird viewing marcos' remains. we couldn't wait to get out of there. in the structure behind it were memorabilia from marcos' career. of course, in that version, he was a decorated military person.
the next house was being renovated, but still had marcos' belongings inside, they said.

we then went back to the city proper and went to the museum.

it was an over-all fun and very educational day. i never knew there were so many places to visit in that area. next time: pagudpud, burgos, and adams (mountain range).
heroes from ilocos norte: gen. ricarte, diego silang, gabriela silang. gregorio aglipay was also from there, it turns out. and aglipay day (just a few weeks ago) is a holiday!
there's so much history and old world charm in the place. i loved it! and we're definitely going back soon!