It’s mid-summer in the Philippines… the height of the Ilocos heat, but what the heck, I wrapped my head in my Red Dot silk scarf and cajoled Alexa to go with me to Paoay. Although I’ve posted photos of Paoay Church a few times, I realized I’ve never shot the inside except for a casual midnight mass 2 Christmases ago.
We parked by the Herencia Plaza and checked out the souvenir shops. At Nazarene, I got beautiful, colorful summer cotton scarves — one in tie-dyed rainbow and another large one in vibrant tribal print I intend to wear as a sarong. Alex and I each got a Sagada friendship bracelet. I also picked a cute bamboo ear reliever:) All in all, we spent 400 pesos, which means, we still had 100 pesos (a little more than 2 US dollars) for merienda.
The Paoay Church aka St. Augustine Church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is one of the Philippines’ most beautiful churches. In earthquake Baroque style, surprisingly, it’s made of coral stones, bricks, egg whites and lime. Construction of the church was started by the Augustinian friars in 1694 and was completed and re-dedicated in 1894 during the Spanish era..
I honestly don’t like the newly installed official marker. For photographers, it is a serious annoyance. I like a clean view of the church and the bell tower with just the foliage enhancing the gorgeous panorama. More often than not, less is more.
I guess Stone House Cafe (by the Airport Road in Laoag) doesn’t like Alexa. The door was open, but no one would welcome us. A little better than last time. A nice thing, though, ‘coz our remaining 100 pesos won’t be even enough for two cake slices perhaps.
The colors inside were so refreshing that we took photos of each other. I promised Alex to take her some other time.
We hopped to Tayamen’s, where surely, we can relax and eat fishballs, kikiam and isaw (barbecued pork intestines) to our heart’s delight. Tiong and Tiang were cool as ever serving street food (outside the streets) to their well-dressed and hip patrons. Mind you, the no-frills Tayamen’s is always full. We paid a sick 92 pesos for our 4 sticks of isaw, and 4 servings of fishballs and kikiam plus ice cold soda. A filling Thursday jaunt;)
[Tip: Better eaten with well-aged sukang Iloco (vinegar) and sili (chili).]
Photographed by Alexa and BlauEarth
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