Skip to main content

Good Morning, Silay

Part 1 of Our Negros Occidental Tour

Wanderlust has struck again and this time, my college buddies and I flew to the southern island of Negros to visit their famed heritage houses and celebrate the birthday of our palangga Maryann Galeno. Maryann, who lives in the province's capital city of Bacolod has arranged for us a strict itinerary that will cover all the must sees in Metro Bacolod and its nearby towns.
We booked our flights early to get the best deal. I've learned from this trip that the first flight out of Manila and the last flight back are the cheapest, and we took just that. The four o'clock flight had us marvelling at the glorious sunrise just before touch down and it gave us a good head start for our grand tour.
The new airport is located in Silay City, known for its lovely pre-war mansions built by the old families, most of whom owned vast sugar plantations in the island. Since it was still very early for breakfast, we drove around Silay to get a glimpse of its charmed past and breathe fresh morning air. By eight o'clock, we were already enjoying chorizo pudpud and coffee at the old El Ideal bakery, ready for three days of sightseeing, eating and endless pre-menopause banter.

Window seat view of the sunrise.

The Golez ancestral house.

A common site, trucks carrying loads of sugarcane.


Bernardino - Ysabel Jalandoni Ancestral House

The San Diego Church



Early morning Mass.

Balay Negrense



After a drive around the city, we had our breakfast at the old El Ideal bakery.



Mascobado sugar.

Labels:
Location: Silay City, Negros Occidental, Philippines

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The House Of Dr. Luis Santos

Our tour of Malolos continues, from the Cojuangco ancestral house  http://myrefrigeratordoor.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-cojuangco-ancestral-house.html , our gracious host  Melecio Cojuangco  brought us to the house of Dr. Luis Santos. Mel arranged the visit with one of the heirs of Dr. Santos,  George Imperial . From the outside, one would already be in awe of the sheer size of the house. The house was built in 1933, according to the marker by the gate. Upon entering, you will marvel at the grand staircase, the expansive receiving room and the foyer filled with hard bound medical books and mementos of Dr. Santos' career as a well loved doctor in this town. The second floor was something else, as our group slowly ascended the magnificent staircase, my heart literally skipped a beat at the sight of the ceiling mural and Art Deco details. We found out later that the mural was painted by the great  Fernando Amorsolo  himself. There was a private chapel in honour of Our Lady of Lourdes
5 comments
Read more

The Cojuangco Ancestral House

Our next journey takes us to a historic town in Bulacan, thirty minutes north of Manila. My road trip buddies, my college friends who all share with me the same fascination for heritage houses were privileged by an invitation from Melecio Cojuangco to visit their ancestral house in Malolos. Mel, his cousin in law Marissa Lopa, Rima Datuin and Evelyn Bautista  and I discovered each other's funny bone   because of our love for the ice cream served in a huge bowl at Peninsula Manila's lobby. One evening, to justify our appetite, we pretended it was my birthday and we had the string quartet play happy birthday for me, from then on, we became good friends. Mel's grandfather,  Jose Cojuangco  was born at the Malolos house, very near the Barasoain Church. Jose's mother traded rice from Nueva Ecija, sacks transported by boat via the river at the back of the kamalig to Binondo, Manila. Like most turn of the century houses, the Cojuangco house uses piedra china stones f
2 comments
Read more

Her Name Means Peace

I started blogging five years ago after reading the book  Life On The Refrigerator Door  by  Alice Kuipers.  So touched was I from the story, I named my blog  My Refrigerator Door . Ms. Kuipers wonderfully weaved a story about a daughter and her mother who battled with breast cancer in a series of notes posted on the refrigerator door. Last Sunday, at the funeral of Tita Passy,  Paz Cojuangco-Teopaco,  I was reminded of that beautiful book. She too fought a long battle with the disease, but in her suffering, she has brought her family back together. I met the Teopacos through my good friend  Kris Aquino . In one of Kris's anniversary specials on TV, I was introduced by Kris' mother,  President Cory  to her youngest sister, Passy. After that, I got to bond with Kris's cousins, Tita Passy's daughters,  Marla  and  Rina  in a summer trip to Mindoro. Sharing the same love for sentimental music, and deep affection for Kris's son  Joshua , Rina and I became the b
Post a Comment
Read more