I received wedding invitation from a friend about a month ago and the venue was in Vigan. I had second thoughts whether to go or not because it was too far but my friend Val said that taking a road trip should be fun. So a few days ago, we packed our bags and left early in the morning and drove up there. We left Manila at 4:30 a.m. to avoid traffic and brought a basket filled with goodies to get us by while on the road. In our basket, we had freshly baked raisin scones, assorted cookies, couscous salad, grilled shrimp on skewers with mango salsa, yoghurt, a bag of cheetos and tortilla chips. for our drinks, we brought mineral water and some home made hot chocolate. We snacked on the scones and hot chocolate along the way and we got to Vigan by noon time.
We drove furtherdown to a place called Cabugao Beach Resort. Our first lunch was a variety of their special dishes such as Vigan longganisa, Puki-puki which is chopped up grilled eggplant, sauteed with eggs, tomatoes and onions, Bagnet - the famous deadly fried crispy pork, and Pinakbet - sauteed vegetables in shrimp paste.
We headed back to Vigan and checked in at Vigan Heritage Hotel which was right by Calle Crisologo. The rest of the afternoon was spent walking around the streets in slippers, a rain jacket and an umbrella. Here are some pictures from the old streets of Vigan.
Then as the sun set, we walked toward the stalls selling the empanadas. This is a must have when in Vigan. These deep fried treats are made of rice flour dough, filled with shredded papaya, longganisa and egg. They are deadly but they're worth a try.
Our day ended perfectly with a massage at La Mirada, a nearby spa. It was so relaxing that we forgot that there was a pre-wedding dinner hosted by the groom...ooops!
Everyone is invited to the book launch of....
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