I'm baaaack!!!
Went to Bacolod with mommy and AC for my cousin's wedding. I'm glad I went because I needed to get on a plane once in awhile, acclimatize myself with plane rides in preparation for my NY trip. Yesss naman, parang may visa na tayo ah! Law of positivity, y'all! Speaking of plane rides, our flight going to Bacolod was hella scary- turbulence galore! Call it OA but images of Lost were barraging my head BIGTIME. We were able to make if safe and sound, hopped on a PUV and headed to Saltimboca, our home in Bacolod for three days.
THE ACCOMMODATIONS
Saltimboca Pension
The room was okay. As long as it's clean, has airconditioning, TV with cable and clean bathroom with hot water then I'm all good. Not really a fan of fancy schmancy shizz. Plus, we'll be out most of the time. We just need a place to sleep and our room served that purpose.
However, I can't say the same with customer service. They were super inflexible and couldn't accommodate simple requests. Take my sister and her egg- she had a continental breakfast (which already comes with the booking) which consisted of bread, ham and sunny-side-up egg. She asked if she can have it scrambled. NO. It was a super simple request that didn't even require any additional ingredients, still they told her flat out that they only serve eggs sunny side up because it was what management instructed them and have their molds for cooking eggs. Or when I asked for hot water at 10 in the evening... closed na raw kitchen. But in fairness naman, after a few minutes someone came knocking on the door- hot water for me :) But I guess that was after they heard us commenting on how poor their customer service was.
THE FOOD
What I love about vacations is the justified excessive intake of food. And since Bacolod is in the Visayas region, seafood galore!
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Imay's Service was slow. We came ahead of the table next to us but they were served before us. Aside from that, I can't say much because I wasn't able to eat much. I had to buy instant noodles on the way home (why I asked for hot water).
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Pala-Pala Bacolod's version of our Paluto. Our was Paluto our version of their Pala-Pala? Hmm... Anyway, had scrumptious seafood- sinigang na lapu-lapu, chili garlic lobster and baked tahong. Nomnomnom~ Although baked tahong could be yummier with cheese on top.
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Felicia's Bacolod's teeming with coffee shops- there's one in almost every street corner. Others were suggesting another place for coffee and dessert but since AC told me that Felicia's has macaroons, I knew I had to go. The newlyweds took us to Felicia's. I opened the door and as soon as I saw these pretty, pastel-colored pastries, I was giddy with joy~
Aren't they pretty? Well, they do look pretty but I was a little bit disappointed with the taste. I had no idea what macaroons taste like and I was kinda expecting a different taste. So that's how macaroons taste like. It's okay but it's not just my cup of tea. I love sweet stuff and it's not sweet enough for me. Maybe I'll enjoy the next time I eat a macaroon without any expectations in the way. Bizu has better macaroons daw. I'll try that next time.
So far those are the only food joints we were able to go to. I was disappointed that I didn't get to try Calea which was just beside our inn. Also, we weren't able to eat at an authentic inasalan.
AROUND TOWN
One of the things I liked about Bacolod is the seemingly laid-back way of life, which maybe explains the proliferation of coffee shops. Stopping at a stoplight for a mere 30 seconds is considered traffic. Anywhere 5 minutes away from one's house is already considered far.
Commute going to and from somewhere is a breeze with their fiera-type jeepneys and taxi drivers who never asked for dagdag. Another thing, Bacolod is a pedestrian city and I love it because I love walking around new places, cities as long as it feels safe.
During our first day, we went to church in their Cathedral which was beautiful. I wasn't able to take a picture because there was a mass right after the one we attended was finished. I thought I understood Ilonggo but I guess my knowledge of the language isn't enough for me to understand a mass said in pure Ilonggo. It's the thought that counts, right? :P
To the ruins afterwards. With the clan, we rented a van to take us to The Ruins, the ancestral home of Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson. The mansion was burnt by the Japanese during World War II. Albeit already in ruins, I still felt how grand it once was.
Picture-picture overload. Well, what else would you do in a place where there's nothing else to do but take pictures? Take A LOT of pictures and capture the beauty of the place. I can just imagine how they used to hold parties in their spacious garden and share chismis with their amigas. Haha.
On the second day, AC, mommy and I went somewhere we haven't been to yet- SM! LOL. We needed to buy accessories for mommy and we know handy dandy SM has just that. Lunch at Yellow Cab- Dear Darla and Charlie Chan! Before we went to SM, we had our nails done and to complement my fuchsia dress
RAWR! Since it's already automatic for me to compare their work to ours... not that I am biased but I still think that ours is better and you actually get more value for your money. The hand/foot massage which comes with the manicure and pedicure took only 20 seconds, both arms/feet already, they didn't use base coat and they didn't clean the lagpas polish. And they also charge P70, the same price we charge for ours, but I paid P100 because I picked an imported polish (which actually leaves you no choice but choose an imported polish because there wasn't much in their local brand nail polish selection). But I still loved my nails afterwards ♥
WEDDING DAY
The reason why we went to Bacolod- cousin's wedding! After we had our nails and hair done, went back our room to dress up. Whilst my nails are perfect, why once fluffy, straight blow-dried hair started to go back into its hilo state. Pag kinulot, dumederecho. Pag dinerecho, kumukulot. ANO BA TALAGA, KOYA? Kainez. Anyway, aside from my hair, I listened to AC and didn't use the wedge sandals AD told me to wear with my fuchsia dress. Hay, I should've never listened to AC. I will never listen to her again. So I wore this fugly black heels to the wedding. Buki. Enough about me...
B & E had a very nice and solemn wedding. Again, at a small chapel in a village. I swear if I get married, I'm picking a small chapel. Medyo parang hilo lang si Father at ilang beses siya nabulol. The bride was resplendent in her beautiful white wedding gown.
Reception was at the L'Fisher. Delicious food, most especially the lechon they served. After the program and dinner, disco dancing with the fabulous live band. Their song selection was nice and they got everybody dancing. Ako naman si Manang ayoko masyado magsayaw kasi masakit kili-kili ko- masyadong mataas ang dress ko. Boohoo. Their giveaways are cupcakes
which reminds me I hadn't eaten mine yet.
This is my second time in Bacolod and I still enjoyed my vacation. Well maybe because the first time I went there I didn't get to see the city that much. I would definitely would want to go back to Bacolod because I still have yet to try their cakes and pastries at Calea. But I hope next time I'd be with fun company.
