Bacolod 2010 (day 4)

Day 4 - October 19, 2010

Our last day in Bacolod. Can I just say, it's been two weeks since my trip but I'm still sorely missing this wonderful city. I regret not going on an ultimate food trip, alas we were pressed for time so we had to make do with the few dishes we were able to try. I do believe that I'll be going back to Bacolod next year. That trip will be with my family, so yay for me because I don't think I'd spend as much (haha!). I'm planning that particular trip to be all about Negrense food. Let's see, let's see...lots of planning to do!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy these shots of my last day in the City of Smiles!

Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, according to Frank this is 400+ years old already

I just HAD to try cansi, the Negrense version of bulalo. It's a bit more sour and spicier than the typical bulalo. Sooooo good! I died and went to bone marrow heaven

EDGE OF DARKNESS...we offer business meetings here (hahaha! refer to lower left part of the picture)

Pasalubong shopping at Pendy's! Let's just say I splurged most of my money here, haha!

We had to drop by Calea and buy slices of oh so yummy cake. I couldn't believe they were selling pecan pie for less than 100 bucks (less than 3 US$) a slice!!!

Since we were in Bacolod, it was a must that we tried Bacolod Chicken Inasal :)

Back in Manila! I couldn't have asked for better travel buddies than these two. Frank was the third wheel, haha!

Bacolod 2010 (day 1)

So I'll be posting about Bacolod first, though my Cebu trip happened before that. I just think that the Bacolod trip's more interesting :) Anyway, my Cebu trip was primarily for work and the tour that I did was done in just an hour, haha!

I went to Bacolod with my high school BFF Val and her boyfriend Frank to join in the festivities of the Masskara Festival. Bacolod being the City of Smiles, I was expecting to have a grand time on this mini-vacation because that's exactly what I needed after all the stress at work.

*So what is the Masskara Festival? Honestly, I thought it was one of those fiestas that started during the Spanish colonization. To my surprise, it started just 30 years ago! Quite romantic that this festival was the result of such a sad time for the Negrenses (people from the Negros Islands) considering Masskara's deemed one of the happiest festivals in the country. The Negros Islands are known for their sugar cane plantations and the production of sugar. During that time, there wasn't much demand for sugar and this caused quite a dilemma for the Negrenses since they were highly dependent on the sugar industry. Another tragic event happened during this time. A ship, the Don Juan, sank which claimed a lot of lives. The Masskara Festival was born out of these sad events to uplift the spirits of the Negrenses. It has a street dance song, and I love how part of the lyrics goes like this..."Sige lang… sige na! Bacolod bato kita!" (It’s okay… it’s alright! No matter what adversity, Bacolod fights on!). So why is it called Masskara? Mass means 'many/multitude' while Kara means 'face' in Spanish. Put the two together, and add the purpose of the festival, you get Masskara--a multitude of smiling faces.

We weren't able to see the big parade on Sunday, because we had to leave early to go to Punta Bulata--a beach/spa resort in Cauayan. Anyway, we arrived at Bacolod City around 5:30 a.m on Saturday. You could just imagine how tired I was because I just arrived from Cebu the day before, then I had to get our nails done and pack for Bacolod. Let's start with Day 1....

Day 1 - October 16, 2010

why not take a picture of my newly polished toe nails? sorry, got bored waiting for our morning flight

Breakfast at Bob's. According to an aunt from Bacolod, Bob's is usually where close friends/family meet and just hang out and enjoy good food. Frank told us that this restaurant has been around for a long time already.

Too bad I wasn't able to try any of the pastries...too early for sweets :)

The yummy fruit punch Frank ordered for us, the old menu (used as a place mat) and the local vinegar...forgot what it's called, though

My breakfast's here! Filipino Favorite (I got beef tapa with egg and garlic rice. yummy!)

Val had Sate Babe

We had our nails done the night before JUST for the trip, haha! We chose bright, happy colors :)

Stayed at K'mas for the night...affordable place...that's about it. haha!

We took a nap first after checking in...woke up around 3 p.m. after freshening up, Frank took us around a bit before heading to the festival grounds...first stop: the Negros Museum

There was an ongoing exhibit...cool artwork :)

Wanted to get one of these for my mom...They were already sold, though :(

Not yet ready to have our picture taken...

...there ya go :)

Our 5-peso waffles :)

...with our 5-peso mango shake! a total of 10 pesos for my afternoon snack. Unbelievable!

At the Negros Showroom to buy our masks

Before roaming around the festival grounds, we had to drink a bit at Gypsy

We ordered the Creamy Luisa. I dunno what's in it but it was gooooood...and only for 150 pesos!

Crazy friends for life :)

Party time!

Had dinner at Churrasco...Instead of trying out the restos in the festival area, we took a cab and ate somewhere near our hotel...All the restaurants in the festival grounds were packed already. We were able to chat a bit with the owner. Churrasco's a relatively new establishment along Lacson St...just a few months old. Great food, I must say. Really affordable, too!

Yummy steak! You won't believe how relatively cheap this was

I desperately needed to check my email (and facebook) so Val and I went to Cafe Bascon

Day 1 done, on to Day 2...that'd be in my next post :)

*thanks to Masskara Festival website for the info on the fiesta's history. We must always site our sources :)