In Full Bloom

Flowers brighten my day.  But what fascinates me more are the splash of  varied colors when flowers are in full bloom. And is it just me?  I see colors that blend so well despite mismatched hues and tones (example:  pink side-by-side with orange). On my end, I love it and refer to this floral color barrage as my guiding color palette when working with beads. 

A weekend ago was my first  to have ever watched and be amazed by Baguio's yearly Panagbenga Festival.   Flowers were everywhere.  My mother and Dad2, who are both in town, enjoyed the festival as well.  J. Bond drooled over one floral float as seen in the photo below.  To this day, I still think of everything that I have seen. Pure inspiration!  Here are some photos I keep looking at since my return.  Warning:  this post is picture heavy.

 

A pot of colorful flowers by the entrance of South Drive Manor.  This was where Cafe Red Orange was located.  They have now named their quaint restaurant as Secret Garden.

 

Since Baguio was in bloom, colorful butterflies fluttered everywhere.

 

 These flowers truly make my day.  They look so happy. 

Striking wild orange flower.

 

J. Bond with Dad 2 against a wall of pink and red flowers.  The story behind the pose...read:  "engagement".  Lol!

 

Then the festival.  Baguio hustled and bustled so early on the day of the Grand Float Parade.  From where we stayed, sounds of drums may be heard loud and clear at 4:00am.

 

 The whole stretch of Session Road was closed to vehicles.  Everyone walked.

 

Dole Juice's float.

 

 Bahay Kubo (Nipa Hut).



J. Bond said "WOW!" upon first sight. Read:  BEER.

 

The float that made J. Bond drool.  Again, it's not about the flowers.

 

Close-up of J. Bond's favorite float.

 

 

Flower garden float.

 

 I had to have my photo taken.

 

Then, I thought I should have posed this way.  Lol!

 

 Yellow flowers cheer me up.

 The "BIRD" float.

How I remember Baguio as a child.  Tribal and serene.

 

More soon....

 

J. Bond's Challenge (and mine too)

O!M!G! J. Bond woke me up at 5am last Saturday only to have his photo taken. 

He was off to conquer the summit in this year's Globe Cordillera Challenge, and represented number 215.  

The day began at 4am with room service breakfast -- a case of disrupting Casa Vallejo's kitchen operations since they normally begin their day at 6am.  But thank you Casa Vallejo for making special arrangements.  He reached the highest summit at 12:30pm, then returned back to the hotel close to 3pm feeling more energetic and ecstatic.  He committed to participate again next year.

While J. Bond conquered the summit, I conquered my own short summit called Session Road. 

I had fun strolling along except for the going up part.  I did these four times (end to end), but with numerous shopping, coffee or photo shoot breaks.  Unlike J. Bond, I culminated my challenge out of breath and with swollen leg muscles.  Obviously, there's a major lack of exercise here.

Thank God, I only knew of very limited details (just date and time) of J. Bond's challenge.  Otherwise, I would have freaked out and denied him of his participation.  Details were only shared after (J. Bond's way of sharing bike stories these days) -- a total of 27 kilometers of biking uphill towards the highest peak of the Cordilleras, and with 3 stations to complete (a part of which where all had to carry his/her bike).  A co-biker only reached station 1, station 2 was the steepest and J. Bond completed all 3 stations!

Watch this Part 1 video that shows where J. Bond and his co-courageous bikers were off to.  Can't wait for Part 2 to be posted.



Casa Vallejo, Baguio

Lots have been said regarding Casa Vallejo's ghostly apparitions.  As soon as I confirmed my 3-day room reservation, a number of "Why there?"... "There are ghosts there!".... were said with an unshattering conviction.  In fact, the wonder and questions continued all throughout my stay ... "Did you see or feel any ghost?".  "How about that old mirror that is believed to be a portal?".  But no one amongst who asked and wondered experienced the ghost firsthand.  All are based on stories, hearsays, and the net.

I ignored and swallowed a brave front for choosing convenience over ghostly stories since this boutique hotel is less a block away from Session Road.  Yet, in a location relatively secluded and semi-quiet.  If we speak of ghosts anyway, I am, without a doubt, have seen something odd in a suite where J. Bond and I stayed last year.  You'll see last year's accommodation here.  Imagine a shadow that crossed your path while at the height of prepping up, then ended its stroll by entering a nearby walk-in closet and never to be seen again. I froze. J. Bond, on the other hand, felt a blow on his nape while on a  conference call.  While a friend took solace under his sheets when the bathroom shower turned on then off by itself. We have not returned since then.  I don't think we ever will.

The fact is, I was drawn  to Casa Vallejo's story.  A structure that long stood since 1909.  A detention center for German prisoners of war in 1917.  A dormitory in the 1920s, then transformed into a hotel by an entrepreneur named Salvador Vallejo. A British and Indian refugee center in 1940.  Survived World War II's Japanese bombing. Hit by an earthquake in the 1990s.  And, one of the oldest remaining American structures in Baguio.  I am inspired by stories, structures, and things from the past.  Unfortunately, old and past in some way connote ghosts.

Old photos  that speak of Casa Vallejo's story.

Except for a black butterfly that hovered around our room door for 3 days, no ghostly apparations were seen nor felt.  But I believe this experience would have been on the peculiar side if my third eye Mom and Sister Anna were around.  I have no third eye (thank God!), but I can sense (Only if  turned on. Most of the time, it is on off mode.).  So for now, I hold on to my own happy experience and leave it at that.

Like what I said, I was inspired by Casa Vallejo.  Its story I believe will continue to loom like a ghost for as long as it stands, but it is precisely in its nostalgic sense that had led me to choose this place for this year's Baguio trip. I thought of booking a room during our multiple trips last year.  But fear from overheard ghostly stories took over. This year, I took the risk.  I enjoyed.   

Hill Station, Casa Vallejo's in-house restaurant. The charming discoveries in every nook and corner were a feast as well. J. Bonds claims that the entire structure and its positioning are my cup of tea. Let's put it this way, if I were to open my bead store in Baguio, Casa Vallejo would be my top choice. And if I were to take things a notch higher, I dream of building my own quaint boutique hotel someday just like Casa Vallejo.

Inside Hill Station,  a ballroom in the olden times.  Lovely.

Hill Station's little bar for after dinner cocktail drinks.

Way to Mt. Cloud, Casa Vallejo's quaint and lovely bookshop, and Cinematheque,their home of art films.

Charming accents found around Mt. Cloud .

Cinematheque.

A gift and novelty store that sells scents, candles, oil burners, wind chimes and the like.

I treated my aching back to a one hour and 30-minute Hilot session on our 2nd day at North Haven Spa.

 The only ghostly figures I saw displayed near the spa.

Another batch of ghostly figures for sale.

This shirt hit it right...The mind is everything.  What we think we become. - Siddharta Gautama... No ghost was seen nor felt. I may have shut it off.  What I saw and brought back home were charm and  a dozen of inspirations.  The supposed ghosts of Casa Vallejo are all in the mind.  But let's see on my next trip.  I told Anna (Casa Vallejo's front desk attendant) and Mitos Y. (Hill Station owner) that I will definitely return.  Hopefully soon.



Thank You

I am in Baguio.  And before I get going with my activities lined-up for the day, I'd like to take time to give thanks.

Thank you for the cool relaxing weather.  I froze last night but I did not mind.  This rarely happens anyway.

The reason why I am in Baguio, J. Bond's participation in Globe's Cordillera Challenge.  This photo was taken at 5:30 this morning.  Thank you for keeping J. Bond safe (and in one piece) despite accidents and bruises from his previous courageous acts  of conquering rocky and thorny mountain trails.

Christmas 2011, our annual get-together.  I am grieving and I am still in denial.  I thought it would come easier than expected.  But I was wrong. This morning came the realization and tears.  Thank you dear LUKE  for the left and right shoulders I have once cried on (which you have never ceased to tease me about), for being an obedient driver on days I needed a ride, for spending time with me and the rest of the gang in the south whereas you live in the north, for the plenty treats and the money loaned when Market Market was launched (which took years for Patti and I to repay.  Lol!  I know this drove you crazy.), for being my beck and call Kuya (older brother), and for the many many years of true friendship.  I will miss you!  Rest well... Lukey (in yellow).



Ang INIT!

This heat is one big nightmare.  No kidding!  With a daily dose of 36 degrees C to 37 degrees C, I am burning. Despite that, I went on with yesterday's Garage Sale.  The first I ever did around this time of the year.  I did previous years either in January or June.

This photo was taken around 8am.  It felt that the heat was at its peak.  All looked dry and wilted.

Patrons continued to swarm and shop.  They seemed pleased with the goodies and  ignored the heat.

I just had one line from start to finish, "what time is it?".  The heat worsened by the minute which left me with zero drive to take more photos. Forty-five minutes before end time, I called it off.  But I'm doing a round two in  a couple of weeks.  I'm thinking of tweaking the time a bit - either sunrise or sunset would more likely work. 

Can't wait for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Off to Baguio to cool down a bit.