Lindt Fioretto Cappuccino!

When others don’t have self-discipline over binging on chocolates, I am the total opposite.  I never had any problem in that area, nothing whatsoever!  In fact, I’m different in such a way that instead of eating them, I love collecting and storing (okay, hoarding!) them in the fridge.

Until yesterday afternoon.

I was on Vampire Diaries Season 2 marathon when I felt like eating something, so I raided the fridge and what do I find?  Chocolates.

So I decided on this Lindt pack and started munching on each piece.  Each bite was heavenly, I may be exaggerating but who cares, I was in chocolate paradise.  But my goodness, I had to wake myself up just when I was about to tear open another bag. 

I ingested 115 grams, around 10 pieces of this "milk chocolate crisp shell with a cappuccino center" in 20 minutes.  I was halfway one Vampire Diaries episode and I took that last bite just before it ended…just right after that tear fell from Damon’s eye, right after he told Helena that he loves her and then immediately compelled her to forget what he just said.  Okay, okay…I’m stopping!  Go Team Damon!  Teehee…

When other girls would find reason to binge, I’d be binging without even knowing it.  Afraid!  Maybe I should just refrain from watching these sappy tv series. J

You have to admit that this chocolate is pure love and I am gaining 10 lbs just by thinking about it but again…who cares?  Yum!

M.a.P's Trip #1 - Laguna Loop Part 3!

Next stop…another old church that we missed in the first Laguna Loop trip.  The Lumbang Church.  A did not bother to go inside as there was a funeral mass but I had to take that one shot.

 

I also liked the municipal hall.

After Lumbang, there was Pagsanjan.

The Church. 

Very simple interior but very long aisle, I’d be tired by the time I get to the altar if I got married in that church.  Perfect for brides who want to showcase their wedding gowns…or brides who still need to think if their making the right decision.  Yes, the aisle is that long. J

And then, there was Magdalena Church, St. Mary Magdalene Church. 

The town of Magdalena is called Little Hollywood of Laguna and there was even a Walk of Fame for all the actors and actresses who shot movies there.  I think A said Ate Vi’s Kampanerang Kuba and FPJ’s Asedillo were some of them. 

But what’s really interesting about this church is that it’s where Emilio Jacinto sought refuge after being wounded in a battle.  There’s even a marker where blood stains from Jacinto’s wounds can still be found.  Hmmm…true kaya?  I’m such a doubting Thomas, I know.

I was just disappointed because we saw very little of how the church looked inside…as major renovation is on-going. 

We were told that a big portion of the roof has gone down so they had to renovate.  I bravely took shots while wood and gravel were falling from the roof, just to get a shot of the altar.  Brave, no…foolish.

I think Magdalena is really ideal for video or photo shoots.  Why?  Just because everything can be found in one huge compound.  The magnificent church, the nice municipal hall, the Walk of Fame, the “Hollywood” of Laguna globe…etc.

After taking tons of picture in Magdalena, we’re off again to Majayjay…where another ton of pictures was added to our massive collection. 

After Majayjay, next destination was Liliw, where we also bought slippers after checking the church.  All five of us agree that the Liliw church somehow feels sosyal.  I don’t know how to describe it but it probably has something to do with the squeaky clean interior, the gold ornaments and it makes you very conscious about making even the tiniest bit of noise.

Since we were running late, we decided to go to the Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery first.  This is where our fortitude was again put to the test…which I think we passed with flying colors.  Where’s that voodoo doll again? J

After the crypt…we went to the Nagcarlan Church.  And we knew what we wanted to see…the bell tower where Anne Curtis shot her scenes. J  I think we went up a couple or so of staircases before we got to see one huge bell…surrounded by five or six more bells. 

We were supposed to go to Pila but it was already dark when we left Nagcarlann so we decided to just have dinner at Rose and Grace in Sto. Tomas, Batangas.  And that finally solved my bulalo-craving for the past two weeks. 









Thanks, A!  Can't wait for the next itchy feet attack. :-D

M.a.P's Trip #1 - Laguna Loop - Part 2!

I have no words.



Next stop was Pakil…as I entered the church, I noticed this odd wood carving.  It’s old, yes…but it looks horrible so I can’t understand how a piece like this can end up inside the church.  If this symbolizes anything, please educate me because I’m still baffled.

We were able to tour the church grounds and the altar of the Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de Turumba ("Our Lady of Sorrows of Turumba") with the help of the friendly local, Jephet.  Jephet is a member of the Pakil church choir that was rehearsing when we got there.  He probably pitied us because we were touring around like lost mice…so he showed us the way.  He lead us to the second floor where we saw two huge cabinets of clothes for the statue of the Lady of Sorrows.  Overkill in my opinion…knowing that there are a lot of people…warm bodies without a change of clothes in their possession.  L

We were also given the chance to see the church convent and its kitchen.  And then Jephet showed us the altar where the original painting of Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de Turumba can be found.  He also told us the story that the painting was found in a lake nearby and was too heavy for the person who found it so he left the painting in Pakil church.  He must have narrated the story in a melodramatic manner but I really am not into that kind of stuff because I somehow believe that stories like that were fabricated by priests back then to lure people into the Catholic faith.



Were you really found in the lake?

Oo nga naman! :-D

Jephet also took us to the street just right at the back of the church.  This street, believe it or not is already one baranggay in Pakil. 

Aptly called Baranggay Bano which literally means “bathroom”.  Water is free-flowing…there’s a public bath with 3 pools where swimmers in Pakil train for school competition.  Now, I know where to go when Manila dries up.   Heaven forbid.

We also asked Jephet where we can have lunch and he took us to Vista’s, a restaurant and art gallery at the same time.  A very good collaboration, actually, the husband does all the artwork and the wife manages the restaurant.

 

We had simple but very filling meals and you wouldn’t believe how cheap our tab was.  Don’t ask…as it’s really dirt cheap.  I will definitely go back there should we get to visit Pakil again.

Right after lunch, we headed towards Paete…and we didn’t get lost this time…and we got the mayor’s parking space again. J  The church was closed again so we had to enter via the altar.  The church caretaker was extremely nice because the moment he saw me having a hard time getting a good shot of the retablo…I suddenly lit up.  So I clicked away. 



Retablo ni San Luis Rey De Francia
Taon ng Ginawa: 1807
Disenyo nina: Anacleto Madrigal, Miguel Palatino
Julian Macajumpan at Jose Dans

We also checked out the woodcarving and paper mache stores.  N bought two Santa Claus paper mache and said that it’s much cheaper and way nicer than what her co-teacher bought.  I’m just happy that she’s satisfied with her purchase.

M.a.P's Trip #1 - Laguna Loop Part 1!

At exactly one month after that unforgettable Rizal-Laguna trip, the pseudo-twins decided to put the recent Muslim holiday to good use.  We visited the old churches again and made sure to drop by the other places that we missed.  And in that trip, A asked his high school classmates to join us.  O diba, the more, the mannier? J

As usual, we spent the entire day cam-whoring and since I already posted all the Rizal and Laguna churches during the first trip, I’ll just post the photos of the stuff that caught my interest in this trip.

And so Magellan and Pigafetta started the journey at 6am…

I knew that A drove to Marikina after picking me up at the apartment so I was shocked to see this…is this still an Ondoy aftermath?  Or so I thought…

Well, it just happened to be the first stop…for breakfast.  I love Pan de Americana.  Maybe it’s because I’m more of a breakfast person for simple “silog” meals paired with freshly brewed coffee can already make me happy.



Ilocos Longganisa Breakfast



Right after breakfast, the troop headed straight to Morong…the home of St. Jerome church.  We decided to explore further this time…we climbed the church’s spiral staircase to get a view of the altar from the second floor. 

There were kids playing at the time and they said that we can actually go to the bell tower.  Unfortunately, the door that leads to it was locked so we just went on to our next destination.

The church door was closed when we got to Baras so the caretakers guided us to the side entrance.  Went to the second floor again…but I wasn’t thinking about the bell tower.  I just had to take a closer shot of the bats hanging from the ceiling.  I wouldn’t want to be seated directly beneath them…you can never tell when they’d decide to relieve themselves. J

Apparently, Baras doesn’t use the bell in the bell tower…because just as we were about to drive off…we saw this by the church office entrance.

I knew they were there but didn’t give much attention but aren't they beautiful, enchanting even. (baka may kapre!) There stood the two century-old acacia trees in the Tanay Church grounds.

And there were old tombstones inside the church…which probably belong to the wealthy residents of Tanay back in the day.  Most of them were even written in Spanish.














Remember the story of the middle retablo that was painted gold by the former parish priest?  I thought it was just hearsay but I was made to believe otherwise after the story was confirmed by the manang whom I had a little chat with.  I even took a closer look at the other retablos and I just realized that original color of white and aquamarine are the colors of the Blessed Virgin Mary (as taught by the Catholic church).  Gold?  What was that priest thinking? Cher, probably. :-D