Experience | La Union Getaway

Random photo on the way.

I can't remember when's the last time I met up with my girls from high school...I think the last one was when we were still students in college.

And since Jul and Mot are coming home for vacation (mga OFW na sila), we took the chance to meet up and bond when they arrive.

The night before I traveled to Pangasinan, wala pa ring final plan kung saan kami mag-i-spend ng weekend. 😅

Basta ang sabi ni Jul, April 07-09 lang siya pwede with us while Mot can't come (she'll be watching BTS in Thailand 😆)

So ang naging tema namin is "Come what may". Lol

Short notice though, pa-despedida na rin pala ni Bevs sa April 06 because she'll be working in the UK na, ang flight is April 10.

These friends are full of surprises, my gad. 😂

So ang kinahinatnan, I traveled to Pangasinan on April 06, got off the bus at 05:20 PM, was fetched by Mich and Venne and went straight to Bevs' house for her despedida and planning na rin kung anong gagawin namin kinabukasan, nakahabol din sina Jul and Nicole.

Lots of ideas. Gusto mag-swimming, gusto mag-visit ng churches, gusto out of town (may nag-out of this world pa nga haha). We first thought of going to Leisure Coast, but napag-usapan na mag-roadtrip na lang to La Union.

Lots of chikkas and catching up. Things of the past. Happenings in the present. News I haven't heard before. Got a snippet of the other side of the story na ipinagkait sa akin nang tanungin ko ang taong yun noon. I think it closed a case, for me at least. 😊 (Pagaling ka na lang, kung mababasa mo ito)

At pagaling din tayo, mga bes. Hahaha Juice ko. Ang tagal nating hindi nagkita, mga iniinda at mga checkup na ang topic. 😂

So ang final na gagawin namin for Sunday is meetup sa San Ildefonso Parish Church at 7:00 AM, mag-Visita Iglesia sa mga churches papuntang La Union and bahala na. 😅 Magdala na lang daw ng extra clothes just in case maligo. (Nagdala pa rin ako although hindi ako makakaligo, because you know, alam niyo na. Wrong timing. Haha)

Kahit lutang ang lola niyo dahil nagkuwentuhan pa kami ng aking pinakamamahal na bunsong kapatid hanggang past 2:00 AM, I managed to get up and prepare para imeet sila sa church. 5:00AM pa lang bumangon na ang lola niyo. Excited much.

Pero yung 7:00AM naurong ng naurong hanggang sa mag-i-8:00AM na kami nakaalis. 😅

On the way na rin namin pinlano ang mga dadaanang simbahan.

First stop, Senior Divino Tesoro Shrine in Calasiao (Pangasinan pa mga pre) at ang katapat niyang STS. Peter & Paul Parish.

Ngumata na rin ng puto-calasiao at uminom ng buko juice.

Then diretso na kami papuntang La Union.

At sa tanang buhay ko, ngayon ko lang nalaman....na.....na.....La Union na pala ang kasunod ng bayan ng San Fabian! 😱 Nasaan na? Nasaan na ang natutunan ko sa geography? Wala! Nagagawi ako sa San Fabian, pero konting kembot na lang pala doon mahahalikan ko na ang lupa ng La Union!

Yes, first time kong makakapunta ng La Union sa trip naming ito. 😅

And another failure to add to my list of failures, I haven't took photos of the churches we visited in La Union! Neither have I taken notes of their names!

Oh wait! There's one!

The St. John the Baptist church! Thank goodness I have one. That's already an achievement for me.

And I have taken photos of another 2 churches! Although I don't know their names.

This is a different church from the preceding photo.

Another achievement for me, that is!

I'm getting there. Slowly.

We visited 7 churches in total.

After we completed the Visita Iglesia, we saw grapes picking banners in Bauang as we continue to drive.

And on the spot, we added it to our To-do list for the day. Grapes picking, that is. Pero mamaya nang hapon. Kainitan, bes. Lunch time na. Gutom na.

We searched the net kung saan ang pinakamalapit na restaurant na masarap at sulit.

Pinagpilian pa namin kung sa San Juan o sa San Fernando kami kakain.

We "Wazed" our way to La Famiglia Restaurant in San Fernando.

But we settled kung saan kami itinuro ng tadhana. Noks!

As we drive kung saan kami itinuturo ni Waze, may nahagip ang aming mga mata na malapit, Patio Del Sol.

So nag-U turn kami and went there instead.

It's around 12:15 PM already. And we're told na 1 hour ang serving time ng food sa kanila. 😱

But we're willing to wait and just enjoyed the view of the ocean and the surroundings and savor the moment with each other's company.

Magic Flakes na lang muna habang naghihintay sa pagkain.

Sabi sa isang quote, the worst part of life is waiting.

But man, this was worth waiting for.

It's our first time to dine here, we took the risk to wait kahit hindi namin alam kung masarap ba ang pagkain nila dito.....and the outcome was memorable!

Napapalakpak ako sa sarap! (Literal na ginawa ko. Nagbody roll pa nga.)

Lahat ng inorder namin nagco-complement sa isa't isa.

Filipino foods served at its finest.

Sa gutom, hindi ko na naisipang kunan ng photo yung foods. But maghahagilap ako sa kanila kung may nakaalala bang kumuha and will update this. 😅

Pinakbet, Calamares, mixed seafood, Kare-kare, Sisig na Bangus (did I forget anything?)

That's what we ordered. Everything's fresh!

I did not expect that because the place looks a little rundown.

But the experience was so satisfying. Good job for us for choosing the place and for waiting although we were uncertain. 😊

Having our stomachs full, we then headed for the grapes picking experience in Bauang.

Ang daming nag-aabang sa tabi ng kalsada na may hawak na placards saying "Grapes Picking".

We intended to go sa isang nadaanan namin kanina, ang kaso full na ang parking.

A kid approached us saying may alam daw siya na mas matamis pa raw ang grapes kaysa doon sa place na pupuntahan namin sana.

He signed us to follow him and then he ran off.

Alam na ni Nicole ang susunod na mangyayari.

Based on her experience noon with her mom, malayo daw yung napuntahan nila and paloob pa raw ang daan.

The second we caught sight of the kid is nakamotor na siya and lumiko na nga sa kanan. Lol

For the experience, we followed him.

Napaiyak-tawa na lang si Nicole dahil mas malayo pa pala ito kaysa sa napuntahan nila ng mother niya. 😂

That's the kid.

We arrived sa sinuggest nung bata at around 3:00 PM.

Its name is Acosta Grapes Farm.

Not sure about the kid's name dahil iba iba kami ng pagkakaintindi.

Ibyong, Imbyong, Imyong, etc. Basta "I" ang simula at "Yong" ang huli ng pangalan niya. Haha

We were given baskets and scissors and he guided us on the farm.

Moment with Ibyong. Charot! 😂

There's no entrance fee. And the grapes are priced at Php 350 per kilo.

They also offer wines made of grapes, blueberry and guyabano. (Sinulit na namin ang free taste)

Wines are priced at Php 200 and the stronger one is at Php 300.

Una nilang offer kapag bumili daw ng anim (6) may free na isa.

Nakipagbargain kaming bumili ng lima (5) at libre na lang yung isa. Pumayag naman. 😁

We got 4 regular wine and 2 stronger ones for Php 1,200.

Mine's a Blueberry wine (left) and a grape wine (right, the stronger taste).

Malapit na sa dagat yung Acosta Grape Farm.

Actually tanaw na nga talaga yung dagat doon.

So we asked 15-year old Ibyong if we can go there.

He's very hospitable and he guided us there. Malapit lang pala doon ang tirahan nila and his siblings are enjoying the ocean near us as well.

I can still re-feel the wind brushing through my face as I am rewinding my experience there while writing this post.

Napakasarap magmuni muni at tumingin lang sa kawalan ng dagat.

They placed big rocks there to prevent coastal erosion, which turned into a scenic place na mag-emo. 😆

Paa na lang namin ang nag-enjoy sa maligamgam na tubig alat dahil ang iba sa amin ay may sakit at ang iba ay may dalaw. 😂

For a moment there, I forgot about the things that's been bothering me and just be with the moment...with the people I haven't caught up in a while...realizing I missed them...like...where the hell have I been, ang dami ko ng hindi alam sa buhay nila, which they may have felt towards me as well...but nonetheless, still the same people I grew up with.

You know that feeling?

Yung kahit ang tagal niyong hindi nagkita at nagkausap tapos nagkita kayo ulit, it feels like nothing's changed.

It still feels like coming home. To the home of friends. No judgment whatsoever sa mga pinaggagawa sa buhay.

Parang yung feeling towards your mom. In short, para silang nanay ko. Charot 😁😝 I can't describe it. I'm not good with words!

Marami mang hindi nakasama, but there's always a next time.

We can still catch up whenever time permits. 😊

I never thought that unplanned trips could be this memorable and enjoyable.

The experience was raw, genuine and natural.

Purely amazing and treasure-worthy.

And if you noticed....we were able to do all the ideas we've come up with.

We went out of town, we visited churches, nakapagswimming....ang mga paa namin.

Till our next getaway~!

Hanggang video calls na lang muna tayo because of the time differences. 😃

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Should've waited for the sunset, but hindi kami pwedeng gabihin...
At least kita pa rin siya. Haha