National Art Gallery

In our travel to other countries, we always see to it that we visit their museums. One can see the other countries' culture carefully preserved and commemorated. It is really fascinating to see art works of great artists, artefacts, fossils and other archeological finds.

Here in Manila , we do have our very own  National Art Gallery. It is located on a separate building at Padre Burgos Street. The National Art Gallery is one of the two divisions of the National Museum. It is in the Gallery where you will find art pieces - paintings, sculptures, relics.

 The right wing of the gallery housed Gallery I (Luis I. Ablaza Hall). It has on display colonial Philippine religious arts, carved wooden saints .

Gallery II or the FCCP Hall has on display various paintings depicting the Basi Revolt of Ilocos. The 14 paintings done by Esteban Villanueva of Vigan, Ilocos Sur were declared as national cultural treasure. The Basi revolt was the uprising of people in Ilocos  against Spanish colonial rule that would raise the tariff and restrictions of their famous sugar case wine called basi.

 Gallery IX showcased the works of Fernando Amorsolo, Botong Francisco, Vicente Manansala, Jose Joya among others.

The old Senate session hall has been preserved inside the Gallery.

 Notice the art decor on the ceiling.

Saving the best for last:

The magnificent, larger than life painting of Juan Luna - the famous award winning Spoliarium can be seen at the ground floor of the gallery. A sculpture of a muse made of reinforced concrete stands on the hallway before entering the area where only two paintings are displayed. This muse or Diwata was made by Guillermo E. Tolentino.

After passing the muse, you will behold the Spoliarium. I have goosebumps when I saw it for the first time as if I see a part of history come to life. I only saw the Spoliarium in text books back in my elementary school days. And when it was in front of me, I was almost teary eyed to see such beauty and history.

 The oil painting measuring 4.22meters x 7.675meters is considered to be the biggest painting in the Philippines. It was painted in 1884 by Juan Luna as an entry to the Madrid Art Exposition. It won for him his first gold medal. The painting is visibly chained for security reasons.


I am dwarfed by this painting.

Sharing the hall is another painting done by Felix Resureccion Hidalgo. Virgenes Cristianas Expuestas al Populacho (Christian Virgins Presented to the Populace) received one of the 14 silver medals at the Madrid Art Exposition. This painting faces the Spoliarium.

I would like to go back when the other galleries are completed.

Please do visit the National Art Gallery and have a glimpse of our  culture and art.

Open on Tuesday-Sunday 10am to 5pm.
Entrance is free on Sundays.

Their website http://www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph/nationalmuseumbeta/Museums%20and%20Branches/National1.html#g1

Rediscovering - Museum of the Filipino People

May was declared as Heritage Month. Entrance to the National Museum and Art Gallery was free for the whole month of May. On normal days, the entrance fee is Php150 for adults which will get you to the 2 museums already.

We took advantage of this and of two Saturdays in May to visit our national museum. It has been ages since I last visited the national museum.National Museum has two divisions- Museum of the Filipino People and the National Art Gallery.

It was not crowded at the Museum of the Filipino People when we visited. We parked our vehicle just after the main entrance of the museum. We logged in and started our walking tour.

The ground floor has exhibit of San Diego , the wreck site and cannons.

We took the elevator to the second floor. Surprised that the elevator was a glass capsule shaped and you can see the courtyard.

The second floor has Exhibit Gallery III The San Diego -A Homecoming Exhibit. We saw collection of jars in all sizes- big Martaban, Spanish and Siamese jars that contained the provisions for the passengers of the ship consisting of preserved fruits, sardines, salted meat, wine, vinegar and drinking water.

We also saw different blue-and-white porcelain with designs related to Buddhist and Taoist luck symbols, the different shapes and sizes of plates and ewers.

The Archaeological Treasures Gallery showed burial jar collections as well as samples of other earthen wares found in different caves in the Philippines.

 A reconstructed portion of  balangay or wooden boat used for trading in the early days.

 Another part of the museum is an exhibit of the origin and the development of writing in the country as well as that of contemporary Philippine dialect.

 Also in exhibit was Abel Ilokana - A celebration of Women Weavers from Ilocos.

Samples of Filipina dresses.

Please see my separate post on the National Art Gallery. Hope this inpires readers to visit our national museum.

Museum is open 10am-5pm, Tuesday to Sundays.

Small Talk Cafe

Small Talk Cafe has been featured in a TV show  Top 10 pinaka must visit restaurant when in Legazpi City.

It is located about 11kms from Legazpi City center. It is a quaint and homey restaurant serving pizza and pasta with a local twist and other popular dishes. It has a Tripadvisor winner badge of excellence and  DOTC sticker for accreditation. It has a tranquil ambiance complete with memorabilia and pre-war photos on display.

The popular items on the menu are fusion of local and italian cuisine.

There's the Pasta Mayon

Pizza Bicolandia

Pili Pie @Php50

Bicol Express @Php50

Food is delicious and reasonably priced. We spent Php540 for 2. Service is fast and staff are friendly and courteous. We were satisfied during our visit and we highly recommend to visit this restaurant when in Legazpi City.

How to get there:
From Legazpi City Center, take a jeepney bound for Daraga. Fare is Php8.00. Get down after STI College but before Robinsons Supermarket. Cross the street and walk to Dona Aurora street which is beside an evangelical church painted in green.

Cagsawa Ruins

Located about 8 kms away from Legazpi City, Cagsawa ruins is a popular destination when in Albay.

When Mt. Mayon erupted in February 1, 1814, lahar and pyroclastic flows destroyed the Franciscan church , the Cagsawa church. Only the church belfry stands as a living testimony of the dangers of living near an active volcano.The ruins have become a national park and a museum was  established to house collection of photos of various volcanic eruptions, geological and archeological exhibits.

As you enter the park, you have to pay an entrance fee Php10. This is the view which you will immediately see.

You can also get an unobstructed view of Mt. Mayon with rice field on the foreground as you walk past the belfry.

Inside the park , one can also find various stores selling local products for souvenir. Products ranging from abaca wallet, bags, pili nuts, t-shirts, hanging decor can be bought.

 
These native items and local delicacies are reasonably priced. One must bring home pili cake which is made from pure pili nut. It cost 3 pcs for Php100.

When we visited back in 2012, there was no bridge yet. But now , a new bridge has been constructed. Also, ATV adventure is now existing.

Visitor can rent ATV and can drive underneath the bridge  and through shallow water paths and black soil.

Thanks to the effort of the local government, this place has been preserved, maintained and at the same time some developments have been made for a better experience.


How to get to Cagsawa Ruins:
From Legazpi City,  take a jeepney (preferably the ones going to the third district (Camalig, Guinobatan, Ligao, Libon, Polangui, Oas). Tell the driver to drop you off at the the road going to Cagsawa in Barangay Busay, Daraga. Look for the large Cagsawa signage at the right side of the road. Fare at the time of this post is Php8.00. One can either walk or ride a tricycle to get to the park. I suggest you get a tricycle going to the park and walk back to the main road to enjoy the scenery.

Black Sand Beach , Sto. Domingo, Albay

People long to see white sand beaches and when they see one, they are in awe. However, seeing black sandy beach is also fascinating. The beaches near Mt. Mayon have black sand. Some say that you need not go to Hawaii to walk on black sand beach. With this in mind, we went to see the nearest place with black sand beach which is in Sto. Domingo , Albay. It is about 12 kms from Legazpi City via public jeepney. We got into one heading for Sto. Domingo. Fare is Php19 per person.

Upon reaching the public market, we got into one of the tricycles parked beside the market and asked the driver to take us to a nice resort. Fare is Php50.

Driver took us to Sarung Banggi Resort and we requested him to come back for us after 2 hours.

At Sarung Banggi Resort, we paid Php50 entrance per head and Php300 for a beach front cottage.

Our cottage has a stair which lead right down to the waters. I went down and  stepped on the beach and felt the fine black sand. I am the only one on the beach and it was serene.

At waist deep, water was still clear that you can see your feet beneath the waters. There were few rocks but rocks that are rounded and smoother. It wont hurt your feet.  I saw a man with his bait trying to catch fish.

Several boats were ashore and unattended.

The shore line in Sto Domingo is quite short but seeing black sand beach is enough to make me happy.

The tricycle driver came back at 11am and he took us back to the public market. I gave the driver Php100 instead of Php50 to thank him for being kind to us.  Fortunately, there's already a jeepney waiting bound for Legazpi.