City tour of Tacloban!
For the 2nd quarter of our day (1st quarter was the morning walk), we went to some landmarks in the city.
Sto. Nino Shrine and Heritage Museum
FYI this is different from the church downtown. Rather, this houses artifacts, art and other historical items dating back from the Marcos regime. There’s a fee to enter the museum portion but it is free to roam around the grounds. Due to limited time, we decided to just take a few photos outside, including a photo “carrying” a giant ramen bowl from a mural at a restaurant under construction. I’ve heard from another friend back in Manila that the museum was a must visit. Maybe next time then?
City Hall from the window
Interestingly, the seat of government of the city is up on Kanhuraw hill.
Leyte Park Resort Hotel
Overlooking San Pedro bay, you could take your time relaxing with a glass of juice and enjoying the view. You could tell it was once the place to be, though it’s a bit dilapidated at some points. My friend told me it’s a common venue for conventions in the city nowadays.
Leyte Provincial Capitol
Photo taking at this National Historical Landmark, an all-white building with a neoclassical architectural design. Tacloban’s counterpart of the Statue of Liberty, in the middle of Plaza Libertad, is right across the street.
Coffee and cake break at Jose Karlos [read full post soon]
Sto. Nino Church
A few steps from Jose Karlo was another dominantly white structure – the Sto. Nino Church. Sto. Nino is the patron saint of Leyte. We stopped by the church for a short prayer and lit up some candles.
We just had to get visit the Miniso store at SM Hypermarket and window shop around just like what we do in other branches in Manila.
Delighting the inner kid/teen in us, we went to play some claw machine rounds at the arcade. Would you believe they had make up, powder, lotion, and even cologne for grabs in the claw machines? At least one of us got lucky. My friend was able to get a Stitch keychain after our combined spending of at least 150+ bucks.
Time to eat lunch, we went to Robinsons North Tacloban for some food and drinks at shops not in Manila.
Read more about Sunzi Cafe and Origins Tea soon.
The Gastronomer's Diary 