Destinations:

• Paoay Church
• Malacañang of the North
• Paoay Lake
• Patapat Viaduct
• Saud Beach

Just recently, we went on a trip to Ilocos. I was with my boyfriend, his mom, his cousin. We joined a tour, so we rode a van with a couple of other people who we only met during the trip. We left Metro Manila on the evening of November 14, Thursday. It was a long drive and I usually have a hard time sleeping inside the car during long trips like this but since it was after work, I was already a bit tired and drained so I didn’t have much of a problem falling asleep.

We arrived in Ilocos at around 6 in the morning and our first stop was the Paoay Church. I’m so glad it’s our first stop, so I could say a little prayer to thank Him for all the blessings he continuously give me despite overthinking which leads to me having a lot of doubts about certain things.

After taking photos of the church and around the place, we were off to have breakfast. Then we went straight to Malacañang of the North right after. We were a couple of minutes too early, so we had to wait before the place opens at 8:30 a.m. What I liked most about the place was the view of the Paoay Lake at the back porch. Here was also where I tasted the best scramble ever (with Stick-O + tapioca pearls)!

I’m not really a fan of the Marcoses, but the vintage look on the picture frames up on the living room walls just screams my aesthetic.

After taking photos and touring around Malacañang of the North, we went to La Paz Sand Dunes to experience the 4×4 Adventure Ride. It was my first time riding, and though I ended up getting a bruised arm and a wounded bottom lip (lol), it was really such a thrilling experience.

After having lunch, we stopped over at Patapat Viaduct; it’s a famous stop over in Ilocos where people just usually take photos. It was raining and the place was quite foggy because of the temperature. Reminds me of those times when I was a kid, when we go to Baguio for the summer and stopped over at that famous lion.

After the stop over at Patapat Viaduct, we went to our accommodation. We won’t be going anywhere else after this, so we have the time for ourselves. When all of our things are settled inside the room, it was only around 3 in the afternoon, so we decided to take a walk. After asking around, we found out that the beach was just walking distance from the accommodation. So this happened: