AN ARTS AND CULTURE TOUR OF LEGAZPI CITY

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Bicol Region in the Philippines (consists of the provinces of Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Albay, Sorsogon, Masbate, and Catanduanes) is one of the most beautiful regions in the Philippines. Personally, this is also the place I keep on coming back to. I love the calmness of the provinces (even the most urban ones), I love the cuisine, I love the prevalence of spicy food, and I love the historical and natural sites they have. In one of the holidays, I decided to have a quick getaway to Legazpi City to learn about its culture and people. I have checked out some of the museums in the area, but there were only a few ones. But nonetheless, I still managed to go around and see the things that are unique to Bicol Region. I had a mini-Arts and Culture tour in one of my days in Legazpi City.

Arts and Culture Travel Legazpi City
HELLO, MAYON VOLCANO! The popular beautiful volcano with a ‘perfect cone shape’ as seen from a Manila-Legazpi flight during the final descent. I bet this is more beautiful if it’s a sunny day! This is the kind of welcome I wished for myself if I have the chance to go to Bicol, and here I am. Yay!
Arts and Culture Travel Legazpi City
THE BATTLE OF LEGAZPI MURAL AT THE CITY MUSEUM: One of my first agenda upon landing in Legazpi and checking in at my hostel is to visit museums. My noob traveling skills during that time has led me to visit the City Hall and ask the Tourism Office if they have a museum in the area. Aside from weird stares from the employees screaming “This girl came all the way here to visit museums”, I was told that they have one but they never open it up to the public. But behold, they opened it just for me. Yay! I saw a lot of memorabilia, historical artifacts, paintings and stuff. I wish the Philippine government will pour more funds to maintain community museums like this one.
Arts and Culture Travel Legazpi City
BIGG’S DINER. Bigg’s is a fastfood chain in Bicol region with branches in Batangas province. It’s a typical American diner chain, but it’s known for its awesome unique interior design and yummy meals, of course. I kept coming back to Bigg’s whenever I’m in Batangas or Bicol. This is something Bicol is known for.
Arts and Culture Travel Legazpi City
A RANDOM ARTWORK IN AN OPEN AIR EXHIBIT AT EMBARCADERO. Embarcadero is known as a place where locals could hang out and shop and is very close to the popular Legazpi Boulevard with a very awesome nightlife by the ocean. When I went there to buy my parents some souvenir, I saw artworks in the atrium probably created by students, and all of them symbolizes something about Bicol Region. I took a picture of this Mayon Volcano artwork. Beautiful!
Arts and Culture Travel Legazpi City
STREET FOOD STRIP AT PENARANDA PARK. Every afternoon, students, workers, and groups of friends would gather at Penaranda Park as the street food stalls would open. This is a typical Filipino thing (not only in Legazpi), which also serves as a nice bonding experience. This is something I always recommend to foreign friends visiting the Philippines. Also, eating street food in the Philippines might be a scary idea for outsiders, but it may be one of the most beautiful experience there is.
Arts and Culture Travel Legazpi City
CHILI ICE CREAM (LEVEL 1) AT 1ST COLONIAL GRILL. Bicol Region is known to be the Chili Capital of the Philippines, and Bicolanos take pride in having a generally spicy cuisine. 1st Colonial Grill is another chain of restaurants in Bicol Region (and they just opened up branches in Manila) which is popular for the Chili Ice Cream. You can choose the level of spiciness (1, 2, or 3), and they will ‘mark’ your ice creams with the level of spiciness with chilis. My very first chili ice cream is a level one as shown, but later I always have fun ordering level 3.
Arts and Culture Travel Legazpi City
ST. GREGORY THE GREAT CATHEDRAL. Just near the City Hall is the Catedral de San Gregorio Magno which is a beautiful old Catholic church. Old churches are a thing in the Philippines because the Spanish colonial government has ordered to build at least one church per municipality or city. I always try my best to see old churches and appreciate their beauty. I wish I have a better camera but it looks so perfect at nighttime.
Arts and Culture Travel Legazpi City
NIGHTTIME SCENE AT LEGAZPI. A further walk from Penaranda Park will take you to more food stalls with seats where you can have your typical Filipino street food/dinner. This is part of the night market, so the day starts here after the sunset. You will typically see locals here bonding over food. Life seems simple in Bicol region and at the same time happy. Whenever I visit Bicol region, my life just slows down, and I always love that feeling.

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Arts and Culture Travel Legazpi City

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