It was rather serendipitous that we made it to Bell Church. See it was not even included in our Baguio travel itinerary. What happened was the friendly taxi driver we flagged down at the Strawberry Farm to bring us to back to Baguio City suggested the place. The moment we set foot in it, I was delighted that we heed his advice.

Bell Church reminds me so much of the Taoist Temple in Cebu {was not able to see this one for real, but I received a beautiful postcard featuring this site not long ago}, and the surroundings conjure images of China, thanks to the pagodas and the dragons.

#fmsphotoaday: water

It was a little before lunch time when we arrived, but unfortunately the temple closed for lunch break and we were not able to explore inside and see the monks. But the view outside is just as beautiful and we took those many steps to get to the top-most part of the Church and view the rest of the city from there, with my little man, in tow.

I love the landscape, but most especially, we love the lotus pond + the one with koi fish in it. Jared developed this special fondness for them, too, and threw a few coins onto the water. I just hope he’s old enough to whisper a wish or two. 🙂

This place is so tranquil + if only we’re not starving + not pressed for time, we could’ve lingered much longer and wait until the temple reopens. Nevertheless, I am just glad we made a quick stop to this place, otherwise, I would’ve really regretted it!

Am sharing the lovely water photos with Blog Photo Challenge {entry#11} + #fmsphotoaday

images are taken by my sister, Isabel, unless otherwise stated.

Here is another one of my top 5 things to do in Baguio posts. + one of the things you cannot do anywhere else but in Baguio is to have your photos taken with the St. Bernard dogs at Mines View Park. The little one was thrilled to have his photo taken with the huge dog, he even obliged to pet it on the neck.

Even when we were not able to have our photo taken with the biggest dog there is {we sort of were taken aback by the dog owner’s attitude, so we opted for another dog instead, even when his seemed to be the most handsome in the pack :(} this photo will go down to our Baguio Trip scrapbook! + don’t you find this dog sooo adorable, too!

There are plenty of them St. Bernard’s at Mines View Park so do not just settle with the first one you see. This one we opted for charges P50 for 3 shots + I tell  you it is not such a bad deal! Among our three shots, I find the one above the most share-worthy of all. Watch out for the little man’s solo shot on Jared’s Little Corner 🙂

Anyway, apart from having your photos taken with the humongous dogs, the view from the Mines View Park is quite breathtaking! You might as well take loads of shots of you + the family with the amazing background while you’re there. You may not find a lot of pirelli motorcycle tires for sale at the park, but there are also lots of stalls around selling beautiful + affordable Baguio products + wares, so do not forget to go around + shop, too!

More of our Baguio Trip soon. Happy Saturday everyone! 😉

at the Grotto in my previous Baguio trip almost 6 years ago

This is it! It is only 7 days to go before we head to the City of Pines + everyone is really beside ourselves with excitement. I have just made a checklist of what stuff to pack + bring to our trip + I am half-way through finishing our itinerary for our 3-day Baguio stay. I must tell you, I have only been to Baguio once + I traveled then with my teammates from work + this is the first time am doing it with the family so it really is rather exciting. Plus, we have not really gone on 3-day out-of-town trips before so everyone is really all psyched about this trip!

I’ve actually rummaged through some Baguio articles online tips on which places to visit in Baguio, as well as note their location + proximity to other popular tourist attractions in the city. Based on my research, here are the top 5 places in Baguio that we are definitely checking out:

• Burnham Park ~ of course, no one visits + leaves Baguio without stopping by this famous park. I will make sure that we ride the boat in the lagoon + take as much photos of the little man outdoors
• Mines View Park ~ what better way to see the rest of Baguio than in the Mines View Park summit. I will also remember to have our photos taken with the humongous St. Bernard + get someone to don the traditional Igorot clothing
• Bencab Museum + Cafe Isabel ~ located in Tuba, Benguet, about 15 minutes away from the Baguio city proper, this museum + restaurant also tops our list of places to visit during our weekend getaway up north. Checking out famous artworks by Bencab himself will be a perfect part of our adventure. I won’t forget to try out the gastronomic treat that Cafe Isabel has to offer, too. A must-try: the carrot + ginger soup for the little man! 😉
• Strawberry Farm ~ we plan to visit there on the second day of our trip. We shall be picking strawberries, of course, + will be sure to munch some as we traverse the vast farm. I read somewhere that blue berries are sold here somewhere, too, so I will make sure to get some, as well!
• Wright Park ~ horseback-riding is on my Baguio to-do list, so we are definitely stopping by this park, too. We’ve only tried a horse-drawn carriage before so I bet the little man will be thrilled at this new experience.

We will make sure to explore Session Road, too, as I’ve only explored this famous Baguio road a tiny bit in my previous trip, so this time I will make sure we walk the entire stretch, + discover what it’s got to offer. Among places we’d like to check out here are Mt. Cloud Bookshops {we’re a bunch of book lovers, see!} + the Hill Station Restaurant {hopefully we can dine in without reservation, though} or anyone that has superb Amplifiers that will catch our fancy!