Bacolod was the first airplane ride for Xander so this City will always mark special to us. It was also my husband and I's first vacation visit on the capital City of Negros Occidental, though I had been in the City for several times for business purposes. We spent 3 nights in Bacolod but the 1st night was spent in Campuestohan Resort in Talisay (see my previous post). Our two nights in the City was more than enough to check some popular spots in the area.
Look how happy this little guy was.
Bacolod in bird's eye view..
A C C O M O D A T I O N
We stayed at GT Hotel for two nights. The hotel is located at a busy intersection of Lacson Avenue and Galo St., Bacolod City, near San Sebastian Cathedral. The hotel was okay, there was a small lobby area and just enough dining space. The room was quite small, just good for a queen size bed, tables and closet with little space for us to move around. The reason Xander was on bed most of the time if we were inside and another reason why he didn't want to stay in the room. Hahaha! The design was cozy and modern and it was clean so just forget the other things that I said.
At the lobby area..
Trying to convince Xander to pout.
At the room..
This was how he sleeps.
Our booking came with a buffet breakfast, yey! Good and enough breakfast is always a nice way to start the day.
B A C O L O D C I T Y T O U R
Since we had only 1 whole day at the City, we only checked those famous spots around. There are only few of them but enough to make you know the City a little. And though it seems like not as colorful as you always expect on a photo backdrop, they are relevant and significant on the City for a reason.
S A N S E B A S T I A N C A T H E D R A L
Located at Rizal st., Bacolod City, a late 19th Century Baroque style Catholic Church
T H E N E G R O S M U S E U M
The Museum is located at Gatuslao St., a small two-storey space to see the vintage and cultural and art history of Negros. From Cathedral, we took a taxi to reach the place. It took as less than an hour to see all the exhibits including the photo taking. A nice way to spent time if you want to know a little bit of Negros.
Someone was sleepy. :D
C A P I T O L P A R K A N D L A G O O N
One of the main landmarks of the City. A large area where the Negros Occidental Provincial Capitol Building is located, standing tall in the front of a man-made lagoon. A good place where the people of Bacolod gather sometimes for the province special occasions, also a place for picnics and walking/jogging/fitness and others.
A street along Lacson Avenue. Shot during one of my business trips, a week of the Masskara Festival.
C A L E A
Calea is a pastry and coffee shop. A delightful taste of the City. I think I got the taste of their cake first before even going to Bacolod. That made me decide to check the shop when we got there. Unfortunately, tables were all occupied and there were lines on the counter so hubby make a pass as we cannot wait longer since we had a little boy who was impatient. :(
But what made this shop famous? Their cakes and other desserts are addicting. It was not as sweet as you expect to taste on the dessert so there is no "umay" factor and you can't even realize you ate a lot. Not sweet but tasteful! One of my favorites is the chocolate cake, which is also one of their bestsellers including the white chocolate cheesecake. So yummy! Gosh, just mentioning about it makes me want to fly now to Bacolod and directly land to Calea. I'm not really into sweet food but their cakes made me want more. And when you see their place, it was an Instagram worthy space. The colors of white and pastel green was so pretty. Their design is a combination of modern and vintage. If you're one of the tourist that is not aware that they are famous and you saw their place, you will definitely go inside. The look was really inviting!
(This shot was from one of the business trips I made in Bacolod)
Unexpectedly twinning with the shop's color:)
C H I C K E N H O U S E
Of course who would not know Bacolod for the Chicken Inasal? There was a lot of it in Bacolod and two of the most famous are the Chicken House and the Manokan Country. But since our location was near on the Chicken House, which is just located along Lacson Avenue, that's where we went. It was tasteful as expected. Didn't got a lot of photo of the place though.
Xander's stare. :D
O U T S I D E B A C O L O D
T H E R U I N S
The Ruins is the most famous landmark of Bacolod. Though its on the other Town and not already part of the City, your Tour should always include this one. Located at Talisay, Negros Occidental, The Ruins is an ancestral home that was built inside a large sugar plantation by Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson to commemorate on his late Portuguese wife's memory. It was burned down during World War II and the remains of the mansion has been able and continually preserve by his great grand children. Now part of the history and most treasured tourist spot of Negros.
From Bacolod, we took a taxi to bring us on the place. Please be aware that the drivers are charging a fix amount for this specific spot. Our driver charged us of P500.00. For an almost 6 km distance. Can you believe that? Though we complained because the amount was unacceptable, we agreed afterwards. It's just hard sometimes to choose between economical or comfortable travel. I can say that we have Xander as an excuse but I have to admit that most of the time, I am guilty of picking the latter one. Anyways, that was a two-way fare as there was no public transport going back. The Mansion is located on the middle of a plantation, far from the road so the drivers are just gonna wait on the parking until you are done.
There is an entrance fee depends on where you will fall on category between Adult, Kids or Students ranging from I think P40 to P100. Sorry can't remember the exact amount we paid.
This little boy was so happy he had a large grass area to roll around. ;)
There is a restaurant inside the area just on the side of the Mansion with good choices of food like pizza, pasta, sandwiches, and nice cold drinks. Good after a tiring tour around. And the taste was good though don't expect a cheap cost. We got ourselves a pizza and a fresh fruit shake (sorry, didn't got a photo).
There are story tellers inside the Mansion that will tour you around and have you know all the details and history of The Ruins. We didn't join though and also we didn't try to went up on the second floor as the stair was so thin. We were scared we might fall with Xander.
We stayed until sunset. The color of the sky was beautiful, it reflects on the Mansion. Bad thing we didn't have a nice camera and we were in a hurry to leave as Xander was already asleep on my shoulder. The Ruins was a nice escape on the City.
As the first family travel, Bacolod had been a good start for us, the first time we experience traveling with a child. Definitely hard but we learned and we enjoyed seeing Xander got amazed on the things and places new on his eyes. I know he won't remember this when he grows up but I'm happy we can show him of his one year old traveler self one day.
Next goal, other part of Negros. But for now, posting a glimpse I had on the northern part of Bacolod.
On one of my business trips in Bacolod, I had a way going up to San Carlos, a town in the Northern part of Negros Occidental, almost 4 hours drive from Bacolod. With this ride, where we only rented a taxi, I saw a different side of Bacolod. Maybe one of the best road trips I had when it comes to the scenery I am seeing from my window. Negros has a nice landscape with mountains on its backdrop.
Along the way, we came across on what they called "the Little Baguio of Negros", a town name after its late and former Governor, Don Salvador Benedicto. And indeed it was. The weather was cold and foggy, and they have a long stretch of pine trees (didn't have a photo). Don Salvador Benedicto (DSB) has also a version of lion's statue built on the side of a highway just like on what can you see at Kennon Road, though it was smaller and on a whole body. I can only show few photos as we just stop for a short time only.
Seeing a little of this, I hope to visit the North and South of Negros next time. I hope I can show you a lot more once it happened so stay tuned!
x o x o
Faith
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