Michi Photostory

Thirteen years ago, we dined at Cafe Uno for lunch and Irene’s Vigan Empanada for merienda. But last month, we only ate at Hotel Luna. We didn’t plan about it but since satisfied na kami sa food sa Hotel Luna, ayaw na namin lumabas pa, sa hotel na lang kami kumain. 

Hotel Luna features three restaurants, including Azotea, Comedor, and Chula Saloon Bar. We visited Chula Saloon Bar and Comedor. I did not know about the Azotea, hindi tuloy namin napuntahan. Ito pala yung may magandang view. 

Anyway, we ate dinner, lunch, and merienda at Chula Saloon Bar, and for buffet breakfast, we ate at Comedor. 

For lunch and dinner, we tried these dishes. Luna Bagnet PHP600, Luna House Salad PHP250, Sinigang na Hipon, Pork Belly Adobo, Rice, Burnt Dulce De Leche Cheesecake PHP250, and Halo-Halo PHP250. The meals are good for sharing. 

After our DIY Vigan Tour, we had late lunch at Chula Saloon Bar and sa sobrang late ng kain namin, naabutan na namin yung pagprepare ng afternoon feast. If we knew na meron Merienda Buffet, sana naghintay na lang kami ng konti kasi mas mura. Para lang kami bumili ng isang dessert. Hehehe!

Merienda Buffet is an afternoon feast of Filipino Treats for PHP299. It is from 2PM to 5PM. We checked the buffet spread and promised na babalik kami. We decided na magmerienda buffet na lang kami kaysa magdinner. 

Actually, hindi pa talaga kami natutunawan, but we went back around 4PM. We only saw one occupied table, so fortunately, wala pa halos bawas yung food, and we were able to enjoy our meal. There are pansit bihon, carbonara, goto, Vigan Miki, pastries, okoy, and kakanin.

Our room includes a complimentary breakfast buffet, and for two days, they have the same menu for the main dishes. So we had fried rice, longganisa, daing na bangus, corned beef, tocino, and tapa. They also have bread, soup, salad, eggs, and others, so it was a satisfying breakfast. 

We liked the food and service at Hotel Luna, so kaya siguro hindi na kami nagtry pa sa iba. In addition, hindi rin siya crowded. 

V. Delos Reyes cor. Gen. Luna Street, 

2700 Vigan City, Ilocos Sur 

Philippines

2700 Vigan City Ilocos Sur Philippines

Read: 4 Days Trip in Laoag, Vigan, and Pagudpud 

We visited the majority of the tourist spots in Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur, so I never thought that we would be back again. But last month, we had a chance to do a North Luzon Road Trip. We started in Alaminos, Pangasinan, and from there, we traveled to Vigan.

Traveling from Pangasinan to Vigan is not a problem, kasi smooth lang yung road. I checked our ETA and thought, “Maabutan pa namin yung Lightshow at Plaza Salcedo,” but I was wrong because 30 minutes before we reached the hotel, it started to rain. 

Wrong timing talaga kasi gabi na, ang lakas talaga ng ulan, hindi na visible yung daan at may baha and first time ni hubby magdrive sa Vigan so hindi niya kabisado yung road. I was so scared at that time, feeling ko nga final destination na. Sobrang dasal na lang talaga na makarating kami ng safe. 

We’ve made few stops kapag may nakitang gasoline station, kaso yung first gasoline station namin na pinuntahan, bigla nagbrownout kasi may pumutok na poste sa tapat. Toink, so scary at madilim. Thank God, after 1 hour and 30 minutes, we finally arrived at Hotel Luna.

Hotel Luna is our accommodation for two nights. It is one of the popular hotels in Vigan, so this deserves a separate post. And dahil nagustuhan na namin yung food dito, we ate breakfast, lunch, merienda, and dinner at the hotel. Hindi na nagtry sa iba, 

As I mentioned before, we already visited Vigan, so in my mind, there is no need to rent a van or book a tour. Makakapasyal pa rin kami kasi walking distance naman yung ibang tourist spots, and we can just ride a tricycle if we want to visit other places. But in the end, yung tricycle driver na nag-offer na itour na lang kami and we grabbed the chance na. 

On our last day, we ate an early breakfast so we could explore Calle Crisologo without the crowd. Ang hirap kasi magtake ng pictures kapag ang daming tao. Of course, we bought some native delicacies before going home. Good thing na maaga din magbukas yung ibang stores. 

We checked out early because we planned to eat our lunch at the Thunderbird Resort in La Union, Hindi ko na-feel na 3 days kami Sa Vigan kasi late check in and early check out. If I count the hours, 50 hours lang kami, but it is better compared sa first trip namin na day trip lang.

It’s been years since our last road trip; we went to Pangasinan - Baguio - Sagada and last month, we went to Pangasinan - Vigan - La Union. 

We live in South Luzon, so our usual stopover is Pangasinan. My in-laws live in Pangasinan, so we always visit them before starting our tour. For a change, we did sleep there and decided to stay in Alaminos, Pangasinan. 

This was a last-minute trip, so we had a hard time looking for accommodation. But my husband found Laylow Villas. We stayed here for one night before we traveled to Vigan. 

It's been 13 years since our last visit to Vigan, Ilocos Sur. I remembered I booked a flight because I don’t like long travel, but things have changed, sa dami na ng expressway, hindi na matagal ang biyahe. But because of the rain, sobrang tagal ng biyahe namin from Alaminos but thank God we arrived safe. 

With our recent trip, we only stayed at Vigan and chose Hotel Luna for our accommodation for 2 nights. I’m traveling with my mom so we had a DIY Vigan Tour and ang dami na rin nagbago. I will share that in a separate post.

On our last day, I’ve been searching kung saan magandang magside trip sa La Union. I’ve been checking different tourist spots, but in the end, we went to Thunderbird Resorts. We ate lunch here and discovered na pricey pala sa resort na ito. Hehehe! 

We did not stay long since malayo pa biyahe namin pauwi. Four days is too short; we were tired but happy for a new experience.

P.S. Regarding the rented van, check the details below. 

Contact Glenn

Baluarte no entrance fee, I’ll make a separate post for this.

Bantay Church and Bell Tower: donations only

End of our tour