Manila field trip

by AVA TE-ZABAT♥ - October 01, 2014

There are so many nice places here in Manila that I think some people take for granted. I guess if you go through the hustle and bustle of the MRT/LRT rides, long commutes, horrid pollution and bad governance, you wouldn't think there are such places. But if you look hard enough, you will. :) You just have to be positive about certain things and believe that there are still great things about our country! I'm sorry if I sound too patriotic haha!
Last week, my boys and the BFFs had a little field trip around Manila. Our first stop was the National Museum. The last time I went there was 2010 and that was for a school requirement. The N.M. wasn't that good looking back then. If I remember correctly, it was hot and humid. Now its improved quite a lot and did you know you can get inside the N.M. for free every Sunday?:) I find that awesome!
That being said, it was the perfect day for us to go to the museum. Less people, no entrance fee and it was a great day to immerse ourselves in art!
Here's a photo diary of how our day went...

For parents, this is a great way to start educating your kids about art and even a way for them to discover and love it. :) At first I thought Athan wasn't interested cos he kept spinning and just walking and walking. But after awhile, I actually found him starring at a certain painting for almost 5 minutes. I was amazed. :) Asher on the other hand already showed his interest from the very beginning by pointing at paintings and sceptres and uttering, "Mommy! Pum!" every time he pointed hehe. :)

I am amazed at how talented Fernando Amorsolo is with sketching. He can sketch the tiniest detail so precisely! No wonder he's a national artist!
It's cool how every gallery we transferred to had a different colour; blue here, orange the next and then green!

This is The Old House of Representatives Session Hall a.k.a. The Hall of the Masters. It's amazing to be in the building where the Commonwealth Congress used to be housed in the 1930s. I love the architecture!
The Vicente Manansala gallery...

Ahem! Ano toh???

Manansala was a known Filipino cubist painter and illustrator. He's also one of our National Artists and he's my favourite!:)

The only downside to our visit was that some of the galleries were still being fixed and that the 4th level was closed. Maybe they're still trying to fix things. Nevertheless, we enjoyed our visit!
Since we had more time after our museum tour, we opted to go to Fort Santiago. :)

This time, we had to pay an entrance fee. But it's only Php 75 each. Unless you have your student's ID like me and will only have to pay Php 50. :) It's open till 6pm.

They also have a "kalesa-like" tour of the whole Fort Santiago, but I don't recommend this cos it's Php 500 per head! Per head!-_- We actually enjoyed it just by walking ourselves and reading the signs. :)

The entrance to where Jose Rizal was imprisoned.

Standing with my boys and BFF where Rizal's footsteps ended. Of course he didn't stop walking. But the metal plated footsteps just ends at this gate. :)
Obligatory tourist shot! haha!

We went to the Jose Rizal museum where we saw where he was imprisoned, old clothes of his and stories about his life. Unfortunately, it was too dark to take photos and flash photography wasn't allowed, so I had to settle with places inside the museum that had light.

Athan and I make good Illustrados noh? But I think I'm more of the rebel cos of my coloured hair. Hehe!:)

This is my first time at Fort Santiago. I've only been outside of it most of the time and I'm glad I went on this field trip with my best friends. I'm blessed to have friends who tolerate these kinds of adventure. :) To more of these!:) Gonna check another item of the bucket list! Just keep checking them off!!
You can also read about our MUSEO PAMBATA field trip here: http://www.artsyfartsyava.com/2014/06/museo-pambata-experience.html :)

Tags : mommyblog

8 comments♥

UnknownOctober 1, 2014 at 12:34 PM
field trips and historic places! my I miss being a student! lovely photos Ava :)

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LouOctober 1, 2014 at 6:35 PM
Love this post~

Lou of, steal-thestyle.com
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WannderzelOctober 2, 2014 at 6:02 AM
Such a wonderful trip! I've always want to visit the National Museum and Fort Santiago, but we're living 4-hours away from the Metro. But, maybe in the near future! :)
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LouiseOctober 2, 2014 at 7:20 PM
I totally agree with you Ava... there are still a lot of great places to visit within Metro Manila that people take for granted. I've always wanted to visit Fort Santiago but because I live in Cavite, I need to schedule it. Maybe soon...

Your photos made me more excited to visit these places! The Manila local government should campaign for these places again. They need to capture the interests of the citizens.
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CzjaiOctober 2, 2014 at 9:22 PM
We were supposed to visit NM two Sundays ago, pero naubos ang oras namin sa Manila Ocean Park. We ended up visiting Manila Cathedral na lang, tapos we drove around Intramuros before finally heading home. :)
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UnknownOctober 3, 2014 at 12:14 AM
Sometimes I forget that awesome historical places like this exists in the country. I think I gotta visit these places again soon.

Life With Antlers // A Personal Blog
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So Random ChelleOctober 31, 2014 at 10:48 AM
Hello Ava! I was also able to visit the National Museum. But you're very lucky there were not much people when you guys went. By the way, I would like to link this post on my blog post. Will that be okay with you? :)
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AVA TE-ZABAT♥November 1, 2014 at 11:20 PM
@Louise Banta Thank you, Louise! :) Feel free to do so!
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