Fashion Diversion (in lieu of fabulous holiday)!!

I know, I know, I am meant to write about fashion! And shoes! But I beg you to forgive me as Fungus and I have just come back from the most fabulous holiday......and I really, really need to share our experience.

I promise I will slip some fashion in here somewhere. Really. I promise.

As we are due to leave the sunny shores of the Philippines for the exotic shores of Taiwan, we figured we needed to do something on our "To Do" list of places to go. Destination? Ilocos Norte province, 45 minutes flight to Laoag from Manila.

We spent the first two nights of the trip at Fort Ilocundia - a resort frequented by many Taiwanese. So we figured we had better check it out. Plus, I hadn't bought a birthday present for Fungus so this was my compensation for being unemployed - yes, it went on the Visa card.






Interesting fact - this resort was originally built during the 'reign' of Marcos for all the guests who attended his daughter's wedding! So despite being a resort, we actually stayed in a little part of history. It was beautiful and not 'tired' as I read on some travel sites. The room was lovely, with a cute balcony, and the blooming bougainvillea everywhere was gorgeous. Great Chinese food by the way - with it being only 45 minutes flight from Taipei, I think we will come back. Fungus was more enamoured with the facilities like the off road four wheel motorbikes and shooting range. Ask him about the bronze statue of a monkey on a skateboard......ahh, yes, you can not escape kitsch in the Philippines!

We left Fort Ilocundia mid-week to stay at this amazing little resort I kept reading about. It is called Sitio Remedios and truly is a 'small village' in every sense. With only six houses (each restored to resemble Filipino homes during the Spanish occupation) it is a little slice of heavenly paradise.

Every night you dine in a different area with the whole place lit up with candles. Soft music plays from the church (absolutely gorgeous) and you feel as if you have stepped back in time. There is certainly nothing like this anywhere else in the Philippines - we felt truly blessed to be able to have this experience. My photos will never capture the essence of this amazing village but maybe you can get the feel for it. I left completely blissed out!









So, yes, I admit. I am addicted to shoes. I am a slave to fashion. But ye of little faith - I am also a major history buff and geek to go along with it. Many of the sites in Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur were built during the Renaissance period of Europe and are UNESCO World Heritage sites. Here a few of the incredible things to see in Paoay (Ilocos Norte) and Vigan (Ilocos Sur):









So yeah.....um.....fashion. OK, here goes. Following is a photo of Fungus at the Sinking Bell Tower in Laoag. History geeks - this is for you: originally, when built, this gateway could accomodate a horseman on his horse. He could actually gallop through on horseback. No longer though, it has sunk this much over the last 500 odd years.



But fashion - well, Fungus demonstrates good fashion sense in these tropical temperatures. Armani t-shirt, Quiksilver shorts and the ever present and supremely fashionable Havaiana jandals.

See! I told you I could slip fashion in there somewhere......