Why I Love Living In La Union: Summer Sunset Blast! Come Visit Us!

One thing that never fails to calm my spirit is watching the sun go down. 

My love for capturing sunsets started when I met my Salitype Society sisters. From then on I grabbed every chance to take a snap of that gigantic ball kissing the sea.

I am lucky to be living in a place where the sun loves to set in full bloom. 

Welcome to La Union My Beloved...sharing with you a part of my collection of L.U. sunsets...

Filipino-Chinese Friendship Pagoda, San Fernando

Olives Restaurant, Thunderbird Resorts

The Letters In November would like to take you to another must visit place in La Union.

 

 

If you are going North of the country, fail not to dine at  Olives Restaurant at Thunderbird Resorts.

The Mediterranean inspired place makes you feel relaxed, refreshed and carefree. You could either stay at the balcony and enjoy the sight of blue skies and sea or stay in the air-conditioned area.

If you are a loyal follower of The Letters In November you probably remember SILLAG Festival which I featured here twice. Both took place at the boardwalk area of Thunderbird Resorts. The place is also one of my favorite spots in La Union to take sunset shots!

But today I did not visit the place to take nature shots but to satisfy my craving for good food and bonding with my sisters at work. Come dine with us virtually.

Now, what do we order? Let's see....

hmmmmm everything sounds interesting and sumptuous!

I honestly could not make up my mind :)

 while my friends already decided to have rice, meat and veggies I spent time taking photos of their food :)

I do not remember what they were exactly though hahaha but I am sure the above photo is a "duck" recipe. My friend swore it was delicious beyond imagination and wanted me to try. I "chickened" out LOL.

Then I finally remembered what I went there for!- their famous Ilokano Pizza freshly cooked in their wood-fired stone oven!

Ilokano pizza of Olives Restaurant, is a unique blend of Vigan longanisa, Tomato concasse, mozzarella, cheddar cheese, tocino, tuna and onion.

My friends gasped thinking I could eat the whole thing! I denied it of course but had not anyone been looking I could have finished the entire pan!

Oh yes, we had fruit shakes which I suggested should be a variety....

so it would look great in a photo LOL

We also ordered tea and dessert ahem, for the sake of having a taste :)

 Healthy Living has made me a fruit lover and therefore wherever I eat I tend to ask for their fresh fruit version, not that there is any huge difference .

My sweet tooth cravings are still quite hard to stop though so I requested for...

Vanilla Parfait with chocolate flakes
It was divine! What with the cherry on top and my first love-chocolate! 

..and then we had some tea to aid in digesting 
 everything while chit-chatting about life and all the ooohhhh and urghhh and ahhhs of working in the medical field.

We seldom have the time to hang out together and cherish those moments of simply enjoying good food and deep to non-sense conversations about everything under the sun.... I do not tell the world often but these two girls make my life at work a breeze....

meet my besties at work- dockies Jhen and Seves at your service

love yah sisters!!!

..now if you happen to drop by La Union, we could tour you around and you could ask us for some medical advice which we would not give for free! -just kidding of course!

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We all believe that LAUGHTER is indeed the BEST MEDICINE, coupled with nature therapy and lots of Tender, Loving Care :)

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come visit La Union dine, swim and watch the sun go down majestically at Thunderbird Resorts

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Thunderbird Resorts Info:
Location- Poro Point Freeport Zone San Fernando City, La Union Philippines 2500
Contact them at E: pororeservations@thunderbird-asia.com
T: (+63 72) 888 7777 F: (+63 72) 888 3888 M:(+63) 917 586 5126
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*This is not a sponsored post, although I honestly wish it were LOL

Healthy Living: The Good Samaritan, San Fernando City, La Union

I was walking alone along the streets of San Fernando on a Friday night trying to find "Christmas" in the air.

There were street lights and a giant Christmas tree adorned the city plaza. Everyone seemed happy and busy with their own friends and families.

I was about to cross the street when I spotted a man with disability walking with crutches which he amazingly maneuvered swiftly before I could make up my mind to approach him, afraid for his safety.





     Then out of nowhere someone else was quick to do what I was planning. A guy approached him and walked alongside protecting the man from vehicles.

...and even humbly offered to carry him instead...

I guess both agreed it would be best for them to just cross the street together...

As both reached the other end of the road my heart was singing with happiness, witnessing "Christmas" in its truest form. As I type my eyes are teary and I pray the Good Samaritan learns his good deed was not left unseen and that he be blessed with all the great things that money can not buy and that many out there would be inspired to go out of their way to help a stranger.

~for more inspiring stories, LIKE us on FACEBOOK: The Letters In November~
 and follow us on twitter @novemberletters~

hopping happily, happily hoping

The other day I spent time watching a grasshopper while waiting for the sun to rise. Yes I did, yes I sat there, and disturbed its happy resting on those yellow-orange petals.

Cafe Iluminada

   
          I was looking at my fingers the other day. Like a kid I counted one to ten and backwards. Ten, nine, eight, seven down to one and asked myself "why in the world are you sad Zen?"...I could not exactly figure out why. I rolled my eyes to the direction of the ceiling and saw two lizards playing or so I thought. Their tails got entwined and then they fell off the roof driving me mad as I screamed and manuevered my heavy butt away from them. My previously sullen mood was replaced by joy as I heard the kids laughing at me and my irrational fright. Life is beautiful, that I believe and keep believing. The stress of daily living can take the toll on us and like most of you I take time to go out with friends whenever time and circumstances allow to watch the world go by, count our blessings together and reflect on life and our mission of spreading goodness and peace.

Passing Happiness Around

     Today I saw another child who once again made me feel so contented and happy. She seemed to be chanting while walking along the shore barefooted in comfortable loose clothes with hair freely swaying with the wind.

 

     It was almost sunset and I was spending time at the surfing area with a good friend after visiting the wake of a high school batch mate's dad. As always stricken with grief at the news of someone traveling to the afterlife having experienced myself the pain of losing someone in this lifetime I was in a contemplative mood. I complained a lot about the sky not being royal blue this afternoon and my friend did not know whether to laugh at me or to scold me. I realized I was being unreasonable when my friend spotted this little girl who totally took my attention away from melancholy.

Bacnotan, My Hometown

Yesterday, I had tears in my eyes on my way to that place I dearly call home. I was with a heavy heart as I took photos with my phone through the glass window of the bus. Our province was one of those unfortunately ravished by tropical storm "Helen" which brought heavy rains that flooded streets, farmlands, homes and drowned relatives' and friends' livestock; destroyed crops and property and left many in sorrow having no place to sleep and food to eat. I prayed with my fellowmen for the rain to stop; analyzed why such a thing happened, drew out conclusions and like a diligent student came up with answers and plans to help prevent another akin catastrophe from happening; things  better done than just enumerated. Today, miraculously the sun came out and brought hope for everyone. With the government's aid, everyone's cooperation and blessings from Above I have faith we will rise above such tragedy.

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     Sharing with you photos from my beloved hometown Bacnotan.....

    

Baroro Bridge

Community Service: A Photo-essay

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Sillag- Poro Point Festival of Lights 2012

     The following shots were taken during the first ever SILLAG festival of lights held at Thunderbird Resorts Boardwalk, Poro Point, San Fernando City, La Union on April 28, 2012. Sillag is an Ilocano word which means "moonbeam" or "lunar illumination".The event was apparently meant to promote tourism in the North, a part of Bases Conversion and Development Authority's efforts to change the landscape of North and Central Luzon.      
                                                                                                                                         -source-

     Part of the festivity was a lantern and fluvial parade....photos of which follow...pardon the quality of the shots because my digicam could simply not give justice to the beauty of the magical evening that fascinated this simple soul.

Hearts

We find true love at the most unexpected places and sometimes we fail to recognize it because we are blinded by what other people think and say and though love may seem elusive to some, it remains the most powerful emotion in all the world and when it speaks, there seems to be no need for words....if you feel as though it hasn't come into your life yet, just wait, just keep the faith and open your eyes to its true magnificence...you'd see LOVE in the eyes of the people who truly care for you...and I bet for all of us, there is more than one person who'd say they LOVE us more than words can say...let's do, spread the LOVE...

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