What is in Legazpi City?

Legazpi City is home to the Majestic Mayon Volcano whose top is almost a perfect cone.  On a good day you will see it in all its glory.  My trip to the city was a little cloudy.  Some say the volcano is like a shy lady...  sometimes you will see her ... sometimes people leave Legazpi without ever viewing the volcano.

Now you see her .....  this picture was taken when I landed at the airport.



Now you don't ..... taken when I got to the airport the next day.



Now you see some parts of her again ... taken as I was about to board the plane.



Legazpi City is also the hometown of the family of my Dad.  He passed away when I was 8, so we did not visit the province frequently.  I would see some aunts, uncles and cousins once in a while but that was it.  They are my only link to my heritage, aside from the properties left to the family by my paternal grandfather.  I was so excited to see a road named after him!!!







I had to go to Legazpi for a very  brief meeting with a lawyer to engage his services to settle some matters regarding  our properties. I just wanted to do a day trip but there was no return flight in the late afternoon.  I checked the internet for an affordable hotel which was clean and safe.

I chose Ellis Ecotel





because it is the sister company of Hotel Venezia, Hotel St. Ellis and Misibis Bay.  Also, it is located on the 3rd floor of the Embarcadero De Legazpi, a waterfront mall with the view of the water and the volcano.

Hotel Pick-Up service.



Embarcadero at night.





 

Zipline from the top of the mall up to the seawall.



The room was VERY small with no window but I loved the bed which was very firm and the split AC was the best!   I set it at 16 degress which my friends call the Antartica setting.  I did not even want to get up from bed the next day. 



Good thing Mona did not come with me.  Or else she would have spent almost the whole time with her eyes closed!!!  One of the bathroom walls was made of glass!!!!



And what was worse was the wall fronting the glass wall had floor to ceiling mirrors!!!



Hahahaha.... good thing I was alone.  Next time, I am going to book the seaview room (view of the volcano and the water) because the walls of the bathroom are "normal".

I visited St. Raphael the Archangel, one of the oldest churches in Legazpi.  







I did a quick research before going to Legazpi.  I only had 6 hours to eat everything  on my list of food to try.

According to Tripadvisor, Sibid-Sibid Restaurant, Penaranda St.



is the number one pick of the travelers and that I should not miss the Sizzling Seafood.



Across Sibid-Sibid is Waway's. 



Their specialty is Bicol Express and Laing.  When I got there, they did not have Bicol Express anymore!  I was willing go back that same evening but they said I should come back the next day around lunch time.  I just tried the laing instead and ordered Inihaw na liempo.





 Small Talk Cafe is also on the list. 



The Laing Pasta is a must try but since I have eaten laing a few hours ago, I just opted to order the Bicol
Express Pasta! 





I ordered Tilmok too.







I also tried the Pili Pie. 



The filling was like baked cheesecake in taste and texture. 



 The Pili Coco Ice Cream was just Vanilla ice cream with coco jam and 3 pieces of Pili.



My ultimate favorite Legazpi food was the SILI Ice Cream at the 1st Colonial Grill, Pacific Mall.



YES!!! It was really good.  I have been texting my friends about it and their question was.... How did it taste?

Hmmmm... how do I describe something quite hard to describe?

The ice cream was creamy yet light and not dense ... it was not too sweet ... and the SILI factor?????  You will feel a little tickle on your tongue after each teaspoonful.



I want to go back just for that!!!  I only had a very small scoop of that pink ice cream.  I want to get to know it more intimately.  I want to make sure that what I had was not an imagination.  That ... yes ... it is possible to make something spicy ... sweet.

The second favorite was the Kalamansi Ice Cream (yellow color).  Again, it had the same light and creamy texture and just the right amount of tartness.

The Pili ice cream was just so-so for me ... maybe because I really do not like Pili.  There are other flavors you can choose from.



Speaking of Pili.... do you know that I had to go all the way to the terminal to buy pili goodies because they do not sell it in the malls and groceries?!?!?!?!  How odd?!  But then ... maybe the Bicolanos do not like to eat Pili.

I could not leave Legazpi without eating at Graceland.



When I was little, my cousin brought me to their branch across the City Hall.  It was their Jollibee when the chain did not have a franchise over there yet.  I ordered the cheeseburger






and the next day after breakfast I tried the pancit because I was envious of the family eating the platter of noodles. 



I did not realize the pancit was made of Miki which is not my favorite among all the native noodles.  It had chunks of lechon kawali which I enjoyed though.  I only ate a little and thank goodness, I found a homeless woman outside the restaurant and gave it to her.

I was scheduled to fly back home at 10:00 am the next day but the flight was cancelled and was moved to 1:00 pm.  It was raining so hard in Manila the planes could not leave, Cebu Pacific and Airphil had to cancel their flights. My Zest Air plane arrived in Legazpi at 4:20 pm!!!!

I had to eat a late lunch. There was a small canteen at the airport and chose Filipino Bistek.



I did not mind leaving late but I wish they told me earlier so I could have gone back to the city center which was only 10 minutes away and did more food tripping.

Hahahahaha! But the airlines made it up to me.  After sitting for hours on end at the pre-departure area, something made me laugh and cancelled out all the hassle and stress of my flight being delayed.

We are now boarding passengers with CHILDRENSSSSSSSS!!!!!!  

LOL That made my day and made me smile.

I love the new Airbus of Zest Air! The AC was so cold, the cabin was very clean and had enough legroom.  And to top it all, the pilot did a very smooth landing.  I wanted to clap my hands!

There are still a lot to explore in Legazpi City.  I should spend more time there and discover all the secrets of the city.  And.... let us not forget the food I have yet to eat!