La Union Trip: Grape Farm and Stone Art Gallery Visit

It's been a hard day at work and I just want to relax my mind from those exhausting office tasks by wandering down memory lane back to our trip to Bauang, La Union.

As the province is well-known for its beautiful beach destinations and dubbed as the Surfing Capital of the North, this province has way a lot more to offer. Together with some of my colleagues, my sister and I decided to visit this place to have a relaxing weekend getaway. From Manila, we took the night trip via the Partas bus. It took us four hours to reach Bauang. So when we arrived there early in the morning, a welcoming stunning view of vineyards stretched along greeted us.

We had a quick breakfast first and then headed towards the Manguerra Grapes Farm. Yes, you can also get to experience grapes picking here. As we all know, grapes are commonly grown in cold places like in most European countries. But the amazing fact is, that grapes are grown better in places with tropical weather like what we have here in the Philippines.

There was no entrance fee required here. We were given a scissor and a basket for the activity. My sister and I had fun with the pick-and-pay grapes experience. The taste is not as sweet as what we usually buy in the market, but the firsthand experience of visiting the farm and picking grapes on your own is surely one for the books.

We both took a snap of pictures while picking grapes because it's not every day that we get to do this awesome activity.

When we were finally done with the grapes-picking, it was still early to go back home to Manila, so we decided to go on a side trip. We also visited Luna, La Union which is popular for its Pebble Beach. It may not sound enticing as the white powdery beach setting, but feeling the pebble beneath your feet has its unique magic.

We also visited their Stone-Hand (Kamay Na Bato) Art Gallery. If you are an art-lover, this place is a must-visit. They have an exhibit of various colorful stone arts, sculptures, and paintings that will feed your starving passion for art.

My attention was stolen by the stunning paintings displayed in the gallery. It was truly a showcase of local Filipino artists' world-class talent. I was not able to picture all of them but there were some I was able to have photos of.

Mesmerized (as always) by staring at those beautiful paintings, I was able to reconnect with my artistic soul and it inspires me to do more paintings with the simple hope that one day, I will also have a gallery of my own.

My sister and I of course did not miss the chance to have pictures with Instagrammable displays.

The experience we had was an awesome way to bond with my sister. I'm glad that she was happy. I promised her to have more travels in the future every time I found time to take vacation leave from the office.

My dear friends, I hope you also have a grape time. Until then!