San Agustin Church

We had an early start to our day in Manila.

As soon as Insignia was cleared shortly after 7:00a, we were off and running.

Well, not literally running since it was already quite hot and humid and that required that we slow down our pace. But we knew it would get worse later as the forecast was for a high of 90F today. Luckily, our walk to the Intramuros, the seat of religious and political power during the colonial period, was along a sidewalk shaded by trees.

When we visited Manila on RTW2017, we did a tour that took in the American Cemetery and a number of the landmarks in the Intramuros. For that reason, we did not intend to spend a lot of time there. Nonetheless, it made for a nice place to meander a bit before the museum we planned to visit opened mid-morning.

First, we peeked into the Cathedral of Manila. Our stop here in 2017 had been rushed and I wanted to capture a couple of photos that I had missed then. Our route next took us by the Church of San Agustin, the only Intramuros building to survive WWII intact, and also the oldest church in the Philippines. It had been crowded when we had visited in 2017. It was practically deserted today … and begged for a quick peek.

Next, we found ourselves near Casa Manila. We’d had to skip it in 2017 because we were there on a Monday and the site was closed then. So, we decided to pay the admission and go inside today. To do so, however, first we had to go to a nearby ATM to pick up some Philippine Pesos as neither credit cards nor USD were accepted at the ticket window.

Casa Manila is billed as a living museum that highlights the lifestyle of an affluent Filipino family during the late Spanish colonial period. The exterior is similar to the facade of a house that stood in the Chinese district in the 1850s. The interior is decorated in the style of the houses of the late 19th century, with furnishings procured from Europe and China. As the website describes, “… Painted walls, crystal chandeliers, carved traceries, Chinese ceramics and gilded furniture show the elegance and luxury of a 19th century Manila house.”

We ended up spending an hour exploring the house … a very pleasant interlude … especially since we had the place to ourselves.

On our way out of the Intramuros, we made one final stop at the NCCA Gallery — free admission. Here we checked out a small exhibit entitled “The Artist is Alive” … billed as the first solo exhibition of Jasper Castro, a contemporary Filipino artist. We found it to be a colorful exhibit worth the short detour.Read more