#galaera

Galaera ( ga-la-e-ra ) comes from a Tagalog word GALA which means to wonder about, to go about idly, to travel aimlessly; ERA is a tagalog suffix referring to a female doer (Tagalog Dictionary,2014). And so, Galaera  simply means a female who travels aimlessly. She goes wherever her shoes may bring her, sometimes, her money decides too.

Photos with #galaera are photos captured by yours truly.

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There's this great idea of our professor in Online Writing where we have to go to a certain place and make that wanderlust on us work for ourselves. And the chosen place is Intramuros. It's not so far and not so foreign for all of us. But what made me really interested in this ais the thought and the challenge that we should find a place new for us. I have never been in Intramuros. Maybe I'd passed by it but I have never been in it. And so are the people I'm with. Too bad my girlfriend took the photo and so, she isn't here. (for the photo below)

Photo by Natallie Beduya 
It's Arlan, Aura, and me (left to right). Pa-awra po muna!!

Well then, we roam around the place like other foreigners present there do. We were like Dora the Explorer in real lives. We went over a walled place which I don't really know what it is called but it is somewhere in Postigo street. It was near the headquarters of the Knights of Columbus.

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This is the signage posted before going up over the wall.

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Street signs look exactly like those we see in historical photos and footages.

It's just pretty amazing though how these brick walls are still in there after all the wars and tragedies that happened. We went over the walls and saw a wide area of bricked floors. Few couples were there like passionate lovebirds in their nests. I wanted to get a photo of them but I guess, my manners told me not to... Unless, I wanted to be screwed up. 

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Other corners are ornamented with couples lingering with each other,

It was three in the afternoon when we were dispersed in the place from Manila Cathedral (where the whole class came to meet up then separate as well). Obviously, the next place to go after the being-renovated church is the very place where we can eat. After an hour of walking around Intramuros, we came across Beatrigo Street. Along there, we found this place, Patiode Conchita, a humble yet classy one.

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Patio de Conchita

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We don't have any plans of going in there. The facade of the house that happened to be a restaurant, a dormitory, and a place to chill out doesn't seem to offer a pleasing deal. As we examined the place from an outside view, it looks elegant, fine, and expensive. But what made us come in is a signage which says: BUDGET MEAL for P65.00

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The best ad strategy for wanderers like us 

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Patio de Conchita, classy and humble

As students and first timers in the place, the deal is just good enough. And so we went in. It's a self-service restaurant. There are plastic chairs and tables and several antique furnitures as well. Some chairs and tables look very historical. I mean, the style is too old. And as we asked, we knew that the old looking chairs are actually legit antiques. The place suggests that there's more to it. It's really relaxing and homey. It lets you feel really at home and at ease. Like a time warp, it takes you to another timeline far from the present and from stress.

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Sit in and eat with the sound of the relaxing fountain by the corner and that very fresh aura of the place.

I had Hawaiian Pork Barbecue. "It's just the same barbecue I ate at school", I told myself. I took a bite on the pork, it's not too tender, just enough for me. And the sauce, it tastes really Filipino. It made me remember all the feasts and reunions and parties a Filipino may have been living with. The place has that Spanish influence but the food brings you back that Pinoy tummy in you. 

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Two cups of rice and the Hawaiian Pork Barbecue with Pineapple Juice

It's a place in the heart of Manila that takes you out from there as well. When you come inside, you're entering a different dimension. It gives you the feeling of ease and calmness. 

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See how stress-free she is when she came out? :P

We, definitely, will go back here! And we'll bring in more stressed friends. :))