Woke up today to a bitter cold room. I was using my towel as a blanket. My brother finally turned off the AC because he was doing the same thing I was. After we got ready, we got picked up by my aunt and cousins to drive us back to Angeles City. Before we headed off, however, we stopped and did something I have been looking forward to doing the last 11 month.
Last November, my grandmother passed away. My mom's mother. We call her Lola Bun (pronounced "Boon"). Lola Bun was the matriarch of our mom's side of the family. She helped raised my sister, brother and I when our mom worked overseas along with our dad. She was loved by everyone, and she loved her grandchildren even more. When the news came that she had passed, we all were devastated–especially the ones overseas. My parents were able to go back home to the Philippines for the funeral, but us grand children weren't able to.
When I came home in 2005, Lola Bun called for me and my sister, separately, and we said our final goodbye. It hit me pretty hard knowing that it was probably our only opportunity to have that talk. Somehow she knew that it was. Even though she told me it will be ok, and not to worry about her, it was still really difficult for me to not be there at the funeral. Today, before we headed off, we finally made it to her final resting place and paid our respects. It was hard to control my emotions as I have been waiting for this moment for a long time.
After our visit, we headed off to Angeles City. We did stop off at Chow King for a late breakfast of Lomi noodles.
We finally arrived in Angeles City, but before we went to our hotel. We stopped by La Pieta Memorial to visit my dad's parents, sister, brother and our cousin. My grandfather, Lolo Ingo, and grandmother, Lola Pitang, both passed away on October 1st, exactly 10 years apart. I was 4 when Lolo Ingo died, and was already in the US when Lola Pitang passed away. I'm more spiritually connected to my dad's parents. They say that I got Lolo Ingo's artistic talents, and that I have his hands. To me, that's great to know because I didn't really get to know him. Lola Pitang also loved her grandchildren, and couldn't say no to any of us.
After we paid our respects, we were dropped off at our hotel and said goodbye to my aunt and cousins. We rested for a bit, and then got pick up to head off to our next destination–Everybody's Cafe. The one we went to isn't the one Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods went to, but a branch of it. Same food though. Watch the video for more.
Here's some photos from the day.
GZ
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