I’ve been to Cebu a couple of times already and all for work. This year, I found myself back there again and yes still because of work. But this time I was able to have some adventures on the side too!

Cebu was celebrating the annual Sinulog festival when we came. Sinulog is a festival held annually on the third Sunday of
January and it is meant to commemorate the Filipinos’ pagan origin and
our acceptance of Roman Catholicism. It is also meant to honor the Sto.
Nino. The grand street parade is the highlight of the nine day
celebration and I was a part of it.

There definitely were tiring moments (waking up at 4 frikkin’ AM after pulling an all nighter) and moments during the whole Sinulog parade wherein my feet just wanted to give up from walking for hours (we were supposed to have a van that’s part of the parade where we could rest and grab food from but the entry number got stolen right before the start so that’s how we ended up walking the entire time) but I choose to remember the good part which is that the Sinulog Festival is a beautiful festival!

In the Sinulog parade, I saw participants in colorful costumes both kids
and adults, dancing to the beat of drums, native gongs and trumpets.
 

 

 

 

It was a long parade which lasted from 9AM to 7PM and the weather was unpredictable. There were times when the sun peeked out, times when it was just an overcast sky and times when it drizzled.

Luckily these beautiful models had big umbrellas with them to protect them from the weather! 
This is one of the other floats I saw in the parade. 

Quite a crowd came to watch the parade. At the center, we had all the space. But on the sideline, that crowd can actually make you claustrophobic! I know because at one point my colleague and I tried to get to the sidewalk.

Me and my officemate, Raymond – my Sinulog parade adventure buddy.

Jack, my friend and now my office colleague as well also took us to eat at a Cebu favorite restaurant during our stay in Cebu – Casa Verde. If you’re in Cebu city, try this place! I know there’s a branch in Manila already but nothing can beat the original!

What a huge burger! 

That burger right there was one of the meals we ordered and no, we weren’t able to finish it because it’s just so big! But it’s delicious you betcha!

Death by Chocolate for yummy dessert! 

We ate at the original branch of Casa Verde which is located at Lim Tiang Teng st., Ramos, Cebu. We chose to dine outside by the garden area. It was a very nice place, I thought. I like the ambience. It kind of relaxed me somehow, a short break from the work stress.

Me with the rest of officemates back at Casa Verde the day after our events.

We had a store opening in Ayala Center, Cebu aside from the Sinulog Parade. I’ve been to that mall before but it has gotten bigger since then so yeah, we took pictures there too like a bunch of tourists!

Ayala Cebu now looks like Greenbelt in Makati city especially on this part of the mall.

And oh you know how when you’re all exhausted and you just want to sleep but you can’t just yet because you’re still working and that can make you really cranky? Luckily, we just managed to make light of the situation! Photos of us goofing around our hotel room, pretending like we’re sooo busy at work! Ha ha!

 

My roommate Nicole really loved that Sinulog mask! 

More pictures of us at Marco Polo Plaza after our dealers’ night event.

We were all exhausted by this time. It was already our third big event in Cebu but we had a reason to smile – it was the last day of work! Hurray!!!

Yep, overall a memorable Cebu work trip! Hopefully next time I come back, it’s for vacation! I have some place really beautiful to stay at in mind which I’ll show you on another blog post!