VivShane Adventures

The third major museum we visited in Manila's Rizal Park was the National Museum of Fine Arts. It is home to 29 galleries and hallway exhibitions comprising 19th-century Filipino masters, National Artists, leading modern painters, sculptors, and printmakers. Our hours spent roaming its huge halls were time well spent.

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Located in the Agrifina Circle of Rizal Park, the National Museum of Anthropology stages the Philippine ethnographic and terrestrial and underwater archaeological collections narrating the story of the Philippines from the past, as presented through artifacts as evidence of its pre-history. 🥰🇵🇭

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After visiting the National Museums in Rizal Park, we walked 1 km to the Manila Clock Tower & Museum located in Manila City Hall. Both the walk and touring the tower & museum proved to be very interesting.🥰 🇵🇭

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The National Museum of Natural History is located along Agrifina Circle in Rizal Park, Manila. It is partnered with several other museums in this spacious park. We explored them all over several days. As a generous gift to the world, all these museums are free to enter! 🌍🏛️🇵🇭🥰💕🙌🏻🫶🏻

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Exploring more of Pasig City in Metro Manila, we visited the Immaculate Conception Cathedral and the Pasig Museum. Both were located in Plaza Rizal, Barangay Malinao, so it was easy to walk to each of them.
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After the 26-hour flight from Mexico to the Philippines, we thought it was appropriate to visit Babay na Tisa in Vivian's home city of Pasig. It is the oldest, still existing building in the city. 🏠 For a modest fee, we were able to enjoy the house all to ourselves after a school group left.
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After 2 months, including a month in Tulum, on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, a large, limestone projection separating the Gulf of Mexico from the Caribbean Sea, it was time to say adios. We chose to fly out of Yucatan's newest, most modern airport in Tulum and avoid the huge airport crowds in Cancun.

Chichen Itza was easily our favorite site during our 2 months on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. There's no doubting why it's now included in the New 7 Wonders of the World and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Chichen Itza, which means 'at the mouth of the well of Itza,’ was a thriving political & economic Mayan powerhouse from 600 to 900 AD. We arrived before opening to avoid the crowds and spent an exhausting, hot, yet exhilarating half-day there exploring the many ruins.
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Our 2nd favorite place on the Yucatan Peninsula was Cenote Choj Ha, down a dirt road off the highway and into the jungle. We visited there during our 2-night stay away from Tulum. A few days ago, we showed you the open-air cenote at Tankah. This amazing beauty below is a cave cenote, which we liked much better. We had the whole place to ourselves for a few hours of swimming & exploring.
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Our other major visit in Valladolid was the Convent of San Bernardino de Siena. This historic 16th-century Franciscan monastery is known for its pink-hued architecture and beautiful frescoes. It served as a crucial missionary center and a defensive fortification during the Spanish conquest. For a super small fee, we self-toured the large complex for a few hours.
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We took a 2-night break from our 1-month stay in Tulum to drive our rental car into the interior. Our first stop was the city of Valladolid, a charming, safe "Pueblo Mágico" in the heart of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, located between its capital Mérida & Cancún. It's known for its colorful colonial architecture and 16th-century convents, and is not far from Chichén Itza.