It is hard to choose! One cool place I visited was Miagao (MEE-uh-gow), a famous college town near Iloilo City. On the way back to my community, I stopped by this town to see Santo Tomás de Villanueva Parish Church. This beautiful sandstone building once served as a military fortress for the community, as people congregated in its six-foot-thick walls to stay protected from invaders. From the outside of the church, there is a beautiful stone mural on the front sandwiched between two tall towers. From the top, you can see the whole surrounding area, so these towers served as watchpoints for Miagao locals hundreds of years ago.
One of the most exciting parts of my trip to Iloilo City was getting to enjoy coffee! I love having espresso drinks in the U.S., but that can be hard to find in the Philippines, as most people prefer to mix three-in-one packets into hot water at home. These packets have dry granules of coffee, cream and sugar, and they taste a lot like sweet hot chocolate.
During my trip to the city, I stopped by three coffee shops! At one cafe, I tried Vietnamese egg coffee for the first time. The baristas beat egg yolks, sugar and condensed milk together to make a delicious savory foam poured over strong coffee. It was great to try something new while also enjoying coffee like I do in the U.S.!
