Walk with Chan: A tour of Mla. Collectible Co.

Sunday October 5, the APO Philatelic Society asked Lawrence if he could do a tour for
APO, he agreed. so we have a 1st sunday tour, and is different from the
Free Royal Postage Heritage tour happening every 3rd wk of  the month.

as usual this is the meeting place, Liwasan Bonifacio fountain

Today we have a different route, no more Metropolitan theater, and no escolta tour
today and no more time for Quiapo tour, but instead we went straight  to our a surprise
destination I know Art lovers would love to visit. .. LATER..

We went to the PhilPost tour at around 130pm.listened to my friend Rey's Stamp talk,
then proceeded with the walking tour. our first stop was National Press Club, then a walk

this is RENCE explaining to the group about the history of NPC

and here are some of the pics of the tour, hope you like it.

inside the walls of intramuros, a short talk by my friends Rence and Philip about the bitchy
chick , Queen Isabella II followed by a walk behind Maestranza, then to the Manila Cathedral
then to a great store just a few meters away. THE MANILA COLLECTIBLE CO.

We go to duty free store for pasalubong, or SM malls, or the supermarket groceries for
pasalubong shopping, every store, even divisoria, offer the same products  Wherever you
go, it is the same all through out. so bringing  a worthy memorabilia or two back
to their "home" abroad is downright boring, having the same thing over and over again.
like you will know where he bought the item because you have seen it somewhere.

Now whats a loveboy like me doing in a place like this? (location located at Cabildo
corner Beaterio streets, just behind the Manila Cathedral. ) What else? A.R.T!
i love the arts, crafts and anything about PHilippine history. and this place exhibits and
collates unique and interesting  products sourced out from the different provinces made
locally by indigenous people of the Philippines,  and that is unique, every item is different,
yet has character. luckily through one of those free tours organized by my friend Rence,
I had the opportunity to look around the Manila Collectible Co.  again for the second time.

its location is not hard to find, just near KAISA HERITAGE CENTER located at Cabildo
corner Beaterio streets, just behind the Manila Cathedral.

Upon entering, you will be greeted in the hallway by this humongous and attention-grabbing
painting by Kultura, Linya, Sining at Pintura. The paintings mainly circle around the theme
of freedom and independence. they even featured old pictures of Manila, Binondo, and even a
matador in a stadium during the old days of Manila. imagine that!

After a flight of even more stairs and a gasp of Wow in between, I arrive at the most
top floor of this event place turned to shop, havent met the owner. but they have two
nice friendly attendants.

The Manila Collectible is a store selling indigenous and locally-made products.They
have a bunch of novelty items from the different parts of our country!

It is also an event venue; they invite cultural advocates to share facets of
indigenous culture such as dance, song, and food.(got a chance to see such performance
last summer)

Local coffee, flour, and other baking items and you know they are not availabe in
our groceries, even Sm malls. from foods like  locally made  bread spread, liqours
and wines tiny baskets and quirky backscratchers, great gift ideas for christmas
like cute little crafts, can be found like  bags, wines teas coffee chocolate
every artist, mom lola would like to hangout  inside its an awsome educational
tour learning about craft exclusively made locally from indigenous tribesman.

I didnt get the chance to meet the owner, and most of the explaining and tour
is conducted by my friend Lawrence. I wish we could go back again one day and ask
every single item offered on their shelves so I could show my friends what a fine
place this is.

Because of the enormity of the place, There is just a lot going on and a lot of
choices to begin with. and I have decided to make a 7 minute video tour for you
guys to enjoy.

Other kids liked to wear the 800bucks tribal wear, but for art lovers moms, and
middle aged person, this is the place to be, and If you're into tribal prints, buy your
own all stufffs are 100% pinoy made trendy items, and most probably even timeless
works of art made locally are  available for ur home.

On the rooftop is a very conducive place for those important events on your life.
This is very ideal for wedding receptions because of its proximity to those
churches found in Intramuros like the San Agustin Church and Manila Cathedral.


This is my favorite view on the rooftop. With the grandiose view of the Manila
Cathedral, you would not easily guess that this magazinelike picture scene has
been taken in Intramuros.  we just have to open our eyes more and travel to these
places than to the malls, and be receptive of our surroundings for us to see the
hidden beauty of Manila.

I had a wonderful time at The Manila Collectible Co. thanks to Lawrence's Postal
Heritage toursand I hope that you , My friend, could visit it also soon. Learnings,
chats, discoveries, acquaintances were gained this sunday afternoon. From now
on, if a chick asks you of a great gift or memorabilia center that offers the best of
Philippine products in the metro, dont mention your favorite pricemart or mall.

Tell them to  visit the Manila Collectible Co,  open Tuesday to Saturday from
10:00am-6:00pm.
Pls. Visit them at Villa Blanca Building, Cabildo cor. Beaterio Streets, Intramuros.

this is your loverboy DENNIS signing out.
next tour is Oct 25,  Cementeryo tour. cya!