Shoes, Church and Foods in Liliw

It was a long holiday and a trip somewhere is inevitable but unlike other trip this was just near and less extravagant. The place for this long vacation was at Laguna. There are lot of places to visit in Laguna. Even though Laguna is just near Manila, they still have places that are quiet and suitable for relaxation.

The first town we visited in Laguna is their famous shoe capital. The small town of Liliw which is located near the mountains has a street where one can go on shopping for shoes. Fortunately, it was their town fiesta when we went there so the place has a festive atmosphere.

We went to Gat Tayaw Street where the shoes stores are all lined up however before we go on shopping we want to visit first their church. Honestly, we do not know how to get to the church we are just walking the street of Gat Tayaw when we saw a group of police officers. We asked them how to get to the church and they are very happy to give us the information. Since it was their town fiesta they have an information desk where tourist can ask for help. When we reached the church a group of people are cleaning the whole vicinity of the church. There are people even scrubbing the gates of the church.

St. John the Baptist Church or Liliw Church is best known for its red bricks and baroque style architecture. The church has three altars. The altar at the center contains 13 saints.  The two altars at the sides each contain four saints. The church also has the golden vestment worn by St. John Paul II.
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After our visit to the church we then walked at the street of Gat Tayaw. One of the famous stores is Badong’s Shoe Factory which was even featured in a TV show. There were a lot of customers inside store.  A store that captured my attention is Entrada. The store has a sophisticated design. It sells bags and shoes that is much expensive than the other stores.

While walking and waiting for my companion to finish their shopping, I saw some kids selling Pako. Aside from that there are vendors selling small crabs and snails.

Feeling hungry we went to Arabela - a famous Italian restaurant in Liliw. When we arrived we were already second in the waiting list. Arabela serves pasta, pizza and steaks. They also have pastries and cakes. You may want check my post about Arabela.

We took a last glance at the street of Gat Tayaw and the church with the picturesque mountain at its back. This was just the first stop of our travel in Laguna. We are to set foot for another town.