Fernan Library, CRMC and Lunch

Still smiling at my experience with the old ladies, I continued walking down the street to get back to my hotel. Hmm, passed by a single level building with a nice frontage, green with grass, plants, shrubs and trees. The sign says “Judge Wenceslao Fernan Memorial Library”. It looks more like a residential house than anything else. I inched towards the driveway and craned my neck if anything was alive there. Nothing… no sounds nor movements. But it really looked like a residential house. I backed lest I be pounced upon by dogs hehe. I couldn’t make out of what’s inside there!

At the corner straddled by CRMC and the bank, I saw a lot of police men & women who all seemed to be too young to be true. They were just either talking to each other at the sidewalk across CRMC or drinking sodas at the store. Others seemed to be just lazing around by the front of that bank across the school. As I turned right towards Nagano, I chanced upon a traffic enforcer and asked why there were so many police officers in the area and all looking very young. The enforcer smiled and said they are not yet police officers. They’re students of the CRMC and their uniform is the same as those of real police officers. Oh I see! But I still did not dare take any picture of those "policemen" lest I be in trouble hehe. And proceeded to grab some lunch!

Back at Nagano, I briefly visited my room to recharge my phone and headed immediately down to Yanie’s as my stomach was grumbling. Whoa, I realized I just spent virtually the whole morning at that church! Whoa! It must have been the old ladies. No the church upper floor. No the vehicle blessing. No the candles. No the old ladies! Ahhhh, all of those hehe!

Lunch at Nagano
I was unsure on what to get for lunch. Asked the waitress how big their servings are as the prices ranged from about 120 to P300. She told me usually good for two. I glanced at the table of a foreigner and his Pinay lady having lunch. Yes, I thought the servings were big – reason why it’s a bit in the hundred plus range. So I settled for just beef steak, rice and coke. Food came quick. Smelled good and tasted good. Just a bit on the chewy side but good enough. Now the common problem… I had to order another cup of rice so I could finish the still more-than-half of my beef steak! All I could think of was “eat PT, eat”! Then another 8oz. of Coke was in order. Hah! Must I stuff myself to bloat at times!

Hey, for the unfamiliar, “beefsteak” in most of the non-fine-dining joints in the Philippines is often called “Bistek Tagalog” (Tagalog Beefsteak) and there is a mile of stark difference. The bistek is usually a bunch of beef cutlets sautéed and cooked with other ingredients where a sauce that is lighter than gravy finally emerges as those ingredients (vinegar, soy sauce, etc) are added. It is not your usual slabs of meat grilled to rare, medium or well done and served with a separate sauce. The confusion actually starts when you ask for a translation of the “bistek” or “bistek tagalog” because almost always they’ll say “beef steak”!

CRMC & Travel Agency
BTW, that table I chose at Yanie’s was on the brightest part of the restaurant. A little wash of noontime sunlight even shone at one chair. And the wall is all glass. So my view was a good part of CRMC classrooms where classes were in progress. Oops, okay, for those not in the know yet, CRMC means Cebu Roosevelt Memorial College. That is where the “police” boys and girls came from and I could see them in their classrooms. Down at ground floor of the CRMC building, I could see a “CRMC Travel and Tours” (upper right corner of picture) so I told myself I should visit that immediately after lunch.

Asked at the travel agency desk for day tours that I could take immediately that day or the following day. It was not possible and would have anyway been too expensive, they said. But they did give me pointers on what to see and how to go – generally via tricycles. The guy over at the next table overheard my inquiries and stopped doing what looked like a lesson plan. Turns out he is the manager of the agency and teaches at CRMC. He and the girl were very helpful even to as far as aiding me plan my itinerary to see Medellin, San Francisco and Daanbantayan! Thanks to them, indeed!

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3 Comments

  1. Don't you provide pics in your post?
    It would be nice if you post some beautiful scans of place visited by you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. he does but usually late. check out previous posts too many pictures like davao or pasigarbo!

    ReplyDelete
  3. okay, there are pictures now :) and yes... as always, late. hope you like them!

    ReplyDelete