Soft Luxe Travels: Vigan Day 2: Hotel Breakfast, Palengke, Mr DIY, and 7-Eleven (Part 1)

 

There’s something special about waking up in a different city. Day 2 of our Vigan adventure started slow and cozy, the kind of morning where you let yourself savor the little things — breakfast, family chatter, and the promise of exploring new corners of the city.

A Slow Luxe Start ✨

Hotel breakfasts always feel like part of the travel experience for me. Even if it’s simple fare, there’s a comfort in knowing that you don’t have to cook — just sit back, sip your coffee (or in my case, water), and ease into the day. It was the perfect chance to gather energy before heading out.

We ate pork tocino for breakfast. It was surprisingly good. The tocino in Baguio were always too sweet. This had a balanced flavor of sweet and salty. The pork was very tender and didn't have fat or tough, chewy parts. I had breakfast with mom, my son, and husband. Our driver only had coffee because he woke up early and was out exploring the city at 5:30 am! He was super excited! Mom left my sister in the room as she has an incomplete fracture of the knee and is using crutches. Mom just brough breakfast to her. 

Eye Look

I used my BYS Simply Nude palette for this look. I had a hard time applying liner as you know how hotel lights are.  That's why it's a little wonky. 😁 I still liked it though.

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Palengke Finds 🌿

Our first stop was the Vigan public market. I’ve always believed that a city’s soul can be found in its palengke. Palengke means wet market, but as I've shown you in this post, provincial markets are very modern and clean. They're not wet anymore. They're also usually called Commercial Complex or Building now.  From fresh vegetables and local produce to crafts and home staples, it’s where everyday life thrives. There’s a raw beauty in the noise, colors, and rhythm of it all.

I was amazed to find these Maria Clara and national costumes in the market! They're beautiful! 

I almost bought these maroon slip ons but the material was flimsy and slippery, so I passed. 

I love the beadwork though

I found some vendors selling freshly harvested mushrooms! There are lots of forests and mountains around. I didn't buy because I'm terrified of harvested mushrooms. You never know as some poisonous mushrooms look like harmless ones. Even experts sometimes make mistakes. 

Bagoong made with fish

Vinegars

More fish sauces

Panutsa - an Ilocano dessert made from sugarcane

My sister asked me to buy some, but I didn't like this. I kept looking in the different shops on Calle Crisologo, but couldn't find one up to my standards. Next time I'm going to scour the shops more for that perfect panutsa.  

Mr DIY Stopover 🛠️

Look how beautiful the building is!

There was a Mr. DIY near the palengke, so of course I had to go! It was 3 floors! Mr. DIY in the provinces are mostly standalone stores. Here in Manila, they're usually inside malls. 

These crystal butterly clamps caught my eye. I don't like butterflies, but they looked pretty.

I bought the version similar to this, but smaller. 

These are great to put in kids' gift baskets! I'm always on the lookout for these kinds of things as I have several godkids. I like buying gifts all year long. I didn't get any of these though as we have limited luggage space. I'll look for them in Manila.

Mr DIY is such a fun place to browse — whether you’re after travel tools, little home upgrades, or just cute random finds. I didn’t expect to spot a calculator here that I liked, but that’s the charm of stores like this: you never know what you’ll discover. When we got back to the car, I said in Filipino that I went to Vigan to buy a calculator!  Our driver commented that he was able to find a fishing line. He said he already scoured as many Mr DIYs in Manila as he could and didn't find anything! He said that if I went to Vigan to buy a calculator, he went there to buy a fishing line! 😆

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A Quick 7-Eleven Pause 🥤

Mom needed some water so we dropped by 7-Eleven. 

I found Ellips there! I've been looking for this at Watsons to no avail. 

After paying for our things, we headed back to the hotel to take mom. My sister needed her. We headed to Calle Crisologo after. 

Soft Luxe Takeaway 🌸

Day 2 was shaping up to be a balance of little luxuries and simple discoveries: a comforting breakfast, the buzz of the palengke, the surprise of Mr DIY, and the comfort of 7-Eleven familiarity. It’s these small moments that build the soft luxe glow of traveling — not rushing, just savoring what’s right in front of you.

✨ Stay tuned for Part 2: Watsons in Vigan, plus our return to Calle Crisologo.