Out & About after a Long While | Alive&Thriving Yr3

If I had this walking view where I live, I probably would be more motivated to do my daily walks. As it is, it's one of those seasonal activities that we do only once in a while. It's a week before Halloween. We do not really celebrate that. Instead, we do celebrate All Saints' Day (November 1st), probably more popularly known as the day of the dead. We finally got the chance to visit Mom at the columbary.

At the Columbary

It was a good day when we left the flat to travel to the columbary in another part of the metro.

Not long after, as we were in a Grab taxi, it was raining hard part of the way. I took this initially on the way to the columbary. This area is along Roxas Boulevard where one can witness the beautiful Manila Bay sunset. However, I found that most of the path facing the bay have been boarded up. You can no longer do leisurely walks on the sidewalk and sit down to admire the view of the bay. Boohoo!

It turned out that there was an exhibit on St. Therese along the hallway of the columbary. This was the way to the chapel. Mom's vault is behind the altar. One of the advantages of going earlier than the holidays is that the place wasn't packed.

It turned out there's a side hallway to go to Mom's vault without crossing the chapel's altar. There was a mass ongoing at that time, so we decided to choose an alternative path. See that it's still mostly deserted.

We truly miss Mom. Last year her remains were still at home. She was inurned last March, and that was the last time we visited here. It's the first year we visit Mom at the columbary. My daughter already booked some flower arrangements and blessing for Mom for next week. They will just send us the photos.

That's the view on my left, as we sat for a bit and prayed for Mom. It's a nice and peaceful place. We're pretty sure Mom approves of this location.

At the Nearby Mall

As we're not always in this neighborhood, we decided to walk to the nearby mall.

It takes effort for me to do long walks, but I welcome the challenge. It's just a few blocks, so I believe I could do it. The cover photo came after we have crossed the streets at this intersection.

Entrance to the mall is on the ground floor. We rode an escalator to get to this floor where you'll see the atrium right in the middle. The mall looks totally different from the last time I was there.

We went around some more and even climbed up another floor, looking for familiar stores, esp. cafes and restaurants we previously enjoyed. Unfortunately, we found only new ones. This was the top view of the atrium.

We were looking for a place to have some late lunch. Luckily we explored this part called El Calle Food & Music Hall. It was Sunday afternoon so it's pretty quiet there. Apparently, it's more lively from Thursday till Saturday night.

We walked till the end of the hall and found a place my daughter wanted to check out.

It's called the Shrimp Bucket. Yes, shrimp appears to be a specialty of this restaurant.

I wanted to explore a bit so I went outside and saw this bar. It must be busy during the weekend nights. Now, it's totally quiet.

I spotted this shrimp deco from where I was seated, so I went nearer to get this shot. I'm not sure it serves any other purpose than as a display item. LOL!

On my way back to my seat, I spotted this middle aisle table set up. Nice and neat.

My daughter and I opted for light meals. Here's what we ordered: shrimp fried rice, deep fried squid, and shrimp al ajillo. Mmmm, it was a satisfying meal.

On the way out of the mall, we spotted this art exhibit. It looks really interesting, so I stopped to take a photo.

On our way home, sunset view spotted from this side of the window while we're in a Grab taxi once more. It was a tiring day out, but I'm glad I got to do it. Hopefully, there will be more adventures soon. See you again next time. Ciao!

This challenge is inspired by @flaxz. Thank you We Are Alive tribe.

My books are now available:

Never Bother

Don't You Cry No More

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_{DYCNM Book cover design by @viking-ventures
More credits: Commissioned Cover 1, part 3 - Viking Visual Art Tutorial
NB Book cover design by @ilovewintergem}

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