05 May, 2009

Arko ni Apo

Arko ni Apo is located just across Tam-Awan Village. It had a coffee shop and an art gallery and is the home of renowned artist Ben Hur Villanueva.

We had snacks and hot chocolate in their coffee shop. Their hot chocolate was one of the best I ever had. It was rich and not too sweet to the taste.

Inside the coffee shop were house decors and artworks that were just lovely. Some were for sale, the others weren’t. I fell in love with a coffee, creamer and sugar bamboo set but the lady of the house said it wasn’t for sale. Later on, after some prodding, she gave in and sold it to me for Php1,000. Family members said I was lucky as most guests had asked to buy it from their mom but she never budged. They added that a Filipino actress even tried to buy it from her in vain. Whoa. Too bad the blogger in me was yet to be born then thus I wasn’t able to take a picture of the set before I gave it to a very close friend for a Christmas present.

Like most galleries, taking of pictures is not allowed. One can take shots of whatever is in the coffee shop though. Below are two shots I took.


What makes the place very special to me was the reception I got from the family members. The couple was very friendly and accommodating. We met their son too named Baguio (the family was not originally from Baguio and Baguio was the first child to be born there, thus the name) and he was just adorable.

Hopefully, I can visit them again when I go back to Baguio.

4 comments:

  1. now i'm so curious as to how that coffee, tea and creamer bamboo set looks like! hehe

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  2. He he! They look something like this though they have lids:

    http://wwwdelivery.superstock.com/WI/223/1747/PreviewComp/SuperStock_1747R-2582.jpg

    It had labels too like coffee, sugar and tea charred in the middle using fire, I think.

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  3. no wonder many tourists ask to buy it!

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  4. Yep, it's really pretty. But I gave it to a friend who'll appreciate it more. She's Spanish and absolutely loves native stuff that she was so touched when I gave it to her.

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