The Manila Metropolitan Theatre was opened in 1931 and is in the art deco style. Unfortunately, during WWII it got bombed, which destroyed the roof but the walls held firm. The building has gone through a number of restorations and is gorgeous on the exterior. There isn’t a show playing right now in the theatre, so we were unable to go inside.
The National Museum of Fine Arts is our next stop. There are four levels of art, sculpture, drawing and painting. We start on level 2 (ground) and walk through galleries of religious art – not our favourite. Level 3 has more paintings to our liking and it seems the higher we go, the more modern the art gets. All the artists are Filipino but we can see the influence of the impressionists in many of the pieces.
We need to travel a long way down Taft Avenue to our next stop, the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design. Instead of hopping on the LRT, we decide to ride in a jeepney. In a flash one comes by, we climb in, pay our 26 pesos (50 cents) and we are on our way. We get off at Ocampo Street, walk a couple of blocks to the museum only to find out it is closed. Rats!
It’s lunchtime, so we walk to the Aristocrat Restaurant. It has been around for more than 80 years and is supposed to have the best BBQ chicken in Manila. The place is busy with families as it is Sunday. We order the BBQ chicken and Java rice, or course. I wouldn’t say it is the best chicken I have had, but we can now say we went there!
Filipinos love cakes and donuts and sweets. There are bakeries, cake shops and donut shops everywhere. We get a kick out of looking at the iced cake designs.
It is a packed day and we time our arrival back at the hotel just as it starts to rain.