A Valentine's Day Date Yourself Experience Inside Ayala Museum. Isn't It Lovely?

Thank goodness! I never thought I would survive that Valentine's day hype. If I could only skip that one day and jump to the next day but sadly I had no choice. Flowers, heart-shaped box of chocolates, dinner date and holding hands while walking, driving or in public. Love birds, can you just stop that? You're not doing it somewhat on a daily basis anyhow. Am I right? Sorry if I sound a bit bitter or am I just brutally honest? That day totally got me fed up and good thing I was able to recover from plasticity. Not because I was wearing a "this too shall pass" invisible ring or "live with it" transparent tattoo. Although they were useful too but the simplest way I guess was the art of "don't mind them". Yes! I had to mind my own business.

All the single ladies, guys, gays, transgender or someone from kingdom animalia. Now put your hands up! It was not really a sorrowful mystery for us. While those love birds spent their special day. We also spent our very antimatter "single awareness day" or let's also call it "independence day". Unexpectedly, my rest day just started that morning. I had no detailed plan of going outside. I thought it would be just a 12 hours of sleep but all of a sudden my workmates invited me for a coffee. 

Dating myself is not really strange to me. I've been doing this for almost a year. After self-realization that I might be forever single. I, right away had to put extra love for myself. Friends just come and go and the love for your parents is just there but the love for yourself is like a foundation of you. It's always the first thing. Believe on Hailee Steinfeld song "I'm gonna love myself, no, I don't need anybody else". And one of the effective ways I guess is to go out alone and treat yourself. It could be a dinner date with your soul, holding your camera while walking or buy yourself tickets to travel around the world. Wow! That's way better than chocolates and bouquet of roses. One of the places where I can find my inner self is when I visit a museum. I make sure to go there when the doors are open between 9 and 10 in the morning. Literally peaceful, it shuts down all your worries about your unpaid bills or unfinished works for an hour or two. It feeds your mind and relaxes your soul.

Ayala Museum- It's my first visit in a museum this year and I chose to start here near my place. It's only one jeepney ride. I don't know why only this Valentine's day I decided to go here maybe because I had so much free time and I would like to spend it here. The whole Ayala from Greenbelt Malls to Museum is a stress reliever because everywhere you look it's about the love for nature and art. Ayala Museum was originally inaugurated in June 1974 and later on moved to its current home in September 2004. Its started as a dream and became a reality because of the artist and philanthropist Fernando Zobel(1924-1984). He was a member of the prominent Zóbel de Ayala family in the Philippines and a patron of the country's first national artist Fernando Amorsolo. Now, this museum is the heart of culture and art in the Makati central business district.

The Diorama Experience- On the second floor you can see sixty dioramas designed to be a comprehensive visual approach to Philippine history.

This very attractive collection of finely crafted models of maritime vessels will welcome you as you pass through the galleries. Early Filipinos are known as excellent navigators and builders of boat.

Drawing of Dr. Jose Rizal, a national hero. Not only him but you can also see human-sized pictures of other national heroes. The fun part of it is you can discover what are their heights. Yeah! They are all cute. 

First tranvias in the Philippines were horse-drawn carriages that ran on tracks. It's like a trolley car or electric streetcar. The predecessors of today's LRT(Light Rail Transit).

Bring me back to the old Manila!

December 30, 1896 in Manila. Jose Rizal was sentenced to death by firing squad. This is where Luneta Park currently located and can be seen the famous Rizal monument. 

June 12, 1898 is when the Philippine Independence proclaimed at Aguinaldo's residence in Kawit, Cavite. Philippine flag was formally unfurled. 

BitterXSweet Exhibition- This was a special exhibition tailored fit to Valentine's day. Every object has their own sweet or heartbreaking memory. There were emoji stickers that you can stick if it's relatable to you or you just felt it so bad.

This handpainted fan is one of my favorites. There was a short message from the owner that somewhat impacted me.

"The world of eating is not just of ingestion, but also offering of thoughtfulness, of consideration, of transaction"- Doreen Fernandez

Third Floor- Sadly you cannot take picture as they would really want to protect the paintings. The galleries celebrate the talent of Filipino masters from the 19th to 21st century. It highlights the works of National Artists of the Philippines like Arturo Luz and artworks by Fernando Zóbel.

Fourth Floor- Crossroads of Civilizations. This special exhibition deserves an applause. This was my favorite part. I felt like a miner discovered a huge pot of gold. Although the galleries also highlight Chinese and Southeast Asian tradewares found in the Philippines from as early as the 9th century I focused more on different kinds of gold jewelry made by Filipino indigenous people. Indeed, the country has a secret love for gold. 

I would love you to experience this too. Yes! One of the ways to get to know the Philippines is to visit Filipino Museums. Check out below how much and how you can go to Ayala Museum.

Museum Pass(Ground Floor to Fourth Floor)

Regular Rate Adults- P425(8.50 US Dollars est.)

Regular Child, Student, Faculty & Senior Citizen- P300(6 US Dollars est.)

Local Resident Adult- P225

Local Child, Student & Senior Citizen- P125

From the Ayala station of the Metro Rail Transit, it is a 10-minute walk through restaurants and retail shops toward Greenbelt Park to get to the Ayala Museum. Hours of Operation: Tuesday-Sunday 9am-6pm

Majority of the information here came from the guidebook available at the admission counter. Feel free to check their website too www.ayalamuseum.org

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