Loring Park

We scheduled to go park-hopping one Friday afternoon but the weather did not cooperate. Our first destination was Loring Park but it already started to rain so we needed to stay in the car for a few minutes. The clouds looked like they were about to fall and the skies were grey but we still took the chance despite the gloomy weather.

We rushed to the park as soon as the rain stopped. Aside from the small lake, the first thing I noticed was the William Berry house.



The space is huge for people to jog, play catch and just simply relax. I was actually picturing how it would look like on a sunny day. But on that afternoon, only the ducks and the squirrels owned the place. :)




We needed to cross a bridge along the highway to get to the Sculpture Garden. The bridge has a great view of the Basilica of St. Mary so I got a little engrossed in taking pictures.



I also had the chance to finally try something that I’ve been longing to do. I’ve seen it in a lot of photography blogs so I wanted to have a taste of it. I didn’t have any photography training so pardon me with the poor shots. I just really wanted to achieve the motion blur of rushing cars using a slow shutter speed.




By the time we finished taking pictures, rain started to fall again so we had to postpone our tour around the Sculpture Garden.

I am so amazed how many parks I’ve visited during my stay here. It is probably far greater than the number of parks I’ve been in Manila. Actually, the only thing that comes to my mind is the Luneta Park hehe. I think the answer why we have very few parks is simple. Having parks in a small country with a big population is a luxury. Of course it’s more practical to convert a piece of land into an income-generating investment such as a mall, or turn it into a subdivision for people to live in. But honestly, a walk in the park reminds us to go back to basics. It teaches us that time spent with our loved ones is more valuable than money. I’d actually rather spread a blanket on a grass under the sun while eating some chips and sharing funny stories with family and friends rather than going to an air-conditioned mall splurging money over branded stuff. It’s already a cliché but in reality, the best things in life are free. :)