A museum is always part of my travel itinerary

A visit to at least one museum is always part of my travel itinerary, even if that’s only for a road trip to the north, south, or to a neighboring island. Especially if we are traveling to a foreign city for the first time, a museum stopover is a must. For me, it’s the “brochure” that completes the story of the place, and leaves us with much more appreciation for the city.

- By PINKY CONCHA COLMENARES

My children grew up with a museum visit as a likely stopover in any trip. Decades ago, on a Visita Iglesia for Maundy Thursday in a North Luzon town, I chanced upon a house of a national hero across a church. Still in the process of being installed, and with a family member saying it was not yet ready for the public, we managed to get a quick look at the national hero's home.

In urbanized Makati during a late lunch with my two daughters, then pregnant, I discovered that Ayala Museum was a few steps away from where we were dining. So, off we went to spend an afternoon there — instead of the intended shopping for their babies.

In Vigan — which we visited regularly for many years because I was so enchanted — we walked through the town that is a living museum!

And in Intramuros where I have worked for many decades, we've visited museums that showcased many phases of our history from the pre-Spanish to the American period.

“Such is life with mom,” one of my kids once remarked to cousins. “We will always find ourselves in a museum if she sees one nearby, or reads about it before our trip.”