Cubao X

I usually don't have  enough money to go out on trips outside Manila. So I satiate my hunger for adventure by  exploring the metro. One of my favorite places to visit on lazy Sunday afternoons or when GMA suddenly declares a holiday is the Cubao Shoe Expo. 

They just recently changed its name from Marikina Shoe Expo to Cubao X. I've always wondered why the place was named Marikina Shoe Expo when clearly, with all the trash lying carelessly around, we were not in Marikina. Well, supposedly it was meant to exhibit what Marikina is best known for - shoes. But throughout the years, especially as giant malls ate half the city's economy marginalized small businesses, it has been home to antique shops, art galleries, bookstores, kitschy restaurants and cozy cafes. Of course, they still have the best shoe stores that sell shoes at the lowest prices.

It's so easy to get to Cubao X from where I live in Katipunan. I just take a jeepney or the LRT and voila! I'm in Cubao X. But I do enjoy riding the LRT. It's clean and spacious and you get a fantastic view of the city.

In Cubao X, I usually spend hours looking at the antique furniture, the statues of saints, the old musical instruments, the paintings, the knick knacks. Our house in the province is a smaller version of Cubao X, what with all the furniture made of dark wood, creepy paintings, lighthouse candle holders. But I digress.

If I had money, I'd buy these paintings.

This rocking horse is one of my favorite items. 

I also like how each store looks and feels different. There's this one that looks like it's a melting ice cream. Or is it a cake? Either way, looking at it makes me hungry.Yum!

This one reminds me of the old houses in Ilocos.

There's Rusty Lopez!

Cubao X has everything you need and you don't need.

Cubao X is also home to the famous Italian Restaurant, Bellini's, which I will review in the coming days. I think, what I really like about the place is that it reminds me of my hometown back in the days without malls. Every turn is a discovery, a story, a part of history. I never tire of going to Cubao X. I always leave the place with vintage books, or some old trinket,sometimes with great pictures and always with a smile.