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Yet another late posting. We visited a shop’s Cubao X launching last Friday.

The first time I went to Cubao X was during the day. I had thought that the place was asleep. Well, it looks like Cubao X isn’t too awake at night either, because many of the more interesting shops started to close when we arrived.

Like these shoe stores. I was just about to drool over some lovely lovely boots when the lights went out. Nyoikes!

Hm. I don’t think Cris knew that I was going to take a photo of her. She was mesmerized by the sheer number of footwear. Hehehe.

This street leads to Mogwai. That famous hangout was under renovation when I first dropped by. I heard they show art films here. I can’t imagine how…it was rather noisy in there. Boisterous laughter permeated the air, along with the scent of smoke and alcohol.

We went over to the other side of the street. I took photos of the second floor of the buildings because I was curious about them. Some of the stores seemed to use their second floor as storage. Others had paintings hanging on the wall. Fascinating.

Karma, one of the really intriguing fashion stores in the area. Some of the stuff here look vintage. They look expensive, too, so I had to walk away.

I stopped in my tracks when Cris told me that a showdown — between a cat and a rat — was about to happen. I was so caught up in the moment that I didn’t even think about using my camera’s video capabilities.

We wondered why the cat didn’t strike immediately. Then we noticed the size of that rat. It may look like it’s cowering here, but it’s almost the same size as that cat.

The cat struck and the rat ran screaming. It immediately found refuge in one of the open stores. The cat couldn’t fit in the door’s small opening at first.

I knew the moment the shop owner saw the rat because she ran and jumped around the room in fright. She noticed the cat then opened the door.

*Sigh* I really should have caught it on video. Now all I have are blurred photos.

When the excitement died down, we decided to go to the bookstore that Cris’s older sister, Ate Barbs, was talking about. It had opened that day.

It doesn’t have a signage yet, but there was this huge mirror right in front of it. I took a photo of its exterior through the mirror.

The book shop’s name is Libreria. It used to be located somewhere in Tomas Morato and it used to serve coffee as well. This Cubao X incarnation of Libreria just focuses on the books.

Whew! Some of them are so cheap — going for as low as P50 — that we sort of hoarded.

Book shop owner Triccie Cantero, here with Ate Barbs. Ms. Cantero is also from UP-CMC…like me! =^.^=

These are some of the books we hoarded. This is actually just the beginning of our pile. We practically doubled this by the end of our visit.

A lot of bestsellers, classics and rare covers can be found here. The place is very spacious. Ms. Cantero said something about holding workshops here since the space is big enough.

Hm. I wonder if I can hold my joint exhibit with Rebie Ramoso here?

Here’s another one of the interesting things you can find in this quaint little shop: hand-painted bookmarks. They’re actually quite huge, which is perfect for someone like me who keeps losing her bookmarks.

Ate Barbs seems to like pop-up books a lot. That’s pretty understandable since pop-ups are always full of wonderful surprises. Not to mention, they’re usually very pretty, too.

Here’s a closer look. It’s full of pretty fairies, butterflies and illustrations of other enchanting beings.

Ah! Here’s a really great find. I had been looking for an illustrated version of the Chronicles of Narnia. This actually showcases Narnia’s important details in a chronological fashion.

It’s called an “Interactive Timeline” because it’s full of pop-ups. You’ll find layers and layers and layers of pop-ups here that will surely entertain you.

Oh, and this is something we had to play with. It’s a chair that converts into a stepladder. Nifty, huh? I would really like to own a lot of these. They’d be really useful to have around.

I haven’t had this much fun in a bookstore. Ever. I think I’d like to go back to hoard more books and play with other odd things that might find their way here. ♥ ♥ ♥