Lemon and Olives Greek Taverna, Baguio City: Returning to the City of Pines, Finding Greece on Plates, and Remembering Those I Miss The Most

A decade is a long time to stay away from a city that breathes in pine and exhales nostalgia.

The last time I spent any meaningful time in Baguio, life looked different. My mother was still alive, so was my younger sister. The future seemed larger then, unfolding ahead with the confidence that only youth can afford. Ten years passed almost without permission, consumed by work, responsibilities, grief, and the thousand ordinary things that quietly pull us away from places we keep promising to revisit.

So when I finally found myself traveling to Baguio City once again, watching the landscape transform from lowland heat into mist-covered mountains, I wasn't merely returning to a destination. I was returning to a version of myself that had been left waiting somewhere among the pine trees.

Baguio greeted me the way old friends often do. Not with fanfare but with familiarity. The cool air carried the scent of pine needles and damp earth. Fog drifted lazily over hillsides. Familiar landmarks appeared around bends in the road like memories stepping out from hiding.

Yet as comforting as the city felt, I quickly realized that nostalgia alone could not sustain a journey. I wanted something new. Something that would justify the return.

That something turned out to be Lemon and Olives Greek Taverna.