Sunny Day at the Peaks

Woke up today to an extremely clear sky. What could be more sensible than to snap great shots of the city from those great photo spots right? Started off the day with a walk around Dolores Park. Ever since John introduced me to this spot, I have been coming back here everytime I'm in the city. Could never get enough of the magnificent view from this spot.
The journey to the second view point at the Twin Peaks sure took a lot of effort. This includes walking 10 blocks in the wrong direction to Vivian's place to getting lost in the city for not bringing a long a gps. Was it worth all the trouble? I'll let the pictures do the talking.
Ended the day at the Golden Gate Park. Supposed to check out the California Academy of Sciences but we got the free day mixed up. Oh well, more cam whoring then :-p

Chinatown again!

Took the chance to catch up wif Zoie today. She commented that I seem to be perpetually in the US. I certainly wish this is true. But it is kinda true that I've been spending all my holidays here. Uncle Sam sure need to thank me for patronizing this economy so much.

Manage to sneak in her college to put our heavy bags in the locker before heading out to town. Went all the way up to the rooftop of Macy's to catch a bird eye's view of Union Square. Before this I thought one has to dine at Cheesecake Factory in order to dine here. *Smacks head*

Our random walk ended up in Chinatown thanks to our cravings for bubble tea aka. bouba. Glad that we did this as we stumbled upon an extremely impressive mural of the star spangled banner. Don't you think the shot is extremely cool?

Off to the lighthouse....

Decided to head out of town for a little bus riding and book reading day. Took the Bart and then 2 different buses to arrive at Montara. The place is extremely foggy that day. I could totally picture such a setting for The Famous Five adventure series. Since my arrival is way before the check-in time, I quickly ran to the edge of the cliff and jump down to the sea for a quick refreshing swim. Alright that is a lie. Lol. All I did was sat and enjoy the wonderful sound of the waves hitting the rocks along with the very mysterious look of the fog engulfing the Californian coast.
The lighthouse however was kinda disappointing as it was ten thousand times smaller then I thought it would be. I somehow felt like I am thrown into a retirement home as all other occupants were way past 50. It was still a great experience as I get to listen to well embellished stories of their younger days.
Note: Buy your own food at the Linda Mar transit center before heading here. Else you would be walking 20 over minutes in the dark to get food from the nearest grocery store.

I *heart* the Bay

Woke up early morning to the wonderful view of they bay from our hotel room. Totally *heart* the Hyatt at Embarcadero. Feels like I could sit all day and people watch from the balcony but the sight of the vibrancy at the ferry building tempted me to get downstairs to explore the place a little.
The place is tastefully restored with lots of interesting shops that sells mostly specialty food items. From mushrooms and wine to cookies and kitchenware. This is definitely a upper class housewives paradise. Got our lunch from a classic Italian place. Was totally spoilt for choice when it comes to choosing the meat for my sandwich. Ended up choosing a Toscano that is dry like hell. Argh! Gotta expand my knowledge on this sausages man. Hmmmph
Took a walk along the Embarcadero before retreating to the hotel room to enjoy the wonderful night view of the bay from our hotel room. Blissful......

Flower Power!

Alright the title sure suggest that famous intersection of the hippy part of the town. But no, that is not where I'm heading to on this wonderful Sunday morning. It is actually off to see real flowers. To the conservatory? Nah, we're heading to the often overlooked SF Botanical Gardens. The stroll at this part of the city never fail to freshen me up :-)

Did you know that Memoirs of a Geisha was filmed here? Yes, right here in the SF backyard. This time with Thang as the Geisha though. Lol.

Dear Genki,

Officially declaring that Genki has a hold of my heart. When asked of where I wanna go for food, I could only see the one and only crepe, Crepe, CREPE!!!!! We drove all the way to Richmond just to satisfy out taste buds. Ok , more like mine. But man, the guys ate as much as I did ok. Lol.
Well just in case u wanna check it out: Genki Crepe. Don't say I didn't warn you, it is very addictive. Yum yummmm

Warm Welcome to the Bay City

Arrived at my most beloved city on earth after more than 20 hours up in the air. Still suffering from the aftershock of not being able to get the job after sacrificing a wonderful thanksgiving weekend down in LA. *Grinds teeth* The anger quickly disappeared when I met my friends. Am extremely excited as we're gonna be visiting their new nest!Their wonderful house is situated up high on a hill that overlooks South SF, with the most serene and peaceful surroundings. *Envious* I could totally picture myself sitting out at the balcony, sipping my favorite ginger milk tea, watching the magnificent view of the sun setting in the background.

The inside of the house is so comfy and cozy. Totally loved the extremely tall ceiling and the antique looking piano in the living room. I should start making more mooolah to get a place like this. On second thought, nah I'll just visit more often and enjoy my carefree life. Lol.
Oh can I mentioned that the dinner was great? The papaya salad made by Vince was very nice and the golden raspberry tasted like it is totally out of this world. My mouth is watering as I'm uploading the photo of it. Thanks to Vince n Thang for being such great host!
Fun fact: Vince claimed that papaya salad is not a Thai traditional food but Laos.