Friday, July 30, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
I'm coming home!
Clear your calendars!
I'll be back in Houston from Monday, March 29 through Monday, April 5. I'll be spending a lot of time with my new niece, Zoey, but I could probably squeeze in a few of my faithful readers too. Let me know if you're available, and we'll go have some fun in good, ole' H-town!
Things I want to do while in town:
- Take a bajillion photos of Zoey.
- Go kicker dancing.
- Sing karaoke.
- Eat real Chinese food and Texas barbecue.
- Go running on flat trails at low elevations.
Monday, February 22, 2010
I left my heart in San Francisco
I've been fortunate enough in my lifetime to visit most of the United States' most important metropolises, including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Washington, D.C., Denver, St. Louis, Dallas, and of course, Houston. But one place that I've always wanted to visit that has always eluded me is San Francisco. I finally had a chance to to this past weekend to this popular destination and was not disappointed with the amazing breadth of culture and beauty this magnificent city has to offer.
San Francisco is just a $10, three-hour bus ride away from Santa Rosa. We left Thursday morning and arrived at the Oasis Inn, a dive motel that we booked at a bargain rate of $40 a night, split between six people. It definitely was no Four Seasons, but it was surprisingly cleaner and more comfortable than we were anticipating, and it was centrally located to all the major attractions we hoped to visit. After getting checking in and getting situated, we decided to walk down the famous Haight Avenue into the famed Golden Gate Park.
I have to admit that my first impression of San Francisco was not entirely positive. The day was dreary and overcast, which gave the streets a dingy pallor. Our first stop in the city was through a hippie district, which would have been fine had I not been expecting the clean, bright images I'd seen on postcards. The Haight district was central to the 1960s hippie movement and remains today an bohemian paradise. While it wasn't what I was envisioning, I quickly became enamored with this side of town. The abundant vintage clothiers, even plain old Goodwill, were awesome and had an incredibly stylish selection. There was definitely a worldly feel to the avenue with its trendy Eastern imports, Bohemian fashions, funky modern art galleries, costume suppliers, gag souvenir stores, and smoke shops almost blatantly advertising marijuana. One of the famous stores on the drag was Amoeba Music, the nation's largest independent record store. It was seriously huge and had a staggering selection of CDs, records, and DVDs of all genres and eras. Despite my early impressions, we eventually found ourselves wanting to stop at more and more places, and we wound up severely behind schedule due to our multiple detours. My favorite store was Decades of Fashion 1880's-1980's, which played swing dancing music and had some really cool vintage pieces. I found a great vest that I wanted but couldn't afford, but I had fun anyway trying on 1920s zoot suits and laughing at 1970s disco fashions.
The food offerings were also pretty spectacular along Haight with an international selection including Thai, Ethiopian, and Middle Eastern. My first meal in San Francisco was at a little Mediterranean joint called Ali Baba's Cave, which I picked because it seemed to have a pretty decent line, and the servings were enormous at reasonable prices. I had a lamb shwarma that was loaded with meat, hummus, parsley, onions, and potatoes and toasted on the grill and a side of falafel generously slathered with hummus. However, my friend, a less than adventurous eater, was less than thrilled with her chicken, which was powerfully spiced and a little on the dry side. Later that night, we ate at an adorable cafe and creperie called Squat & Gobble, which despite its awkward name is actually quite delightful. In fact, we wound up eating there twice during the trip. The first time around, I had a delicious strawberry and nutella crepe with vanilla ice cream, and I later had the chance to try their eggs benedict, which weren't the best I've had but certainly hit the spot and fulfilled my cravings. On the way back home, we stopped for a slice of pizza at Mythic Pizza, which was cheap but unfortunately not very good. But it was greasy and filling, and that was all we needed at the time.
We finally reached Golden Gate Park and were sorely disappointed. It was pretty enough but didn't live up to the hype that we'd been fed by previous visitors to the park. I'm sure during other seasons it's a lovely place to visit, but during this time of year, there wasn't much to see, or perhaps we went to all the wrong places. We swung by the Music Concourse to visit the California Academy of Sciences and the De Young Museum but weren't willing to pay the steep admission fee. Instead we went up the free De Young observation tower to catch a wonderful view of the city, even if most of it was shrouded in fog.
The next day followed a much more traditional tourist path, starting a Ghirardelli Square, where the original chocolate factory was located. Coming from a chocolate-loving family, it was really cool seeing where the famous (and tasty!) brand first originated. I had a cup of hot melting chocolate with biscotti (heaven in a cup), while my friend ordered a cookie ice cream sundae (frozen happiness swirled with fudge).
From there, we meandered over the tourist traps known as Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39. It was not terribly impressive, but it was a crucial and pleasant stop in the San Francisco tour. I enjoyed seeing the iconic sights, like the handful of sea lions and the views of Alcatraz and Golden Gate Bridge. I browsed souvenir shops, visited the famous Boudin Sourdough Bakery, and had a mediocre bowl of clam chowder at Tarantino's.
From the wharf, we walked to the nearby Coit Tower. I wouldn't have known of the Coit Tower, had it not been featured in an episode of The Bachelor (I swear I don't watch regularly, but for the record, it's where Jake takes Tenley). From this high vantage point, we were rewarded with sweeping views of the San Francisco skyline and the Golden Gate and Bay bridges. While we were up there, we also got in some classic jumping pics over the city.
We then walked down to the North Beach area, which is right near Chinatown and features a heavy concentration of Italian businesses. We stopped at a classy little coffee shop called Caffe Greco, which had some of the best sorbetto I've ever had in my life. It was everything I wanted it to be: cool, refreshing, full of fruity flavor, and the perfectly smooth consistency. Just down the street was the famous City Lights Bookstore, which was a cradle of the Beat movement. We spent a good hour wandering the three floors of quality reading.
We continued down the street until we hit the commercial district, which felt like a world away from the hipster areas we frequented the prior day. Here were the skyscrapers and cosmopolitan vibe that expected from the city. It wasn't necessarily better than what I had seen of San Francisco, but it was nice for a while to bask in all the urban sophistication that such major metropolitan areas have to offer. We first stopped by the renowned Palace Hotel to use the swanky restrooms (as a rule while traveling, I always try to schedule bathroom breaks at fancy hotels). A few blocks away, we walked through the shopping mecca by Union Square that had upscale shopping from Armani to Zara. The Niketown we visited could literally have been its own town, and the Levi's I entered was four stories tall.
From there, Chinatown. Another tourist trap for sure, but still it felt good to be in familiar territory in all its kitschy glory. They always say that your own culture is invisible to you, and as an Asian-American, I finally got to see the truth of that while visiting Chinatown with my team. I went to a relatively authentic Chinese restaurant with a group of non-Asians for the first time I can remember and was baffled by how novel they perceived to experience to be. Going out for dinner in Houston's Chinatown has always been just another part of my weekend plans, but for my new friends, it was a cultural adventure. They asked a lot of questions (Should there be tea leaves at the bottom of the cup? Why does the waitress always sound angry?), and to my bafflement, they insisted on ordering separately instead of eating family-style. And despite my recommendations, everyone wound up with dishes like spring rolls, fried rice, and sweet and sour chicken. It was definitely a cultural learning experience, and I also had loads of fun browsing the shops filled with a miscellany of random items only found in Chinatown.
On Saturday, our last day in the city, Target sponsored a day of free admission to the famed De Young Museum. My friend and I thought we arrived early to claim our free passes to the extremely popular King Tutankhamen exhibit, but even though we got there only 30 minutes after the ticket office opened, the queue wound halfway around the building. We decided to forego the hours of waiting in line and instead just hit up the general exhibits, which were still pretty spectacular and massive. I'm not much of a connoisseur when it comes to art, but I know when something interests, fascinates, or impresses me, and I found all of the above at the De Young. One of my favorite pieces was a model of a cathedral made entirely of bullets and parts of guns by Al Farrow.
I ended the trip back where I started: on Haight Avenue. After the aforementioned lunch at Squat & Gobble, I concluded the afternoon at Coffee to the People with a really good mocha with a shot of hazelnut. As we walked back to the bus stop, I took lots of pictures of the sweet graffiti all along the street.
So that's my trip to San Francisco in a nutshell. There were a few other side adventures, but those were definitely the highlights. I was amazed at how vibrant and alive the city is. Shops and restaurants are always opened and always jam-packed with people out and about at all hours of the day. I would definitely love to live here some day, but for now, I'll be content with my memories knowing that San Francisco is only a short bus ride away.
San Francisco is just a $10, three-hour bus ride away from Santa Rosa. We left Thursday morning and arrived at the Oasis Inn, a dive motel that we booked at a bargain rate of $40 a night, split between six people. It definitely was no Four Seasons, but it was surprisingly cleaner and more comfortable than we were anticipating, and it was centrally located to all the major attractions we hoped to visit. After getting checking in and getting situated, we decided to walk down the famous Haight Avenue into the famed Golden Gate Park.
I have to admit that my first impression of San Francisco was not entirely positive. The day was dreary and overcast, which gave the streets a dingy pallor. Our first stop in the city was through a hippie district, which would have been fine had I not been expecting the clean, bright images I'd seen on postcards. The Haight district was central to the 1960s hippie movement and remains today an bohemian paradise. While it wasn't what I was envisioning, I quickly became enamored with this side of town. The abundant vintage clothiers, even plain old Goodwill, were awesome and had an incredibly stylish selection. There was definitely a worldly feel to the avenue with its trendy Eastern imports, Bohemian fashions, funky modern art galleries, costume suppliers, gag souvenir stores, and smoke shops almost blatantly advertising marijuana. One of the famous stores on the drag was Amoeba Music, the nation's largest independent record store. It was seriously huge and had a staggering selection of CDs, records, and DVDs of all genres and eras. Despite my early impressions, we eventually found ourselves wanting to stop at more and more places, and we wound up severely behind schedule due to our multiple detours. My favorite store was Decades of Fashion 1880's-1980's, which played swing dancing music and had some really cool vintage pieces. I found a great vest that I wanted but couldn't afford, but I had fun anyway trying on 1920s zoot suits and laughing at 1970s disco fashions.
The food offerings were also pretty spectacular along Haight with an international selection including Thai, Ethiopian, and Middle Eastern. My first meal in San Francisco was at a little Mediterranean joint called Ali Baba's Cave, which I picked because it seemed to have a pretty decent line, and the servings were enormous at reasonable prices. I had a lamb shwarma that was loaded with meat, hummus, parsley, onions, and potatoes and toasted on the grill and a side of falafel generously slathered with hummus. However, my friend, a less than adventurous eater, was less than thrilled with her chicken, which was powerfully spiced and a little on the dry side. Later that night, we ate at an adorable cafe and creperie called Squat & Gobble, which despite its awkward name is actually quite delightful. In fact, we wound up eating there twice during the trip. The first time around, I had a delicious strawberry and nutella crepe with vanilla ice cream, and I later had the chance to try their eggs benedict, which weren't the best I've had but certainly hit the spot and fulfilled my cravings. On the way back home, we stopped for a slice of pizza at Mythic Pizza, which was cheap but unfortunately not very good. But it was greasy and filling, and that was all we needed at the time.
We finally reached Golden Gate Park and were sorely disappointed. It was pretty enough but didn't live up to the hype that we'd been fed by previous visitors to the park. I'm sure during other seasons it's a lovely place to visit, but during this time of year, there wasn't much to see, or perhaps we went to all the wrong places. We swung by the Music Concourse to visit the California Academy of Sciences and the De Young Museum but weren't willing to pay the steep admission fee. Instead we went up the free De Young observation tower to catch a wonderful view of the city, even if most of it was shrouded in fog.
The next day followed a much more traditional tourist path, starting a Ghirardelli Square, where the original chocolate factory was located. Coming from a chocolate-loving family, it was really cool seeing where the famous (and tasty!) brand first originated. I had a cup of hot melting chocolate with biscotti (heaven in a cup), while my friend ordered a cookie ice cream sundae (frozen happiness swirled with fudge).
From there, we meandered over the tourist traps known as Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39. It was not terribly impressive, but it was a crucial and pleasant stop in the San Francisco tour. I enjoyed seeing the iconic sights, like the handful of sea lions and the views of Alcatraz and Golden Gate Bridge. I browsed souvenir shops, visited the famous Boudin Sourdough Bakery, and had a mediocre bowl of clam chowder at Tarantino's.
From the wharf, we walked to the nearby Coit Tower. I wouldn't have known of the Coit Tower, had it not been featured in an episode of The Bachelor (I swear I don't watch regularly, but for the record, it's where Jake takes Tenley). From this high vantage point, we were rewarded with sweeping views of the San Francisco skyline and the Golden Gate and Bay bridges. While we were up there, we also got in some classic jumping pics over the city.
We then walked down to the North Beach area, which is right near Chinatown and features a heavy concentration of Italian businesses. We stopped at a classy little coffee shop called Caffe Greco, which had some of the best sorbetto I've ever had in my life. It was everything I wanted it to be: cool, refreshing, full of fruity flavor, and the perfectly smooth consistency. Just down the street was the famous City Lights Bookstore, which was a cradle of the Beat movement. We spent a good hour wandering the three floors of quality reading.
We continued down the street until we hit the commercial district, which felt like a world away from the hipster areas we frequented the prior day. Here were the skyscrapers and cosmopolitan vibe that expected from the city. It wasn't necessarily better than what I had seen of San Francisco, but it was nice for a while to bask in all the urban sophistication that such major metropolitan areas have to offer. We first stopped by the renowned Palace Hotel to use the swanky restrooms (as a rule while traveling, I always try to schedule bathroom breaks at fancy hotels). A few blocks away, we walked through the shopping mecca by Union Square that had upscale shopping from Armani to Zara. The Niketown we visited could literally have been its own town, and the Levi's I entered was four stories tall.
From there, Chinatown. Another tourist trap for sure, but still it felt good to be in familiar territory in all its kitschy glory. They always say that your own culture is invisible to you, and as an Asian-American, I finally got to see the truth of that while visiting Chinatown with my team. I went to a relatively authentic Chinese restaurant with a group of non-Asians for the first time I can remember and was baffled by how novel they perceived to experience to be. Going out for dinner in Houston's Chinatown has always been just another part of my weekend plans, but for my new friends, it was a cultural adventure. They asked a lot of questions (Should there be tea leaves at the bottom of the cup? Why does the waitress always sound angry?), and to my bafflement, they insisted on ordering separately instead of eating family-style. And despite my recommendations, everyone wound up with dishes like spring rolls, fried rice, and sweet and sour chicken. It was definitely a cultural learning experience, and I also had loads of fun browsing the shops filled with a miscellany of random items only found in Chinatown.
On Saturday, our last day in the city, Target sponsored a day of free admission to the famed De Young Museum. My friend and I thought we arrived early to claim our free passes to the extremely popular King Tutankhamen exhibit, but even though we got there only 30 minutes after the ticket office opened, the queue wound halfway around the building. We decided to forego the hours of waiting in line and instead just hit up the general exhibits, which were still pretty spectacular and massive. I'm not much of a connoisseur when it comes to art, but I know when something interests, fascinates, or impresses me, and I found all of the above at the De Young. One of my favorite pieces was a model of a cathedral made entirely of bullets and parts of guns by Al Farrow.
I ended the trip back where I started: on Haight Avenue. After the aforementioned lunch at Squat & Gobble, I concluded the afternoon at Coffee to the People with a really good mocha with a shot of hazelnut. As we walked back to the bus stop, I took lots of pictures of the sweet graffiti all along the street.
So that's my trip to San Francisco in a nutshell. There were a few other side adventures, but those were definitely the highlights. I was amazed at how vibrant and alive the city is. Shops and restaurants are always opened and always jam-packed with people out and about at all hours of the day. I would definitely love to live here some day, but for now, I'll be content with my memories knowing that San Francisco is only a short bus ride away.
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