Friday, August 20, 2010

San Francisco Day 2: Golden Gate Bridge, Palo Alto, & A Hotel on the Bay


My second day in San Francisco started off much better, as my ears had popped while I was sleeping, and also that we were checking out of our ugh hotel to go to our actual hotel. Also because my cousin A and his wife M were coming to pick us up to spend a few days with us! I hadn't seen A since I was 3, so it was really like we were meeting for the first time :)

The weather was absolutely gorgeous, which was nice, as we spend a lot of the day outdoors and driving :)


We went for lunch, first though :)




I adore Filipino food but we don't often eat out to have it since there aren't very many restaurants that serve it in Calgary... and because I eat it at home a lot I never want to go out and pay more to eat it cooked by someone else, haha. Kuya A really likes it though, and since he's still learning how to cook, they go out often. We were at Kuya's for lunch (the name means Elder Brother) and Ate M and I shared the palabok, which is a vermicelli dish with a shrimp-based sauce, pork cracklings, eggs, chicken, and shrimp. My mom makes this for my birthday every year :) Kuya's version was tasty, but I think I am partial to my mother's (at least that is what I always say, when she asks ;) )


The Golden Gate Bridge was on my 'must-see' San Francisco destinations but as I was too chicken to bike across it (I hate heights) Kuya A surprised me by driving us across it... twice! There are little parks at either end of the bridge where you can take photos, and the weather was so nice that we took advantage of it.


Me, Kuya A, and Ate M at the Golden Gate Bridge :)

My parents had apparently both told Kuya A that I liked shopping (this is true) and I had mentioned that I wanted to go to Nordstroms, so our next stop was the Palo Alto shopping complex near Stanford - I think it was about a 30 minute drive from the bridge. The scenery was gorgeous, but I confess I kept drifting off - years of road trips have made me a pro at sleeping in a moving car, haha.


I honestly thought I took more pictures of the mall, but apparently not XD; The mall was beautiful, all standalone shops with a lot of greenery and benches in between. Of course I had to take pictures of the gorgeous flowers - they were all along the pathways, and all in bloom :)


I did make a few purchases that day, but this was probably my favourite - sitting in the sunshine, with a macaron and iced coffee, soaking up the sun underneath all my sunscreen ;)


We also went to a Target (I didn't take pictures) and bought some groceries (water, drinks, snacks) for the next few days. This is my 'actual' hotel - right on San Francisco bay! The rooms were apartment style, with full kitchens, and to encourage socializing, the hotel had free events like barbecues and shuttles to downtown San Francisco (which we took advantage of the next day).

And that was day 2 :)

6 comments:

  1. love tat first pic of u
    i see u finally got the pics! more entries please

    btw u need to do a food post..with recipes. ask ur mum to show us how its done!!!! i never hear enough about fillipino food [is tat what i call it sorry if i am wrong]

    day 2 hotel is looking way better <3

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  2. you are the cutest person ever! I love that you are wearing pink (for a change. You had a macaron! Was it delicious? Do tell!!

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  3. @Yumeko

    Filipino food is correct! Haha I should do a step-by-step post when we make lumpia... otherwise everything else mostly looks like stews! Maybe on my next weekend off, when I have a camera again!

    Day 2 hotel was SO much better and it had internet - the crap hotel didn't even offer that! And it was nice that it was along the bay - we took walks in the morning and just before sunset!

    @Old Cow

    Haha, I know, so surprising to see me in pink, hey? Actually this sweater, a tank top and my dress were the only pink things I brought with me on this trip... I try to diversify on vacation so it looks like I put effort into my clothing XD;

    The macaron was good! The bottom cookie was lined with a chocolate ganache and the raspberries were super sweet. I forgot to go back to pick up some for the next day, which made me sad, but I made up for it by getting a cupcake. XD;

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  4. Hey Justine,
    I spent at year studying at Stanford back in '99-2000, so I used to go to that shopping centre quite often! But back then, I wasn't into makeup yet plus I was just a poor student who couldn't afford most of the things in Stanford. Glad to read that you had a good time!

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  5. The first pic is too cute. You're such a ray of sunshine! <3

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  6. I hope you had a nice time! :) I live in the Bay Area so I see this a LOT! :p haha Your lunch loks amazing!

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