San Francisco Part 2 by Adrian

On our second day, we were chauffeured by Linda to Napa Valley, Muir Woods National Monument and Palace of Fine Arts Theater.  We started our morning by having breakfast at a well known place called Tartine's Bakery & Cafe. Even before the place was opened, we already had to line up outside the establishment.

People queuing up outside

Morning bun, croissant and quiche

The breakfast was a great treat. Thank you Linda for bringing us to the place. Our next destination is Napa Valley. The area is huge so we only manage to stop at a one vineyard. With a toddler tagging along, trust me it is very challenging to be flexible. The place is called Castello Di Amorosa. It was the perfect place for us. The place is a castle with the European inspired design built by Dario Sattui.

Castello Di Amorosa

Entrance to the castle

The Courtyard (Adam Sandler shot Bedtime Stories here)

The Great Hall

Hallway

Wine cellar

Award winning wines

Grape-seed oil

It won't be complete without wine tasting (Serene sipping her sweet wine)

Checking out the grapes (Brandon and I)

The castle was superb and affordable as we do not have to fly to Europe to experience similar ambiance. Without any hesitation, Linda agreed to bring us to Muir Woods National Monument as our next stop. Remember the Ewoks running around the wood with gigantic trees. Yes, the location was inspired by Muir Woods. Another movie Rise of the Planets of the Apes was also shot at this location.

Entrance to Muir Woods (Serene and Linda)

Gigantic trees (Look at the size of the visitors compared to the trees)

Another angle of the giant trees

More trees..! Bored yet?

Last picture of the trees

The place is actually quite relaxing connecting yourself to the environment. I mean not the tree hugging way. Plus the weather is nice not too hot. It is definitely worth checking it out. The last place suggested by Linda was the The Palace of Fine Arts. It looks like a movie set for a Roman period film. The monument was originally built to be presented at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition.

The monument across the lagoon

Rotunda

Ducks in the lagoon

Swans

Private houses across the lagoon (Lucky dogs..!)

End of second day. Stay tuned for more!!!

San Francisco Part 1 by Adrian (4th July week)

It has been a while since we had a family vacation. So we decided to spend five days in San Francisco. I personally have been to San Francisco but it was just in and out for business. If you have never been to San Francisco, let me share with you what to expect.

First of all, you will feel like you are in an Asian country as there are Asians everywhere. I mean more than New York City excluding Queens and Chinatown. Second, everyone is very courteous including the car drivers. We had an incident whereby a car pulled in our parking lot where we had waited for and the driver rolled down the window and asked us whether we were waiting for the spot. We said yes and he just pulled out for us. It was a very nice gesture. Unfortunately, that will never happen in New Jersey or New York area. Shame on us!!!! Thirdly, the weather is excellent...! Some might find it too chilly but it was just nice for us. The average temperature is mid 60F or 18C pretty much all year round. I suggest you bring a light jacket or fleece for the evening. It gets a bit cold and windy..! Anyway, you judge for yourself whether San Francisco is a place you would like to visit.
  
Our hotel

The Westin Market Street

King Size Bed with Brandon in the middle (It was quite an experience with Brandon smacking us during his sleep)

Snacks above the mini bar (Note you will be charged within 10 seconds of your removal of the snacks, please do not remove if you don't plan to consume it)

Mini bar with jacked up hotel price

Our first stop was Chinatown for lunch. The hotel concierge told us it is the largest Chinatown in US. Really! I thought NY Chinatown is larger. Well, I am not writing for argument sake.

The arch marking the entrance to Chinatown (Grant Street)

The only Chinatown with steep hill

Trolley service to Chinatown

Chinese traditional shoes

Brandon enjoying his noodles!! Good? No?

From Chinatown we walked to Pier 39. Thank God it was downhill from Chinatown. I cannot imagine someone would walk from Pier 39 to Chinatown. On the way to Pier 39 we passed a few areas. One of them was Washington Square. Next to the park (Washington Square) is the church of Saints Peter and Paul historically catering to the Italian American community. This area is also known as Little Italy but called North Beach. Do you know that this is the hometown of the baseball legend Joe DiMaggio? Yes, it is.

Imagine having to walk home uphill

Pier 39

The place is packed with people from all over

Boats are everywhere next to the pier

Ta...da! Sea lions

We were a bit disappointed that we did not see lots of sea lions as they were in Channel Islands National Park mating. I suppose the ones that stayed at Pier 39 are the seniors. Lol....! Anyway, that's basically it for us on our first day. There are more exciting places to come. Till then stay tuned...!

Flowers Oh flowers..!

I am not sure why our hydrangeas did not bloom last year. Well, this year it is different. See for yourself. We also add petunias on the front yard and marigolds at the side yard. It is always nice to have flowers to improve the aesthetic of our house. Don't you think?

Hydrangeas (Purple and Pink)

Petunias front yard

Marigold side yard

Miami Part 2

This is the continuation from the previous blog update. During this trip, I manage to check out Lincoln Road, Espanola Way, Ocean Drive, Art Deco District and famously known for stars bathing- South Beach. I started by going to Espanola Way with a close friend, Julia. She has been living in Miami for quite a while and was my tour guide for the day. Our first stop was Havana 1957 for lunch. One must have Cuban cuisine down in Miami.

Havana 1957

Lechon Asado- low oven roasted pork leg with Cuban mojo. Served with moro rice and yuca.

The lunch was perfect with the mojito to down all the meat and carbo into my belly. He..he..!
 

Espanola Way

Espanola Way actually reminded me of Emerald Hill in Singapore. You should visit Singapore and tell me whether they are similar. Next we decided to burn our calories by walking to the Ocean Drive. The Art Deco District and Lincoln Drive are not far from Ocean Drive. They are pretty much located around the vicinity of Ocean Drive.

Art Deco District

This area is basically a historically district where buildings that were built in 1923-40's are preserved to look like they were in those days.

Shelbourne Hotel- Reminds of Capitol movie theatre in Kuching

Essex House

Random building part of the Art Deco District- reminds me of KMC Flat in Kuching or Roach Motel

Lincoln Road

Lincoln Road is the famous shopping destination in Miami. It is comparable to New York's Fifth Avenue. The area has a pedestrian mall that you could walk and stroll to check out restaurants and stores.

Lincoln Road Mall

Palm trees at Lincoln Road Mall

Random stores 

Ocean Drive

This is the famous area of the ocean front of South Beach. It has been featured in a lot of movies. One of them is The Bird Cage.

Actual shooting location for The Bird Cage at The Carlyle Hotel

Larios on the Beach - Gloria Estefan's restaurant chain

Ocean Drive

The famous Mango's Tropical Cafe located at Ocean Drive

Men showing off their bodies

Versace's former house where he was murdered

Pornstar promoting her new gig 

South Beach

Finally, we are talking about the beach. That's what Miami is known for. Can you imagine it was an unsettled farmland in 1800's? Not anymore.

Lifeguard's house

Carnival's Cruise ship along the beach

Umbrellas and chairs for rent

Beach goers

Para-sailing at the beach

For those of you who would like the adult version of the beach pictures, please feel free to contact me. I am restricting the blog to PG 13 only. Sorry guys....! Anyway, that's all folks...! I hope you have enjoyed Miami. As for me, I don't mind going back again. Thanks Julia for showing me around.