Catching up with Larie

We visited the family of Tito Dick and Tita Dinna in San Francisco in Sep 09.  It was great to see Ate Arianna and Ate Alexa again because I cant even remember the time we first met when I was only 2 years old.

This was the day that we arrived in San Francisco – our first meal with them.

There are many big malls there.   This one is in Hillsdale.

I enjoyed hanging out with Ate Arianna and Ate Alexa because we’re almost the same age.

I just wished we had more time to hang out because they still had school when we were there.

They brought us to this Filipino restaurant that specialises in crabs.  The place is called Alimango, that’s Tagalog for crab.

It was great to feast on many of my favourite Filipino food.

…and the highlight was having the halo-halo, my favourite Filipino dessert.

There are so many big bookstores in the US.  This is one of them.

Pumpkins were everywhere because they were busy getting ready for Halloween.

The first time I have seen a real Halloween pumpkin.  They’re very heavy.

This is their backyard – they have a very cool house.

I went kayaking with Ate Alexa and it was so much fun – my first try on the kayak.

I can get used to this…

We enjoyed sitting together at the back of their van every time we go out.

Ate Alexa is just a year older than me but she’s quite tall.

We’re like the 3 sisters here.

This was our last meal together before we flew back to Sydney.

Ate Alexa plays the guitar and she’s good at it.  I wish I can play the guitar too.

I gave a sample of my origami one afternoon.

Downtown San Francisco

San Francisco is quite foggy in some days and this is an example of those days as you can see the fog was starting to cover the whole city.

We visited the crookedest street in the world – Lombard Street

…at the bottom end of Lombard Street

Ghirardelli is a local chocolatier, I loved many of their flavoured chocolates.

….these are bread from one of the bakeries at Fisherman’s Wharf

The cable car around the city…

This is a train ride to the city in one of those days when we went on our own and explored downtown San Francisco.

…still at the Fisherman’s Wharf

Enjoying afternoon tea at Cheesecake Factory at the top of Macy’s in Union Square

At Embarcadero…

Trying out some grapes in the markets at Embarcadero

Mum trying the French macarons we bought and I sampling the peaches we bought from the markets.

I sampled a raspberry tart in one of the cafes.

We’re leaving Embarcadero and moving towards Pier 39

Waiting for our transport to Pier 39.

Pier 39 is a very touristy area with so many different specialty shops and restaurants.

This is the Houdini Magic Shop where I bought a few magic apparatus.

The shop keeper showed me how he can make a coin float.

I enjoyed browsing so many different kinds of magic tricks.

As usual, my parents would always want me to pose for the camera…hmm, is that a fake smile?

Checking out another shop…

It can get chilly around here as this is by the water.  You can see the Golden Gate Bridge from here although it was covered by fog while we were here.

It was a great day, perfect to go around…

We tried the famous clam chowder at Boudin, it was yum!

We started playing with the magic tricks we bought…

…and we tried the Red Velvet Cake.  I had this cake quite a few times while we were there.

Tech Museum in San Jose

This is one of my most favourite places.

I love this place because it’s very interactive and it has many interesting equipment and gadgets.

A roller coaster simulator where you get to design the dips.

One of those interactive demonstrations I participated in.

There’s something for everyone…

You can even create your own disc jockey piece.

…countless interactive equipment, you don’t know what to touch first.

A simulator for the paralympics

…and an astronaut

After the Tech Museum, we explored Japantown in San Jose.

I bought a few origami paper…so many varieties and much cheaper than buying them in Sydney

It’s only here that I have heard about Japantown…we usually just hear about Chinatown but not Japantown.

We visited Jollibee – a Filipino fastfood chain that is present in the US.

I had the Chicken Joy and halo-halo (again!)

Next door is Dave & Busters, a place for videos and different games.

I had a go at Air Hockey and beat my dad.

Trip to Monterey

Tita Cecille (dad’s friend) brought us to Monterey, another beautiful spot south of San Francisco.  On our way there, we passed by another Filipino restaurant, Goldilocks.

Look at all the different sweets and desserts – pastillas is my favourite.  I heard that there are many Filipinos in California and that’s the reason there’s quite a few Filipino restaurants around there.

We really had a hearty meal before our road trip to Monterey.

Look at all these Filipino specialities – there’s lumpiang sariwa, dinuguan, bbq, bangus, longganisa, buko juice and many others.

Monterey is an absolutely gorgeous place.  We heard that during summer time, every corner of this place is filled with tourists and visitors from other places.

I tried the lookout just outside the Monterey Aquarium and it’s the Pacific Ocean as far as you can see.

There was a flock of birds close to the shore.

Auntie Cecille is our gracious host.

The Monterey Aquarium is host to many species of sea horses.

…with a sea horse up close.

…with the penguins

This is the dragon seahorse I think, and surprisingly, a native of Australian waters.

Only a wall divides me and the powerful current of the waves.

We managed to touch the sting ray…velvety texture of their skin.

A family photo for posterity.

After Monterey Aquarium, we went to a lolly shop with so many kinds of lollies.

For dinner, Tita Cecille brought us to a bbq place – yummy food and big serving!

After dinner, we went to their beautiful home in Gilroy for a cuppa.  It was already 10pm and by the time they drove us to Redwood City, it was already midnight.  Thanks Tita Cecille and Tito Tante for driving my family back to Redwood.

Academy of Sciences

This is the Academy of Sciences in downtown San Francisco.

We were surprised to see that the ‘Philippine Deep’ was on exhibit at the time.

…beautiful corals and the fishes that thrive in their presence.

I can’t stop taking photos of them with my DSi.

There were sting rangs (again!)

…and these beautiful jelly fishes.

We watched a penguin show (feeding time) where they explained more about penguins and their life out in the wild.

…shark teeth!

…tiny beetles

…around the shark and sting ray area

We had a great time here.  We also saw the planetarium which is one of the biggest in the world and makes you really feel like you’re travelling into space and leaving earth.

Napa Valley

Napa Valley is the wine region of California.  It’s probably similar to the Hunter Valley of NSW and some of the other wine regions in Australia.

Tita Pinky and Tito Erik took us to Napa Valley.  They live around Sacramento so they had to come and pick us up from Redwood City first then go back to Napa.

We did the wine train where you go on a train, have a meal while going around the different wineries in the region.

…after a hearty meal.  As usual, my dad wants to take a photo of me but I was not in the mood for it.

This is a chateau winery that we visited and it’s on top of an elevated area and you see all the vineyards in the surrounding area.

We did wine tasting here although my parents were surprised to find out that you  have to pay for wine tasting.  In Australia, wine tasting is for free and you may or may not buy in the end, they wont charge you.  Here, it’s a bit different.

Well, I also had to have my non-alcoholic drink, hehe…

I am smiling here so it must be good.

Sausolito

Sausolito is a very charming place.  It’s almost at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge at the other end after crossing the bridge.  It’s a coastal village which reminds me of many typical Australian coastal villages.