My California Vacation: San Francisco
Thanks to a two week vacation that was approved, I decided to visit my parents and have a vacation in California. The first part of my trip begins at San Francisco. I arrived at Terminal 2 just in time for boarding (I thought my flight was 11:20, apparently it was 10:20). After a couple of movies, 2 meals and some sleep, I arrived in San Francisco International Airport. Knowing my parents, they were already there to pick me up. We headed to my uncle's place to get some dinner and hit the sack early since it was a tiring 12 hour trip.
Sunday's agenda was lunch at Pier 39 and Lombard Street. We had a hearty lunch at Bubba Gump at Pier 39 thanks to my generous cousin. I ordered a mango shake drink and they put it in a tall cup that has lights at the bottom which was so cool. So cool that I kept the glass afterwards. After lunch, we headed out to see the seal lions at the pier. Its cool to see that there's wildlife so close to the city, it also means that the water in San Francisco is generally clean. After seeing the seals, we headed out to see Lombard Street which is basically a crooked street going downhill. I don't really know why they made the street that way but its part of San Francisco. The top of the street offers a great view of the city and the bay, and the street itself was well manicured which made it beautiful. After taking some pictures and actually driving in the street, we headed home.
Monday's agenda was touring downtown SF and of course shopping with my dad. A few steps from my folks place is the bus stop. We rode the 9AM bus and for $2, brought us to the Colma BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit). From the Colma station, and for a fare of $3 something, we stopped at Civic Center/UN Plaza to check out the SF City Hall. The BART is efficient, on time and is not really that crowded, probably because it wasn't rush hour or something.
After taking pics at their beautiful City Hall (the dome of the building is painted gold which made it sparkle) and some artwork around the area, we checked out a small outdoor market before riding the BART again to go to Powell station and do some shopping. Westfield mall was the first stop and my dad and I had coffee first at Starbucks where I bought my San Francisco mug as a souvenir. After coffee and a light snack, it was time to check out the shops to do some window shopping and see what we can buy. Most of the shops were on sale but I had to be very smart since I'm spending $ and not pesos. Also I'm expecting to shop on an outlet mall in LA so I'm reserving most of my money for that. After buying a pair of jeans at American Eagle for less than $30, we checked out the nearby shops around the mall. There were a lot of shops that I don't know where to start. Not far from Westfield is an A|X store and I got a jacket on sale (since I forgot to bring one because I was hurrying to the airport). We also went to Old Navy which is a 3 floor store where I got my dad a shirt. It was tiring walking and visiting the stores that we decided to get a late lunch at Serramonte center, another shopping mall closer to home. We grabbed some kebabs and checked out the shops after while we were waiting for the bus to bring us home. Serramonte has some nice shops, definitely right up my alley, they even have a Bench store. They also have a Ross Dress for Less which i definitely checked out for some bargains. The weather was a little unpredictable, it was sunny when we arrived but going out there was a thick fog that we had to go back inside the mall to keep warm and avoid the crisp wind, luckily the bus came already so we hurried back home.
(Read my Blogs about LA, Yosemite and Monterey.)
Having a fun road trip from LA going back to San Francisco, our first destination back was the local Jollibee. My sister wanted her kids to experience and taste local Pinoy fast food flavor. The menu in Jollibee is just the same as here in Manila, just that their chicken meal goes up to 3 pieces. When we got to my aunt's place, the family had a mini celebration (it was just in time for my sisters birthday and since my sister was there from Chicago,it was also a mini reunion) and the table had lots of Filipino food thanks to the local Filipino restaurant named Boracay. The family enjoyed pancit, shanghai to name a few and a cake baked by my aunt.
The next day, it was my sister's flight back to Chicago but we still had to stop by a nearby Goldilocks so the kids can taste more of Filipino food like halo halo and sago gulaman. After the trip to the airport, mom, dad and I headed back to downtown SF to get some lunch do some last minute shopping and take more pictures.
After a Japanese lunch at Westfield mall food court, we checked out the Ross store nearby to buy whatever we can find. Ross stores are popular since they offer cheaper prices than the retail outlets and malls. I got my dad a nice Nike Golf cap for $7 and some DKNY shirts for $10. After shopping, we took pictures at the nearby Union Square which was a block away. Union Square is where all the nice and designer brands are located. Having spent almost all of my money, I just decided to just take some pictures and enjoy. Since it was my last night in SF, I had a lot of packing to do and my problem was that I didn't have enough luggage to carry all my stuff after having a shopping spree at the outlet mall in Gilroy. I stayed up late but I was still able to wake up early because I still had one more thing to do, watch a movie.
My dad, mom and I went to The Shops at Tamforan to buy last minute pasalubongs. I also got mom a beautiful necklace at Sears that says "Mom" on the pendant and got myself a nice bracelet depicting a family tree. We met up with my aunt and my cousin and had lunch at where else, Jollibee at the food court. After lunch, my aunt took my mom home while my dad, cousin and I stayed so we can watch the last Airbender in 3D. The movie costs $11.50 c/o my dad while my cousin bought the snacks. After the movie, we immediately went home so that I can continue to pack for my trip back home. This time around, I arrived at the airport 4 hours early, which was OK, so to pass up the time, I looked at all my pictures for the past 2 weeks and organized them. Hope I can come back next year.
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| Lombard Street |
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| Sea Lions at Pier 39 |
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| City Hall |
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Asian Art Museum, downtown San Francisco
Tuesday, I headed back to the airport to catch my flight to meet up my sister at LA who's coming in from Chicago.
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(Read my Blogs about LA, Yosemite and Monterey.)
Having a fun road trip from LA going back to San Francisco, our first destination back was the local Jollibee. My sister wanted her kids to experience and taste local Pinoy fast food flavor. The menu in Jollibee is just the same as here in Manila, just that their chicken meal goes up to 3 pieces. When we got to my aunt's place, the family had a mini celebration (it was just in time for my sisters birthday and since my sister was there from Chicago,it was also a mini reunion) and the table had lots of Filipino food thanks to the local Filipino restaurant named Boracay. The family enjoyed pancit, shanghai to name a few and a cake baked by my aunt.
The next day, it was my sister's flight back to Chicago but we still had to stop by a nearby Goldilocks so the kids can taste more of Filipino food like halo halo and sago gulaman. After the trip to the airport, mom, dad and I headed back to downtown SF to get some lunch do some last minute shopping and take more pictures.
After a Japanese lunch at Westfield mall food court, we checked out the Ross store nearby to buy whatever we can find. Ross stores are popular since they offer cheaper prices than the retail outlets and malls. I got my dad a nice Nike Golf cap for $7 and some DKNY shirts for $10. After shopping, we took pictures at the nearby Union Square which was a block away. Union Square is where all the nice and designer brands are located. Having spent almost all of my money, I just decided to just take some pictures and enjoy. Since it was my last night in SF, I had a lot of packing to do and my problem was that I didn't have enough luggage to carry all my stuff after having a shopping spree at the outlet mall in Gilroy. I stayed up late but I was still able to wake up early because I still had one more thing to do, watch a movie.
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Union Square
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| Century Theaters at The Shops at Tanforan |
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| Jollibee, The Shops at Tanforan Food Court |
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