Day2: Carmel

Today I woke up with full of excitement.... why? because my road trip starts today. :P We woke up abit later today to recharge our energy so we left Siew's place around 10am. After 30mins on the highway, the traffic slows down and we hope that it's not jam. This weekend is the Memorial Day weekend thus there are alot of ppl travelling during this period. The traffic eventually did slow down on the highway 101....
some planes in action at the air field so everyone slow down to 'pat'

So today, we are going to

Our 1st stop of the day is...

One of the main reason we visited Pt Lobos is because my bro, KH wants to do running while on vacation. So Siew suggested this place with a nice place to run and good view so everyone can enjoy the place. Thanks Siew, it's a great place indeed. While KH is running, Siew and I do our own exploration of the park. We trek along South Shore trail and enjoy the scenery.
I was freezing cold because it's so windy and less sunlight today plus the park is by the sea.

Then as we walk along South Shore trail, we pass by Sand Hill Cove
one of my fav pic for the day

After that, we trek along Sand Hill trail and reach the Sea Lion Cove but sea lion/seal no where to be seen. Nice view though-compensation to missing seal!

The journey continues as we descend to the lower trail of the Sea Lion Point trail. This part of the trail is rocky

and scurried by ground squirrels.

On Siew's right, the white pointed tiny island is call South Pt and to her left is Headland Cove. Sorry Siew, you are the perfect legend for the pic. hehe.

In this trail, it's surrounded by this unique conglomerated rock formation call Carmelo Formation. Can you believe it? This formation is 55 Million years old!!!

Further down, we overlook the Devil's Cauldron (2 rocks on the right nearest to you) and Sea Lion Rocks (behind the Devil's Cauldron). Again, no Sea otters/Sea Lion/Seal to be seen. I was wondering whether they do really hang around this reserve.

Well, time pass very quickly and we got to head back to meet up with KH. We went back to where we came from earlier. Then suddenly, i saw something was moving on the rock when we pass by Sand Hill Cove. I couldn't believe what i saw....It's harbour seals.
From far, they camouflage very well with the rock. If they didn't move i wouldn't have spotted them.hehe

Another landmark of South Shore trail, The Slot...

Weston Beach or also known as Pebbly Beach...

We reach the meeting point but KH was no where to be seen so we explored Pebbly beach. The given name really represent the beach. There are no sand, just pebbles only.

The water is so clear and i put my hand into the water and its very cold, brrrr.

Then KH is done with his running...MADNESS!! i don't think i can wear like that and run in that weather (cold & windy). I bet he enjoyed the run in such beautiful nature surroundings because he was so excited talking about the trails that he took.

Self-portraint while waiting for Siew. Guess what she's doing?

Busy with her GPS....getting ready to go to Carmel-by-the-sea for lunch.

Once i got into the car, suddenly this proud and arrogant sea gull finally landed in front of me and let me take his pic. I made several attempts earlier to take his pic but he just flew away and not letting me to take his pic.

Carmel, a varied array of homes in this picturesque village border the steep hillsides down to the ocean. It's a very unique town with small cute little shops and houses.


I like this wooden gate. There's a beuatiful garden when i peep thru the hole.

Look at the way the tree grow. This tree is in a house garden not wild/by the rd.

While searching for the restaurant call Casanova, we accidently found The Secret Garden entrance...

Inside The Secret Garden...



Finally, we found the Casanova restaurant!! We were so hungry when we get there and it's already 3pm.


The menu and napkin...

Our lunch...
Complimentary bread with olives, some red sauce and butter.
Siew & i share this appetizer ~ Duck Patte served with bread, custard, cucumber. yummy!
I ordered Gnochi ~ made of blended potato and spinach.
KH ordered some spinach in linguine
Siew's spaghetti with pesto...the best choice! better than what KH and i ordered.

While waiting for the food, i go around the restaurant to check out their interiors...some snap shots



After lunch, we stroll around Carmel-by-the-sea and down to the beach for a good walk. We were so full from our sinful lunch at Casanova that we need that exercise. Then we head to Monterey to collect some croissants and tarts from the french bakery.
Trust me peeps. It's really good and worth going back to get it.It's really yummy.i've never tasted such good crossiants and tarts before.

Our last destination for the day is Gilroy Premium Outlets....
This is the shopping heaven for me.I go crazy everytime i step into an outlet mall.It's Memorial Weekend sales so every shop is giving great discounts.

My 1st stop was Coach.My bro got to help us to queue up while Siew & i go check out other shop.It's alot cheaper than here despite the design is 6 months behind the retail shop.Ppl in the Coach shop buy so many bags as though it doesn't worth anything.Of course i check out other shops there too.Gilroy Premium Outlet is one of the biggest outlet mall in US with 145 different brands.I shop till they closes at 9pm before heading back to San Jose.I knew i will be back to Gilroy again.Hasta la vista Gilroy!!!!wakakaka.

Day 1: Exploring San Francisco

After a good rest, i'm all gear up to explore San Francisco (SF). Not to forget i had a yummy breakfast prepared by Siew. Oh, i tasted the croissant from Parker-Lusseau and is damn good. Then, Siew dropped me off at Mountain View Caltrain station to get to Millbrae to change to BART. Gosh! The BART autopay machine is sooooo not user-friendly and i just stood there coz i don't know how to use it. NO INSTRUCTION!!!!! I was searching high & low for instruction but no where to be seen. The main screen only appear : 1) bill 2) cc 3) something, cannot remember An Asian lady passed by and i ask for her help. i'm supposed to put the bill in then substract to the amount i need or remain the amount to buy the tic. It works like our touch n go card and i can top up if i need to but the value of the card should not be less than $5.05. After the struggle, i board the BART at Millbrae and get down at Powell Station to get to the famous Market St. The beginning of my exploration.....kekeke When i came up from the underground, i was surrounded by....

Big Shopping stores!!!! Bloomingdales, Forever 21, Emporio Armani and many more....

Suddenly i saw a group of ppl standing in a big circle. Curious, i walk over and saw these ppl are queuing. Wondering....what's going on so i ask one of them. Apparently they are queuing to take the cable car. Enlighten!! So here is the famous Powell - Mason/Hyde cable car turntable. When the cable car reach Powell station, they let all the passengers disembark the car then go into the turntable, rotate it 180 degress then only pick up passengers before heading for Mason or Hyde. The Powell-Mason/Hyde cable car line only moves in one direction only hence they use the turntable to change the direction by pushing it manually (the brakeman/gripman and the conductor push together). A must try if you get to SF.

The queue is too long and i planned to do walking tour today so i skip the cable car. I'll try the cable car later on definitely before i leave CA. SF is indeed windy even the glaring sun doesn't help so i'm wearing Siew's winter jacket at all times although is a size smaller. Well i think i'm not used to the weather yet. Due to the cold, i decided to walk into Starbucks and take away a cup of Hot Chocolate then back to my walking tour. The Hot Chocolate is good and warm me up a little. Not long after that, i found something unique....

Cobbler stall stand After that, while i was taking this pic..... i spilt the Hot Chocolate onto my white t-shirt. Sigh! Thank god is not obvious plus is covered by the jacket. keke. Then i discovered this.... A florist shop that look like a bus stop Then i continue walking along Market St until the end, right in front of me is the Ferry Building. It survived The Great Fire of 1906 and it was inspired by the Moorish bell tower of Seville Cathedral in Spain. It was used to be the city's main point of entry until the Bay Bridge is opened in 1936. A few ferries still cross the bay to Tiburon and Sausalito in Marin County and Oakland in the East Bay. to the right is the Bay Bridge and to the left is the Justin Herman Plaza. It's a popular spot during lunchtime where the crowds from Embarcadero Center hangs out. Right in front of the Justin Herman Plaza and the Embarcadero Center, is the famous Vaillancourt Fountain built in 1971 by a Canadian artist name Armand Vaillancourt. The fountain is modeled from huge concrete blocks and some ppl finds it ugly. Ppl are allowed to climb on and through it. Here U2 performed their concert before in 1987. Then i roam around the Embarcadero Center and saw one of my fav chocolate shop, GODIVA!!!....thinking about it really makes me drool. I miss the Godiva Chocolate Cheese Cake from The Cheesecake Factory. After that i venture into the Financial District. I passed by the famous Wells Fargo Bank, Union Bank of California, The Merchant Exchange building and The Bank of America. All these banks are along the California St. Then i walk heading towards the tallest building in SF, call Transamerica Pyramid. This building was designed to move with earth tremors and earthquake protection feature is incorporated. Then by coincident, i found this vietnamese restaurant and decided to go in for lunch. Hungry!! and ordered Seafood Noodles, portion is big and tasty. Next to the restaurant, is the SFFD (they just got back from somewhere. I noticed that in US, the fire dept is very active and always see them on the road. After lunch, i walk to the Jackson Square Historic District. It's a small square where all the shops sell antiques and paintings. Nearby the Jackson Sq, i saw this triangle shape building. In SF it is quite common and always built in front of a 'V' shape junctions. Then i head towards Chinatown and arrived at Portsmouth Plaza. Guess what are these group of elderly doing? ANSWER: There are watching chinese chess game. Ppl who gather round analysing and commenting loudly on the players move. Here you can see many groups of elderly gambling and 'the place' for chinese elderly to hang around. Look at the aunty on the right, sit until the box is crushed. So typical chinese, likes to gamble so much. More snapshots of Chinatown... The Famous st in Chinatown call Grant Ave Tin How Temple is the oldest temple in the US and founded by Day Ju in 1852. Day Ju is one of the first 3 Chinese immigrants that came to SF. The temple is situated at the top floor which is considered to place it closer to heaven. Souvenir shops sell all kinds of funny stuff. They have funny cards, beaded jock strap, beaded bra, beaded nipple tassle etc. Old St Mary's Church is the 1st Catholic church in SF and celebrating its 150 anniversary. Check out the restaurant base structure, so steep!!! The Chinatown Gateway and also known as Dragon Gateway My next walking tour destination is Nob Hill to check out the Grace Cathedral. The Grace Cathedral is situated in front of a beautiful park call Huntington Park. Many ppl likes to walk their dog in this park and is my favorite park so far. The Grace Catheral... Inside the cathedral, it have many murals in it and very nice fine stain glasses I sat inside the cathedral for awhile to rest after walking the entire day. i felt very calm, soothing, serene, cooling and relaxing. I wished i could sit longer but got to get going. My final destination is Union Sq before heading back to Mountain View to meet up with KW for dinner. When i was about to walk down the slope, i stop and stunned for awhile. I realized that i was walking whole day going up and down the hills in SF. Look at the slope!! What a good work out and thanks to my Gasing Hill training back home. If not i don't think my legs can survive these slopes for entire day. :P These slopes are so steep that the cars are only allowed to park at 90 degrees. I passed by the Theatre District and saw this buntings around, check it out... The most famous ACT and Curran Theatre Finally i arrive Union Sq. It is surrounded by The Westin Hotel, Macy, Saks 5th Avenue, Tiffany & Co building. All parks in SF, have this heart shape monument and is different in all parks. This was taken at Union Sq and i think is nice and sweet. In the centre of the sq, there was a free performance and went to check it out. I was amazed and awed by them. I don't know what it's called. They were dancing while doing rock climbing and the dancers are so fit with very nice toned body. I took a few videos of them performing and wanted to stay on to watched but unfortunately i can't because i got to catch the Caltrain back to Mountain View to meet KW. To get back to San Jose, it requires about 1.5-2 hours of travelling time. True enough i miss the train and arrived at 9pm to meet KW. I was supposed to meet him at 8pm :P We had a quick dinner and catch up for awhile. Then i rushed back to meet up with Siew and KH for Indiana Jones movie. Once KH touched down and grab his dinner, we rushed to AMC cinema.
Gosh! It's really a power pack day filled with activities. It's tiring but worthwhile.....very worthwhile.