San Francisco for Chinese New Year
...I wrote this a week ago! Whoops. I started it on Valentine's Day.
Well, I got up because I couldn't go back to sleep, even though every day this week the one thing I could think about was how excited I was that this weekend I could sleep in. Whatever, sleep regulator! Anyway, I thought I'd make Adam breakfast in bed because I didn't get him a card or anything, but the kitchen's not clean and he was home all day to clean it and didn't, so now I'm going to shop on Victoria's Secret. ;)
In other news, we had a lot of fun in San Francisco for the Chinese New Year. We drove down to Lakeport on Friday night to hang out with my parents, eat pizza, and watch TV. Fun as always! The next morning we got a later start than we planned (I thought it would be nice to get to SF around 11, but that's about when we left). We stopped at In'n'Out Burger in Rohnert Park which was AMAZING. I really don't understand why they don't have one up here. It would do so well! College kids love cheeseburgers. The next closest one is inland 3.5 hours in Redding, and I know kids who have driven there just to get a burger. Anyway, after refuling we continued on. We found the hotel very easy. We stayed at the Adante Hotel, which was pretty cheap, likke 62 bucks, and then we paid 20 for valet parking. The hotel was clean and in a great place, on Geary Blvd about a 5 minute walk to Union Square and maybe 15 minute walk to Chinatown. So, that's what we did! Dropped the car and our stuff off and headed out.
As soon as we got to Chinatown it was crazy. Totally packed with tourists and Chinese alike. They had a street fair going on and I really hoped they'd have yummy street food, but no luck. I never really figured out what was going on in the booths. We went into a couple stores and looked at all the trinkets, then decided we'd try to find the Chinese supermarket Fuscia Dunlop recommended in her books. (Zhen, my lj friend, got me two Chinese cookbooks for my wedding, written by a British lady that studied cooking in China). We found the store and as I took out my giant ingredient list to begin shopping, Adam announced he was hungry and wanted to do shopping after eating. So we went to the fourth floor of the building we were in, as there was a restaurant advertised. It turned out to be ridicilously expensive (like 21 for one dish!) so we quietly sneaked out and went to a less expensive, more informal place. The food was okay, nothing too special. We also got a bubble tea, SO GOOOD!!!!!!!! I love those stinkin tapioca pearls! I had honeydew and Adam had strawberry or something.
After our meal, it was around 4:30 PM and the parade started at 5:15, so we figured we should get down to the parade route to secure a space. It was crowded already! We ended up standing at the top of some stairs, so we had a good vantage point but weren't as close as I would have liked to be for photos. Around 5, the people who made up the 100-people dragon walked down the hill right beside us. That got us excited for what was to come. Then, listening to people talk around us, I realize that we are at the end of the parade route. By the time it's 6 PM, people finally start coming down the street--mostly politicians in cars. Then we see a long dragon, and more politicians in cars. By this time it's around 7:30, and I'm freezing cold. We decided we had seen enough to make us happy and walked down the street to North Beach, to eat at E Tutto Qua again (Amanda and I ate there last March when we visited SF). We had the margharita pizza and I had a glass of wine, Adam an Italian beer. So delicious! We got there right before the rush, so it filled up and was all cozy. All the staff was Italian. After dinner we wandered down the street and into a little bar where we had a "White Nun"--steamed milk, kalhua, and whiskey (I think). YUM! By that time I realized I really had to pee, but we were down in Union Square, so all the fancy shops had closed up. There were no McDonalds or gas stations for blocks. Ahhh!! I was dying! We ended up passing more of the parade, still going strong, at 9! Finally we found a Jack in the Box and the rest of the walk was much better. We watched a little cheesy tv and conked out.
The next morning we got up early, ate some muffins and bad coffee, and headed over to Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39. On the way we passed the windy street...I can't think of the name, and I snapped a few pictures. We headed down and down the steep hills and parked at a meter that cost 25 cents for 4 minutes! Yikes!! We put in an hour and walked around, looking at the tourists and harbor seals. We got a fresh loaf of sourdough and some coffee and headed back up. On the way we met my parents in Ukiah for lunch, and got to Humboldt around 5.
Okay! I think I'll upload some pictures too!
Well, I got up because I couldn't go back to sleep, even though every day this week the one thing I could think about was how excited I was that this weekend I could sleep in. Whatever, sleep regulator! Anyway, I thought I'd make Adam breakfast in bed because I didn't get him a card or anything, but the kitchen's not clean and he was home all day to clean it and didn't, so now I'm going to shop on Victoria's Secret. ;)
In other news, we had a lot of fun in San Francisco for the Chinese New Year. We drove down to Lakeport on Friday night to hang out with my parents, eat pizza, and watch TV. Fun as always! The next morning we got a later start than we planned (I thought it would be nice to get to SF around 11, but that's about when we left). We stopped at In'n'Out Burger in Rohnert Park which was AMAZING. I really don't understand why they don't have one up here. It would do so well! College kids love cheeseburgers. The next closest one is inland 3.5 hours in Redding, and I know kids who have driven there just to get a burger. Anyway, after refuling we continued on. We found the hotel very easy. We stayed at the Adante Hotel, which was pretty cheap, likke 62 bucks, and then we paid 20 for valet parking. The hotel was clean and in a great place, on Geary Blvd about a 5 minute walk to Union Square and maybe 15 minute walk to Chinatown. So, that's what we did! Dropped the car and our stuff off and headed out.
As soon as we got to Chinatown it was crazy. Totally packed with tourists and Chinese alike. They had a street fair going on and I really hoped they'd have yummy street food, but no luck. I never really figured out what was going on in the booths. We went into a couple stores and looked at all the trinkets, then decided we'd try to find the Chinese supermarket Fuscia Dunlop recommended in her books. (Zhen, my lj friend, got me two Chinese cookbooks for my wedding, written by a British lady that studied cooking in China). We found the store and as I took out my giant ingredient list to begin shopping, Adam announced he was hungry and wanted to do shopping after eating. So we went to the fourth floor of the building we were in, as there was a restaurant advertised. It turned out to be ridicilously expensive (like 21 for one dish!) so we quietly sneaked out and went to a less expensive, more informal place. The food was okay, nothing too special. We also got a bubble tea, SO GOOOD!!!!!!!! I love those stinkin tapioca pearls! I had honeydew and Adam had strawberry or something.
After our meal, it was around 4:30 PM and the parade started at 5:15, so we figured we should get down to the parade route to secure a space. It was crowded already! We ended up standing at the top of some stairs, so we had a good vantage point but weren't as close as I would have liked to be for photos. Around 5, the people who made up the 100-people dragon walked down the hill right beside us. That got us excited for what was to come. Then, listening to people talk around us, I realize that we are at the end of the parade route. By the time it's 6 PM, people finally start coming down the street--mostly politicians in cars. Then we see a long dragon, and more politicians in cars. By this time it's around 7:30, and I'm freezing cold. We decided we had seen enough to make us happy and walked down the street to North Beach, to eat at E Tutto Qua again (Amanda and I ate there last March when we visited SF). We had the margharita pizza and I had a glass of wine, Adam an Italian beer. So delicious! We got there right before the rush, so it filled up and was all cozy. All the staff was Italian. After dinner we wandered down the street and into a little bar where we had a "White Nun"--steamed milk, kalhua, and whiskey (I think). YUM! By that time I realized I really had to pee, but we were down in Union Square, so all the fancy shops had closed up. There were no McDonalds or gas stations for blocks. Ahhh!! I was dying! We ended up passing more of the parade, still going strong, at 9! Finally we found a Jack in the Box and the rest of the walk was much better. We watched a little cheesy tv and conked out.
The next morning we got up early, ate some muffins and bad coffee, and headed over to Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39. On the way we passed the windy street...I can't think of the name, and I snapped a few pictures. We headed down and down the steep hills and parked at a meter that cost 25 cents for 4 minutes! Yikes!! We put in an hour and walked around, looking at the tourists and harbor seals. We got a fresh loaf of sourdough and some coffee and headed back up. On the way we met my parents in Ukiah for lunch, and got to Humboldt around 5.
Okay! I think I'll upload some pictures too!