"Honeymoon" - Part 1
Yesterday morning, we returned from a 4-day weekend in North California. It was Ethan's first time in CA; we visited my family and did some sight-seeing, but most notably, we ate well. :)
The trip started at 3am Friday, when we woke up to get ready and do some last-minute packing before we hopped on the bus. We caught the 5am 28X airport flyer and arrived in plenty of time for our 6.40am flight. Cheap ticket means odd times, but on the bright side, we had a whole day to spend when we got there. Made a stop in Atlanta; Delta rocks. We had a (cute) choice of snacks, drinks were plentiful, seats were comfy, and the stewardess offered me a blanket before I asked. Ethan watched movies and played Super Mario on his laptop the whole way while I napped.
Arrived at SJC by 11.45am PDT, waited in line for the rental car shuttle to pick up our Pontiac Sunfire. Californians drive a little crazy. By 1.30pm, we found our way to my aunt and uncle's and were chowing down on fried noodles, kerupuk, and babi jin. Nothing like home-cooked food! Ting-Ting, my cousin's 3 yr old daughter, was so cute but so shy - she ran away at the sight of hubby. After we freshened up and changed, we were ready for a day of sight-seeing.
First stop - San Francisco. Betty and Josh joined us. It was an hour's drive from Santa Clara, partly due to traffic. Unfortunately, it was foggy that afternoon so most of the view was obscured. We drove through the city a bit before parking at Ghirardelli Square to check out Fisherman's Wharf. It was a bit of a walk, and geez it was cold!! Who would've thought that it could be 60 degrees in downtown SF when it's 85 degrees in Pittsburgh? We huddled close as we trekked towards Pier 39, passing shops and art galleries. We stopped at Franklin Bowles Gallery to check out the Medvedev exhibition as well as originals and prints by Dali, Picasso, Neiman, Chagall, Rembrandt... For a Friday of a long weekend, Fisherman's Wharf was not as crowded as we anticipated. We took a few pictures of Alcatraz in a distance, covered in fog. Ethan finally got to see Bush Man, richest hobo in San Francisco. Instead of guilting passers-by into dropping pennies in a little tin mug, he hides himself behind some branches and scares the wits out of unsuspecting tourists. People scream, then drop him a dollar. :) Most, however, fund him for his entertainment; at any given moment, there would be a dozen or so spectators, staking out across the street or a few feet away for Bush Man's next victim. We stood and watched for a few minutes, as couples and groups of tourists walk by, oblivious, until suddenly a bush jumps out at them growling. Ethan got such a kick out of it.
Along the way, we passed many clam chowder stands, featuring sourdough by Boudin Bakery. Very tempting, though we didn't get any. We were amused by the number of food stands selling steamed crab.
One of many crab vendors
When we arrived at Pier 39, we made a beeline to the sea lions. Some laid on their bellies, some on other sea lions, all basking in perfect contentment. The stench wasn't as bad as I remembered; once in a while, the sea lions barked and waddled around, making comic entertainment for the kids while teenage girls went on about how cute they were. From the sea lions, we wandered inside where the shops and souvenir galleries were. Peter Lik's gallery was gone! In its place was a similar photo gallery featuring the works of Rodney Lough Jr. On first look, the pictures were less breathtaking than Lik's, but lingering around the gallery, I grew an appreciation for this new guy. Ethan, having never seen Lik's pictures, took a liking to Lough quickly. Unfortunately (but unsurprisingly), the art was too expensive for a simple souvenir, but we bought a postcard of Golden Gate Bridge and will probably visit his website often to feast our eyes.
At a fresh fruit market, Betty bought some giant strawberries for Ting-Ting; Ethan bought peaches. ($1 per strawberry, $2 per peach! At least Ethan said it was one of the most impressive peaches he's ever had. ;))
Strawberries and figs - they came with chocolate dipping sauce
After visiting a few more shops in the square and resisting the temptation to get banana and Nutella crepes, we decided it was time to warm up with hot cocoa from Ghirardelli. (On the way there, we overheard a woman complain over the phone about how cold the weather was - she had just come from 90-degree weather in Miami.) Ghirardelli Square was also emptier than expected. There was a guitarist serenading the square with popular classics and jazz. I had a hot chocolate, Ethan had a cafe mocha; like any tourist, we took pictures of the chocolate-making machinery in the back of the cafe. The free chocolate sample of the day was caramel, which we got a few of. :) We rested our feet while Betty rallied up the rest of the family for dinner - we were to meet at Batavia Garden, a great Indonesian restaurant in the city.
Getting to Batavia Garden, we had some time to kill so we drove through Chinatown. Betty and Josh pointed out restaurants, shops, and tiny houses that cost at least $1 million. At the restaurant, our dinner went like this: empak empak, soto betawi (spicy soup like tom kha), 2 pepper crabs, 1 chilli crab (that's 3 pounds of crabs total!), kangkong belachan, empal gepuk, nasi uduk (coconut-milk rice), fried noodles... To round off the meal, I had es doger, a traditional drink with coconut meat and fermented rice in shaved ice and rose syrup. We got ketan hitam (black glutinous rice) on the house! Everything was soooo very good. I was in heaven, I missed Indonesian food so much. By this point, however, Ethan was feeling off-kilter from the lack of sleep and jetlag, and the powerful smell of belachan/terasi at the meal didn't help, so he skipped out of dinner to nap in the car.
We returned home around 10.30pm, stuffed and exhausted. I took a much-needed warm shower, called my mother, then went to bed. Next: Big Sur!
To be continued...
The trip started at 3am Friday, when we woke up to get ready and do some last-minute packing before we hopped on the bus. We caught the 5am 28X airport flyer and arrived in plenty of time for our 6.40am flight. Cheap ticket means odd times, but on the bright side, we had a whole day to spend when we got there. Made a stop in Atlanta; Delta rocks. We had a (cute) choice of snacks, drinks were plentiful, seats were comfy, and the stewardess offered me a blanket before I asked. Ethan watched movies and played Super Mario on his laptop the whole way while I napped.
Arrived at SJC by 11.45am PDT, waited in line for the rental car shuttle to pick up our Pontiac Sunfire. Californians drive a little crazy. By 1.30pm, we found our way to my aunt and uncle's and were chowing down on fried noodles, kerupuk, and babi jin. Nothing like home-cooked food! Ting-Ting, my cousin's 3 yr old daughter, was so cute but so shy - she ran away at the sight of hubby. After we freshened up and changed, we were ready for a day of sight-seeing.
First stop - San Francisco. Betty and Josh joined us. It was an hour's drive from Santa Clara, partly due to traffic. Unfortunately, it was foggy that afternoon so most of the view was obscured. We drove through the city a bit before parking at Ghirardelli Square to check out Fisherman's Wharf. It was a bit of a walk, and geez it was cold!! Who would've thought that it could be 60 degrees in downtown SF when it's 85 degrees in Pittsburgh? We huddled close as we trekked towards Pier 39, passing shops and art galleries. We stopped at Franklin Bowles Gallery to check out the Medvedev exhibition as well as originals and prints by Dali, Picasso, Neiman, Chagall, Rembrandt... For a Friday of a long weekend, Fisherman's Wharf was not as crowded as we anticipated. We took a few pictures of Alcatraz in a distance, covered in fog. Ethan finally got to see Bush Man, richest hobo in San Francisco. Instead of guilting passers-by into dropping pennies in a little tin mug, he hides himself behind some branches and scares the wits out of unsuspecting tourists. People scream, then drop him a dollar. :) Most, however, fund him for his entertainment; at any given moment, there would be a dozen or so spectators, staking out across the street or a few feet away for Bush Man's next victim. We stood and watched for a few minutes, as couples and groups of tourists walk by, oblivious, until suddenly a bush jumps out at them growling. Ethan got such a kick out of it.
Along the way, we passed many clam chowder stands, featuring sourdough by Boudin Bakery. Very tempting, though we didn't get any. We were amused by the number of food stands selling steamed crab.
One of many crab vendors
When we arrived at Pier 39, we made a beeline to the sea lions. Some laid on their bellies, some on other sea lions, all basking in perfect contentment. The stench wasn't as bad as I remembered; once in a while, the sea lions barked and waddled around, making comic entertainment for the kids while teenage girls went on about how cute they were. From the sea lions, we wandered inside where the shops and souvenir galleries were. Peter Lik's gallery was gone! In its place was a similar photo gallery featuring the works of Rodney Lough Jr. On first look, the pictures were less breathtaking than Lik's, but lingering around the gallery, I grew an appreciation for this new guy. Ethan, having never seen Lik's pictures, took a liking to Lough quickly. Unfortunately (but unsurprisingly), the art was too expensive for a simple souvenir, but we bought a postcard of Golden Gate Bridge and will probably visit his website often to feast our eyes.
At a fresh fruit market, Betty bought some giant strawberries for Ting-Ting; Ethan bought peaches. ($1 per strawberry, $2 per peach! At least Ethan said it was one of the most impressive peaches he's ever had. ;))
Strawberries and figs - they came with chocolate dipping sauce
After visiting a few more shops in the square and resisting the temptation to get banana and Nutella crepes, we decided it was time to warm up with hot cocoa from Ghirardelli. (On the way there, we overheard a woman complain over the phone about how cold the weather was - she had just come from 90-degree weather in Miami.) Ghirardelli Square was also emptier than expected. There was a guitarist serenading the square with popular classics and jazz. I had a hot chocolate, Ethan had a cafe mocha; like any tourist, we took pictures of the chocolate-making machinery in the back of the cafe. The free chocolate sample of the day was caramel, which we got a few of. :) We rested our feet while Betty rallied up the rest of the family for dinner - we were to meet at Batavia Garden, a great Indonesian restaurant in the city.
Getting to Batavia Garden, we had some time to kill so we drove through Chinatown. Betty and Josh pointed out restaurants, shops, and tiny houses that cost at least $1 million. At the restaurant, our dinner went like this: empak empak, soto betawi (spicy soup like tom kha), 2 pepper crabs, 1 chilli crab (that's 3 pounds of crabs total!), kangkong belachan, empal gepuk, nasi uduk (coconut-milk rice), fried noodles... To round off the meal, I had es doger, a traditional drink with coconut meat and fermented rice in shaved ice and rose syrup. We got ketan hitam (black glutinous rice) on the house! Everything was soooo very good. I was in heaven, I missed Indonesian food so much. By this point, however, Ethan was feeling off-kilter from the lack of sleep and jetlag, and the powerful smell of belachan/terasi at the meal didn't help, so he skipped out of dinner to nap in the car.
We returned home around 10.30pm, stuffed and exhausted. I took a much-needed warm shower, called my mother, then went to bed. Next: Big Sur!
To be continued...