It is the Holidays once again and the city is all dressed up for the occasion. For me, Christmastime is truly the most wonderful time of the year.
I took photos of the Christmas trees, holiday lights, displays, decorations, and happy locals around town. Enjoy!
Once The Musical traveled to San Francisco and was only here for two weeks. Thanks to my good friend Dinah's timely reminder, Mijo and I was able to see it.
The music and songs will make you fall in love all over again. Mijo and I totally enjoyed the musical.
I love that San Francisco is a city that loves fresh food and ingredients. There is practically a farmer's market in almost every neighborhood.
Mijo and I enjoy doing our produce shopping and eating at farmer's markets. This time, Mijo and I dropped by the Mission Farmer's market.
Finally, Mijo and I went to check out the newly opened La Boulangerie on Pine St.
We loved the La Boulange and we were saddened by the closure of the cafes. But that sadness was replaced with jubilation when we heard the news of its ressurection under a new name but the same goodness we were fond of.
A couple of months ago, Mijo and I went to Landmark Vineyards to wine taste. This week, we opened one of the bottles of Pinot Noir that we bought during our wine tasting there.
This wine is delicious and it paired well with our meals.
Asian Art Museum showcased Filipino arts and culture on the first Sunday of October through their event called Ugnayan Lahi.
As a transplanted Filipino, it was great to see the spotlight on my culture at the Asian Art Museum in my favorite city San Francisco.
Every spring and fall, San Francisco residents enjoy free admission on designated weekends according to zip codes. Our turn happened a few weeks ago.
Mijo and I absolutely love the Academy so we try to go to these free events as much as we could. Thank you, California Academy of Sciences for the free admission!
We started drinking a new coffee blend called State Street Blend by Santa Barbara Roasting Company. We bought a bag of regular and decaf State Street blends during our quick getaway to Santa Barbara recently.
The coffee is full bodied with very small hints of acidity. We love it!
We saw The Monstress at A.C.T.'s The Strand Theatre on Market St. After the play, we got hungry and decided to go get a late lunch slash early dinner at Azalina's at The Market.
We loved the dishes we ordered. They reminded me of my travels to Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Thanks again to my good friend Dinah, I was able to see yet another very good play at A.C.T. The play is called The Monstress and it is two short stories about Filipino-American life in San Francisco. It was beautifully written and well acted.
A bonus is seeing the newly restored The Strand Theatre on Market St. Good job A.C.T.!
We met a couple of friendly locals while hiking and taking pictures of the artsy 16th Ave. Tiled Steps. I learned from our conversations with them about another tiled stairs in the same neighborhood.
It is on 16th Ave. and Lawton St. It is called Hidden Garden Steps and they are equally stunning as the 16th Ave. Tiled Steps.
From the Mosaic stairs at Moraga and 16th Avenue, Mijo and I continued our playing local tourists. We hiked some more and walked all the way up to Grandview Park.
The hike was challenging for us but it was all worth it. The view from up there is nothing short of amazing. I love San Francisco!
Mijo and I played tourists the other day. We went to see the mosaic tiled steps called the 16th Ave. Tiled Steps located in the city's Golden Gate Heights neighborhood.
Climbing the stairs was a workout but it was exhilirating afterward. It was truly a unique San Francisco experience!
After so many years, I was able to see one of my favortie musicals the Phantom of the Opera. This one is a new production. Same classic songs.
The Phantom of the Opera is playing at San Francisco's Opheum Theatre through October 4, 2015.
A traveling art installation of ten giant bronze busts with covered mouths and a big bronze cube is currently on display in front of the Ferry Building.
I've seen it more than once so I've included in this blog pictures of the sculptures I've collected so far. Enjoy!
Bob, Bren, Mijo and I went to Rutherford Grill after our wonderful cave tour and barrel tasting at Del Dotto caves.
Our first time at this restaurant was delightful and it was such a feast to our taste buds in addition to the great atmosphere and friendly service.
Our second of four winery hopping was Hagafen Cellars.
Hagafen Cellars does not only let you sample good wines, they are super friendly as well. One of the friendliest wine tasting experience I've ever had.
For our last wine tasting of the day, Bob treated us to sample wines at Blackbird Vineyards. We tasted here really good high quality wines.
Jonathan, our wine educator that day, was very knowledgeable and fun to talk to. Sampling very good wines while talking to a passionate wine expert are good pairing. Thank you Bob for the treat and Blackbird and Jonathan for the wines!
Del Dotto Vineyards has two venues in Napa Valley to wine taste. One at their Estate Winery in St. Helena and another one at their Historic Caves near Oaknoll.
We went to their Historic Caves and took the cave tour while tasting their delicious reds and learning more about barrels. Their wines and the tours were both awesome!
It is that time of the year again when the land is filled with sunshine and our annual trek to Napa Valley with our friends Bren and Bob. We look forward to this every year.
We set aside one day in August every year. Our first winery? Monticello Vineyards and their wines are awesome!
San Francisco was having a real summer weather this weekend. If you like this kind of weather, it is perfect for the outdoor events happening around the city.
Mijo and I went to the San Francisco Street Food Festival to grab something for lunch. The trek to the Dogpatch neighborhood of the city was all worth it.
The past weekend, Mijo and I were in Sonoma for a day of unplanned wine tasting and a light lunch afterward.
Our lunch at The Naked Pig was also unplanned. We got lucky because the lunch was good. We truly enjoyed our light and leisurely lunch while enjoying the glorious Sonoma summer.
The past weekend, Mijo and I dropped by Merriam Vineyards. It was unplanned but we've been wanting to visit the winery ever since we tasted their wines at one of the SF Chefs event years ago.
We tasted lots of good reds at the winery. In fact, all of the wines we tasted were good. Thank you Merriam Vineyards for letting us taste delicious red and for a quick lecture on terroir.
This week, we opened one of the two bags of coffee we bought from Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting the last time we were in Santa Cruz.
We are currently brewing Santa Cruz Dark. This classic blend is strong and at the same time flavorful. We paired it with treats from Arizmendi Bakery and a Filipino dessert called cassava cake.
Last week, the company I currently work for held a summer celebration at AT&T Park, the home of the San Francisco Giants.
The highlight of the day for me was the quick tour of the park. We were assigned a group tour guide and showed us around the park with out the ball game crowd. Thank you AT&T Park and my employer.
Matilda the musical is in town through August 15, 2015. We didn't have plans to see it at all but we saw it from the orchestra seats for less than half the price.
Matilda is a funny, touching, imaginative and...very funny. The songs and music are also appealing and memorable. For us, this musical is five stars.
A week ago, the weather was beautiful. It was beach weather. That kind of weather makes it perfect to drive south of the City. The place we had in mind was none other than Santa Cruz.
We relaxed by the beach with a cold beverage and then we went to Santa Cruz downtown in the afternoon for a nice stroll on Pacific Ave. It was a perfect Santa Cruz beach day.
A week ago, Mijo and I decided to get tickets to a jazz appreciation event held at the SF Jazz Center in the city's Hayes valley neighborhood.
We learned at lot about Paco De Lucia and the art of flamenco through artists Jason McGuire trio and the members of Caminos Flamencos.
This week, we opened a bottle of Rodney Strong 2010 Reserve Pinot Noir. We got this bottle from our visit to their tasting cellars in Sonoma two years ago.
Mijo and I love this wine. The weather was warmer than usual for a San Francisco summer and this wine proved to be a tasty treat for us.
Finally, a new Filipino restaurant in the city! I first heard about it being mentioned by my friends Dinah and Jean Paul, though, I think they've not been there yet.
Mijo and I dropped by and had a late Sunday brunch at Pampalasa. We enjoyed what we ordered and we will definitely be back for more.
We were in town for 4th of July. Since the weather in the city looked like it was going to be fogged in, we went north of San Francisco to celebrate USA's independence day with Mijo's family.
The weather was clear, the crowd was well behaved and the fireworks impressive. Thank you, Vacaville for a great fireworks show!
After 40 years of waiting, the San Francisco Bay Area basketball fans have finally been granted what they've been wishing, the Golden States Warriors are NBA champions once again!
After weeks and weeks of close games and pressure cooker moments, it is time to celebrate the local champions with a big parade in Oakland.
It is summer time in the City and like many people, this season tend to be something I look forward to. Not because of the weather but because of the fairs and festivals that get celebrated in the city.
One of these festivals is the Ethnic Dance Festival. Mijo went to the Weekend 1 event and we went around the world for the entire two hours of live dancing and music.
The San Francisco Botanical Garden recently had a Community Day to celebrate the garden's 75th anniversary.
There were informational booths, cultural music and performances, walking tours and other activities that day. Mijo and I had an enjoyable and relaxing day.
Art and alcohol on a Friday night? Oh yeah. It happens at San Francisco's De Young Museum.
Mijo and I went there on Friday and we were in for a treat. There was a special exhibition called Boticelli to Braque Masterpieces from the National Galleries of Scotland and live music. The best way to spend Friday nights!
Mijo and I like to eat. For us, good food is not necessarily expensive but it should be delicious and well made. Bonus points if it happens to be easy on the budget.
We just recently discovered this place in the city's North Beach neighborhood that serves both inexpensive and good food. The Italian Homemade Company was a hit for us!
Mijo and I went to Napa for a lunch date with Mijo's relatives. We all went to a place in St. Helena called Market. It was our second time to go there.
We like going to Market because of good food and friendly service. I did not have a chance to blog it the last time so I am blogging about this this time.
Last week Mijo and I opened a bottle of Deep End Blend 2012 Pinot Noir by Navarro Vineyards.
We've preview tasted this wine a year and half ago so we knew we will like this wine. We paired them with tasty appetizers and light Thai dishes. The wine was delicious!
As part of our staycation, Mijo and I decided to have a light lunch in North Beach. We've been wanting to try the food at The Italian Homemade Company.
Since we were staycationing, we also played tourists by strolling through the neighborhood before we had lunch. That day was both a feast on the eyes and the taste buds!
We stayed in town over the Memorial Day weekend. What to do during Memorial Day weekend in San Francisco? One word. Carnaval.
Mijo and I saw Carnaval again and it was upbeat, lots of music, fiesta atmosphere, and lots of food. It was like a big dance party! This is one of the reasons I love living in San Francisco.
I love bakeries and their freshly baked breads. I also enjoy going to bakeries and get a whiff of oven fresh aroma.
San Francisco has lots of supply of bakeries and one of my favorites is Pan Lido. We go there to get our Salvadorean bread fix.
I am a fan of Landmark Vineyards wines. I absolutely enjoy especially their Pinot Noirs. I first tasted their wines at the SF Chefs events in San Francisco.
Mijo and I finally decided to pay Landmark Vineyards a visit since we were already in the Kenwood area of Sonoma that day. Finally, wine tasting Landmark Vineyards wines at the source!
Spring is glorious in Northern California. The weather was extra beautiful last week so Mijo and I decided to drive to Sonoma for a day trip.
We decided to pay Chateau St. Jean a visit since we like their wines but we have never been to the winery. The winery is very pretty and the wines we tried were very tasty!
I was dragging my feet to go to Civic Center the other day because I was summoned for a Jury Duty. Something caught my attention as I was walking from the Civic Center BART to the Cityhall.
A new outdoor sculpture exhibition was on display that week. I had time to snap photos because I got to Civic Center early. The sculptures were amazing!
I prepared a semi homemade Filipino breakfast one beautiful Sunday morning for my friends Karen and Dinah. I made their all time favorite garlic rice with tocino, longaniza and hotdog.
It was a lot of work to host even a small brunch but it was all worth it! I got my Filipino fix to last me for a while.
Another beautiful Saturday morning in the city, another visit to the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market.
Even though we've been to this farmers market many times, the experience is something new in each visit. The feeling is always refreshing. This is why I love San Francisco!
My friend Rey got engaged recently (congrats Rey!) so Caloy, Rey and I got together for breakfast so we can get the scoop and the plans for the wedding.
Rey and Caloy have not been to The Garden Court so I thought this venue would be perfect to talk about the details of the wedding plan. The food was great, the service topnotch and friendly and the ambiance classy!
Two weekends ago, San Francisco's Japantown hosted the annual Cherry Blossom Festival. I've always wanted to come and see it but it always coincides when I am on call at work.
This year, the on-call happened early on so I was able to see the opening day. I loved it!
I was walking around Union Square earlier this week and saw a Tcho store inside the San Francisco Mall. Lots of chocolates to choose from. To make my selection easier, I decided to pick their Tcho-A-Day jar.
This is why this week, Mijo and I are enjoying Tcho's PureNotes Tcho-A-Day dark chocolates.
Mijo and I have been out of the country and we miss the Bay Area. We are fortunate to be able to see the other parts of our beautiful world but we are glad to be back home.
No better place to go to experience the Bay Area other than the wine country. Sonoma County to be exact and a delicious lunch at The Girl and The Fig.