Travel Diaries: San Francisco and San Jose [Part II]

A palm tree paradise in Palo Alto

Hello everyone,

Are you dreading the imminent and inevitable return of rainy weather to Vancouver as much as I am? It's at times like these when I like to look back at photos of myself and friends enjoying beautiful, warm weather in sunny California. Thus, the first drops of rain a few nights ago were what spurred me to write the second part of my San Francisco travel diary, which included day two and three.

The last full day of our trip dawned bright, warm, and early. We had just enjoyed a good night's sleep, much different than the first night in which we had felt dehydrated and disoriented by unfamiliar surroundings. Unfortunately, about a minute after we had gotten picked up, I realized that I had forgotten my Canon DSLR and that I would have to make do with crappy iphone pictures for the rest of the day (apologies in advance for the subpar pictures). 

The boyfriend and I were taken by our friends to one of their favourite diners, a very trendy place not unlike Sophie's Cosmic Cafe in Kitsilano, for breakfast before we embarked on our day-long road trip to San Jose. The drive there was spectacular- while we certainly enjoy gorgeous scenery here in British Columbia, I couldn't help but appreciate the beauty of the more arid Californian environment.

Breakfast at Boogaloos   

Snapshot of the landscape on the way to Stanford 

Our first stop would take us to the Palo Alto area near Stanford University, which is also where several Silicon Valley companies have placed their headquarters. 

The one horse I managed to take a photo of- though there were many beauties grazing around

We would stop at the Stanford Shopping Center, which was home to a large number of higher-end retailers such as Michael Kors, Neiman Marcus, Burberry, Tiffany & Co., and Louis Vuitton (to name a few). Below is the only picture of my outfit of the day, which apparently paled in comparison to my boyfriend's Jamba Juice. 

(More photos after the jump.)

After about an hour more of driving (in which almost everyone except the driver fell asleep), our next stop was the beach scene in Santa Cruz. We had been expecting warm weather and sunshine as per usual; however, Mother Nature decided to give us a little surprise and provide some cloud cover for Santa Cruz (pretty much everywhere else was sunny and warm)- it was like we were in a parallel universe of coldness and unpleasant windchill. Saddened by this unfortunate turn of events, we still walked in shivers towards the beach. We took a look at the beach (it was still quite crowded with beach-goers and beach volleyball players), bought a few snacks at the Arcade, and browsed some of the local shops. Sadly, being warm-weather junkies, we soon took our leave of Santa Cruz beach and headed towards the much warmer climate of Santana Row for an early dinner and more shopping (especially since our host and his wife were not feeling well after being out in the cold in only t-shirts and shorts).      

Cool in Comme des Garcons and a Stanford sweater... Maybe too cool!

Finally we hit Santana Row- what an awesome place in which to chill on patio, shop at some higher or lower-end stores (anything from Gucci to BCBG Max Azria to H&M). 

We had dinner at this place called Sino, an Asian fusion restaurant that reminded us a lot of Tao in Vegas. However, the food was only marginally better than the Chinese food that you can get here in Vancouver- our orders turned out to be just the typical fried rice or fried noodles dishes.

The view from our spot in our restaurant's patio

Check out the sketch below made of me by this random old artist dude who was drawing all of the girls sitting in the patio area. I don't know whether it was sweet or creepy, but I keep the drawing as a memento of the trip.

Does not look like me at all, but he did draw it in a mere 10ish minutes.

Cruisin' in a convertible

More patio time

On our last day, we only had time to eat brunch at a restaurant called Stacks with our host before we left for the airport. While I definitely liked the European theme of the place (which also reminded me of Vegas-styled thematic decor), I adored even more the delicious scrambled eggs I ordered.

An "Italian Scramble": pizza on an omelette. Amazing!

After brunch, we took a turn around Hayes Valley one last time and browsed some local street vendors. Next trip to San Fran, we definitely need to try to arrive early on the first day and leave later on the last day. Two days is not nearly enough to explore this amazing city.

Two very cool cats.

Fooling around in the airport while waiting for our flight.

All in all, I had an unbelievably wonderful time in San Francisco and San Jose. However, I cannot wait for my next trip as I feel that there was so much I have left to explore and experience: places, food, and shopping!