All posts filed under: California

3 Day Itinerary in Yosemite

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Yosemite – so beautiful that Apple decided to name it after one of it’s OS updates and dazzle users with the iconic image of El Capitan as its screensaver.  Located about 3-4hrs east of San Francisco, Yosemite is a huge natural reserve boasting stunning waterfalls and mountains.  I’ve been wanting to visit ever since I saw photos from my relative’s camping trip years ago and finally I worked up the courage to fly over and lose my camping virginity to Yosemite.  There is a ton to see and do here, but within 3 days we managed to visit the most popular sights.  Plan to depart early as there may be lots of traffic getting into the park especially during high season from May – August.  This site does a great job describing he pros and cons of going in each month of the year.  Generally speaking, high season is popular because that is when the waterfalls are most beautiful.  However, that also means fighting through crowds of tourists and extreme difficulty in booking accommodations (people book …

5 days in San Francisco

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This is my second time visiting California in 2015. If you recall from some of my previous posts, I swung by Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco in March with my girlfriends. Aside from the fact that I am in love with the weather, this time around I had a very different agenda. The main purpose of my trip was to go camping into Yosemite National Park with my boyfriend which I will talk about in much more detail in the post right after this one. Today I wanted to highlight some of the fun things I did in San Francisco  🙂 The weather in San Fran was perfect as usual – a hot dry breezy mid 20’s.  We walked around Union Square and Market Street – a great shopping area with an generous mix of luxury and mid priced retail stores.  You can buy your Givenchy, Chanel and Valentino, walk a few blocks and find Victoria’s Secret, Converse and Urban Outfitters. One of my favorite things about this city is the neighborhoods.  It’s simply …

San Francisco: Traveling by Segway

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Our last stop in California… San Francisco! One of the highlights of touring this city was definitely riding a Segway for the first time in Golden Gate Park. We rode with The Electric Tour Company. The guides were very thorough with their training and the pace was comfortable as we zipped across gardens, ancient trees, and historical landmarks in the park.  They have a bunch of other tours available but I would actually recommend going Segway on Golden Gate Park because it’s a lot of walking if you were to explore it fully by foot. After Segway-ing, we headed to Santa Monica beach which is just an hour South of San Jose.  It’s quite a commercialized family beach complete with your usual amusement park and also a boardwalk with shops and other summer treats. The beach itself is not very big and the view is not that glamorous, but there are a few volleyball nets available.  It’s mostly just a fun place for family and friends to hang out and catch some rays. Fisherman’s Wharf …

Los Angeles: Santa Monica Beach, Mexican Food and Rooftop Lounging

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Day 2 of Los Angeles and it was time to hit the beaches!  We went to Santa Monica beach which was swarming with both tourists and locals looking to catch some rays and fun in the sun. Seems strange to find rows of crosses on a beach but they are placed there in memory of the American soldiers that died in the Iraq war.  Pretty deep for a place people usually go to sun tan. One of the key features that makes Santa Monica unique is the outdoor gymnasium/work out equipment.  You see people doing some crazy athletic poses and moves and its pretty entertaining to watch them perform. Near the beach there are streets conveniently lined with shops and restaurants.  We stopped by Border Grill for some dinner.  The Mexican food is supposed to be very good in California because of the large Spanish community.  The chips are fried in house with a fresh guacamole and the ceviche with crispy plantain was bursting with flavor and my favorite dish. Their Baja Fish Tacos served with three …

Los Angele: LACMA, Universal Studios, Nightlife

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Although I’ve been to California many times, I usually stick to San Francisco where I visit family.  This time, I took a week trip down with a few friends to explore the other main cities – Los Angeles being the first stop.  It’s a classic Californian city with Palm trees and perfect weather.  Lots of great spots for food, entertainment, and shopping.  Don’t confuse downtown LA as being the equivalent of downtown Toronto (we learned this the hard way).  All the action is at the beaches and Hollywood.  Car rentals are super cheap and the best way to get around. On our first morning we stopped by Poppy + Rose, a quant little cafe tucked in an uncanny location for an outdoor market.  A bit of a hidden treasure.  The food was really yummy!  We had a Salmon Eggs Benedict on a tender biscuit and Chicken Chopped Salad. After breakfast, we headed over to the LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art).  Of course, had to take some photos with the iconic lamps!  The museum itself …

Life of a Google Employee

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What does it feel like to be a Google employee for one day?  Well, for starters you are greeted by adorable giant sized Android figurines on your way to the building. Each Android upgrade follows the alphabet and is named after a dessert.  Gingerbread.  Cannoli.  Ice cream sandwich. Jelly Bean… When you reach inside, you are snapped back to reality by this monster.  “RAWR get back to work!” You realize you have a meeting, but it’s held in one of the many scattered campuses within the Google block.  You can’t possibly get there on time by foot, so what do you do?  Take the Google bike obviously!  Main mode of transportation at the Googleplex. You get there within minutes and enter yet another creatively designed building. Oh, but of course you get distracted by the 180 degree Googlemap complete with a 3D joystick. It’s lunch time.  You can choose to dine outdoors… Or indoors. Around late afternoon you decide it’s time for a short break.  You head over to the playroom and conjure up your …