Downtown San Francisco

I never got to visit San Francisco as often as San Diego and Las Vegas due to its distance from Los Angeles.  But during those few visits, I always got to take some nice photos of the city by the bay, which admittedly is one of the most picturesque in the US.

A friend who is a resident there told me that one major reason why houses and apartments are so outrageously expensive in SF is that wherever you look, the views are always spectacular.  And here are some images (5/2010) to support her statement.

Note that the places featured here are within walking distance of the BART Market Station stop.  BART (Bay Area Ride Transit) is the high speed rail transit serving San Francisco and  other cities of the Bay Area.  Like New York, taking public transportation in San Francisco is usually suggested due to traffic and lack of sufficient parking space. 

Yerba Buena Gardens

Moscone Center below hosts most of the major tech events in the Bay area such Macworld and Oracleworld.  It was named after the San Francisco mayor assassinated in the late 1970's.

I'm sure you were expecting certain San Francisco icons when you started reading this post, so here is one: the cable car!

If  you want to experience riding the cable car, be prepared to wait as long lines are the norm especially during the peak season.  Even when it was raining, we still had to wait for almost an hour to ride one,.

You can hop on the cable car at the Market and Powell street intersection.

The Market/Powell cable car travels north and takes you all the way to Fisherman's Wharf.  The return trip to Market is southward via Mason street, which is parallel to Powell.

Not as popular as popular as the cable car, the muni bus pictured below ferries more passengers though and reaches more areas.

There are also other ways to tour San Francisco, albeit a lot more expensive.

Union Square view

If you wish to go shopping, the area offers several options:

Westfield's Metreon shopping center which also houses AMC Cinemas

San Francisco is equally as attractive when night falls.

Cable car cam!

Hyatt Regency Beach Resort and Spa Huntington Beach

Last year, I attended a wedding at Hyatt Regency Beach Resort  and Spa located in Huntington Beach. Orange County (OC), an area well known for its Southern California surfing vibe.  I stayed there with family and friends for 3 days, so we got to explore the sprawling hotel resort prior to the wedding.  We also got to explore the nearby beaches in the OC but I will save that for a different post.

this is one resort with awesome scenic views everywhere you look.

It was a beautiful outdoor wedding in the late afternoon allowing guests to enjoy the OC sunset after the ceremony and prior to the dinner inside the hotel

 Indoors, there are also spacious usable areas for various events and functions.

I booked my room through a discounted rate for wedding guests, and the rate I got was around US$200.  It was a good deal considering it was almost summer, the area's peak season.  Luxury hotel rates for the OC beaches usually hover around $250 upwards during the summer months

Selfie?

A few months prior to the wedding, I was lucky enough to be also invited to be part of the food tasting prior to the final preparation of the menu. I could not take photos during the actual wedding dinner as I was part of the entourage. Plus I also helped with the AV presentations after the wedding.  It would have been extremely difficult to take on a third task as photographer.

SALAD: California Caprese with vine ripened tomatoes, fresh mozzarella,
avocado, micro herbs, California olive oil & balsamic glaze

I was unable to take a photo of the Lemon Grass infused Lobster Bisque but I can still remember how awesome it tasted.  It did not look that photogenic compared to the others here, but it was truly one of the highlights of the meal even if it was just the soup component.

And now the Entree...

ENTREE: Duet of Filet Mignon & Loch Duart Salmon, with demi glaze &
Thai cucumber relish, saffron risotto & vegetable bundle

The desert selection was also good, but they somewhat paled in comparison given the 'awesomeness' of the previous food items.

Here are a few more photos of the Hyatt Regency Huntington:

Like most large US hotels, there are a few in-house shops selling sundries and other essentials for guests' convenience

Should you wish to explore the nice nearby beach,
a pedestrian bridge connects it to the hotel.

 If the budget is not much of an issue, a stay at this resort would be definitely worth it. It may a bit more expensive, but as they always say, luxury has its price.

Red Rock Canyon 2

This is just a continuation of the previous Red Rock Canyon post I created last April  I had to shorten that one to prevent excessive load lines due to too many photos.

So here are the other photos of Red Rock Canyon. Note that these are just images since the text about the Canyon is already in the April post.

If you are still wondering why it's called Red Rock Canyon

A lot of photo ops here....don't forget your camera!

You can just sit on a park bench and enjoy the sweeping views.

It may not be that evident, but Red Rock is home to various creatures.

Where do you want to go after enjoying Red Rock Canyon?

Red Rock Canyon  definitely looks like a Martian landscape, but there are no aliens here.  You would have to to go to Area 51 which is supposedly also located somewhere in the vast Nevada desert. :)

New York Part 2: Photo Blog

This blog's very first post was about New York.  However, I was a newbie blogger back then, so it was basically just a test post while I was still learning how to blog.

So I felt it appropriate today, on the 11th day of September, to feature again this great city. But to mark the solemn nature of this day, I will be using images only (well after this paragraph)