San Francisco and Napa Valley

I've been really busy and that explain why I haven't been blogging much. I've been busy with my career, my family, my health, the wedding and now the new house.

Anyway, some updates on my trip to San Francisco and Napa Valley in January this year. We took Singapore Airlines (SIA). I always like SIA. It's expensive of course. I could have chosen Eva Air which is like RM1K cheaper for 2 person and with only one stop but the schedule wasn't right for me. So, SIA it is! =D

For the first 3 nights in San Francisco, we stayed at The Herbert Hotel which is right in the middle between Union Square and Westfield mall. Great location and not too pricey. I like!

Macy's in Union Square

The view of Union Square from Cheesecake Factory in Macy's

Cheesecake Factory
This is a must-eat in San Francisco

Original Cheesecake
Very very yummy and filling

More Cheesecakes

Around the city

Pier 39
Festival marketplace near Fisherman's Wharf offers shopping and dining guides, departures for Alcatraz tours, and the sea lions

We went to the Aquarium of the Bay and I think it's a total rip off. Nothing special. =P

Pictures from Aquarium of the Bay

Around Pier 39

Picture of us Alcatraz behind us

Another picture of us

We were sort of forced to pay USD2 for these pictures of the two of us. Well, there was this woman sitting at the bench and she saw us coming and she came to us saying, "Hello, would you like me to take some pictures for the two of you?" So, we let her and she snapped away. After that, she said, "Guys, can you spare me 2 dollars for coffee?". LOL!

See how he bombed my photo

We walked towards Fisherman's Wharf which is a popular tourist attraction in San Francisco. You must have seafood there. You can either buy from the stalls by the street or you can dine in one of the many seafood restaurants there. We tried both. We had clam chowder from the street and other seafood from a restaurant.

Fisherman's Wharf

Street stall selling cold shrimps, prawns, lobster

More seafood - so yummy

Oooh lobsters

Mmmm oysters

I'm all ready to eat that Dungeness Crab

After dinner, we walked 1.7 miles down south from Fisherman's Wharf back to our hotel in Union Square cutting through Chinatown using my Google Map on my iPhone to guide us. Long walk, tiring, but it was gooooooood.

One of the many shops in Chinatown and Chinese street performer with their erhu

Chinatown Entrance

Tram

Golden Gate Bridge

Alcatraz - Close up from our Bay Cruise

Sea lion

Painted Ladies - These Victorian row houses are in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood

We rented a car with GPS for our road trip to Napa Valley.

Our car for 2.5 days

On the road crossing the bridge to the Northern part of California

After and hour or so, here we are at the Silverado Resort and Spa. I love our 1 bedroom fireplace suite! So warm and cozy. On our first day there, the weather was lousy. I was supposed to head out to the outlets for some shopping but I decided to stay indoor and relax while Ryan attend his conference.

Our suite at Silverado Resort and Spa

I love the fireplace

Late night shopping at Walmart - I always love to go to angmoh's supermarket

The next day, I drove to Vacaville Premium Outlet which is an hour from the hotel to do some shopping while Ryan went to his conference. I enjoyed the journey very much, driving all alone, in a foreign country, left hand drive, etc. Well, yeah, I drove into the wrong lane once in Vacaville and that's because the road was empty. No other cars to guide me until I see a car coming in the opposite direction in my lane. Lol!

Vacaville Premium Outlet

On the last day before we head back to San Francisco, we drove an hour plus again to this new outlet called Paragon Outlet in Livermore. It wasn't listed in the GPS because it was so new. Thanks to my Google Map on my iPhone which brought us there. It was Ryan's shopping time as he did not get to shop with me in Vacaville. I like this outlet very much as compared to Vacaville.

Paragon Outlet @ Livermore