Decisions, Decisions

I turned another year older this month, and along with celebrating my birthday with loved ones, I was thinking about a couple ways in which I've been trying to grow. One theme that has been inescapable this year is the presidential election, but with that, I've been paying more attention to state- and local-level politics.

National political figures always fascinated me with their legacies and personalities (starting with the fairy tale of the Kennedys' Camelot as well as the People Power Revolution in the Philippines, up to the Obamas). More recently I realized that I needed to pay attention to the policies that impact my community and me at more local levels, since these changes would probably have a more direct impact on me. This was partly driven by having moved to California, where there are dozens of state and county/city propositions on the ballot, and the devil, as usual, is in the details. I'd also like to avoid voting on the wrong side of history.

One weekend a friend actually rented out a church basement one weekend afternoon and summarized the ballot measures for folks. And thanks to the Twitterverse, I was directed to http://www.peterates.com which summarized and gave recommendations for the state proposals. I've been reading up on the San Francisco country proposals as well and am looking forward to casting my vote. Although I probably will never enter politics myself, I feel more empowered doing my civic duty and trying to become a more informed citizen and voter. After all, voting is a privilege, so I don't want to take it for granted.

.@gridmonte @anildash UX Designer Peter Stahl's guide is always a treat https://t.co/4KaerKaOiP

— Steve Portigal (@steveportigal) September 27, 2016

Life Lately: Around the Bay

Crissy Field

The past few weeks have been filled with a little of everything: a visit from my brother when he was finally introduced to the glory of Philz Coffee; another tubing trip down the Russian River when I got a little too much sun; a visit to Everlane; a viewing of Beautiful the Carole King musical, which I had been wanting to see back East on Broadway but was pleasantly surprised to learn had actually started in San Francisco; a day at a beautiful spa with girlfriends; and of course outings around San Francisco (finally) enjoying our Indian summer. Here's a round up:

Paris Guide

from the Green line

Below you'll find a recap of my Paris trip taken at the beginning of summer. I admit I was thinking, well it's way overdue. I was also thinking of skipping a recap altogether because, hey, there's no shortage of Paris travel guides out there. But then, a good friend said she and her S.O. were heading to France for a couple weeks and asked for my itinerary. 

I was happy to share the details because I've been thinking of the France trip ever since I returned stateside. In many ways it was a comfortable, almost familiar, trip - developed, Western nation, many English speakers, easy Metro systems, large metropolitan cities as well as some quaint little towns (I already wrote about staying in Cannes and hanging around the French Riviera). But it was still great to see everything for myself, to practice French, and to observe any differences between Parisian culture and that of say, San Francisco or NYC, or how some styles are spread around the world. 

There were times around Paris (around the Pigalle and the Canal) that I felt like, wow, they out-Brooklyn'd Brooklyn (see: my new favorite bar). There were also instances when I was reminded of more serious issues such as politics around business/workforce problems, and ideological differences - such as when we had to figure out our transportation when strikes were going on, or when we inadvertently avoided a huge protest taking place by our Airbnb. This is a crazy world we all have to navigate, no matter where we are.

truth (original article)

I was only in Paris for five days, which in my eyes was not nearly enough time. Thankfully you can still get a good sense of the city, especially if you walk and use the Metro, because both offer you so much good people watching where you can see "everyday" city dwellers, and you can see the different kinds of architecture around the city. Many places we hit up were recommended by friends and their friends, which is my favorite way of getting travel advice. And with that, word for word, is what I gave my friend - and now you - on Paris.

Le Comptoir

Le Comptoir

Paris: the best advice I can give you is to pack some comfy slippers or buy the padded 10-euro ones at Muji (which I ended up doing) because even though I wore comfortable shoes, we walked so much that my feet were aching and slippers felt awesome at the end of the day. 2nd best advice is to shop at the Franprix for cheap (but good) wine and other groceries

• Trocadero: First two nights we stayed in a small hotel in Trocadero so we ate in the bistros around the circle ... had drinks at Sir Winston and this college pub called The Freedom. Good area for reaching all the touristy stuff by walking or Metro without staying right next to them. Mo and I were thinking the area is like the Upper East Side.
• Canal Saint Martin: For the weekend we switched to an Airbnb by Canal Saint Martin and I loved this area! We stopped using the Metro without meaning to - we just walked everywhere - up to Sacre Coeur, all the way down to La Marais and back up to our neighborhood. On Sunday we picnic'd along the canal (there's a Franprix grocery store right there). This is definitely the Brooklyn of Paris.
• La Verre Vole - a bunch of Americans recommended it, then I realized it's one of Anthony Bourdain's picks. But my boss (who's French) also recommended it, and it was really good
• Le Comptoir General - coolest bar I've been to, hands down. After dinner at La Verre Vole we came here and left only because our friends couldn't get in (but, their fault for not arriving until 1am). Went back during the day and it's a cool coffee house/lounge
• Du Pain et Des Idees - also a Bourdain pick, but clearly a local favorite. Open only on weekdays.
• Bob's Juice - we got bagels (they were really good!) and filtered coffee here to go so we could eat while walking
• Ten Belles - also got coffee-to-go here one day
• Le Marais - Marche des Enfants Rouges was a cool farmers market with sit-down-&-eat options. The Picasso Museum was great (and free on Sunday). I did tons of window shopping here. Others have recommended it as a good area to stay in, but it got very touristy/shopper-y for me on the weekend (kinda like NYC's SoHo), and I think because we were here at the end of our trip, I was glad to stay somewhere less busy.
• Pigalle - Also quite Brooklyn-y (maybe Bushwick). We ate at Buvette, and drank at Dirty Dick (a tiki bar!) and Le Sans Souci - all were fun, and there were probably 10 other bars I'd read about in the area.
• Versailles - If you are going, and the train isn't running due to strikes or whatnot, you can do the metro to the bus, it's basically the same amount of time (at least from the Western part of Paris) ... the charter buses we saw were like 50 euro vs ~5 euro we spent on the metro/bus. This guide was awesome: http://parisbytrain.com/how-to-get-to-chateau-de-versailles-via-bus/. At Versailles (we did not wake up early enough to avoid the crowds), we skipped the audio guide because the line was ridiculous. My favorite parts were Marie Antoinette's place and all the gardens.

Austin Weekend

Downtown Austin (Westin hotel lobby)

I just spent a weekend in Austin with old friends and it was really fun. We all flew in from different cities around the country to catch up while hanging out somewhere new. We stayed in an Airbnb downtown and nearly all our activities were chosen thanks to recommendations from friends and colleagues...

Life Lately - Summer Edition

This has been a summer of somewhat "firsts" - first time going to the San Francisco Opera, trying out Paniq Room (an escape room group game), sailing in San Francisco Bay, taking some new exercise classes, and spending a couple days in Bend, where I went stand-up paddle boarding on my own for the first time. I probably won't do most of these things frequently, but it was fun to give them a try.

I also hit up some area restaurants for the first time: Old Bus Tavern (new-ish gastropub in Bernal), Pampalasa (Filipino food in SoMa), and The Conservatory @ The Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay (we were going to hang outside on the terrace but the summer fog got the better of us). All were tasty and places that I'd been meaning to try for some time now... Pampalasa in particular for the link to my Filipino heritage and Old Bus for being written up all over local press. Both spots are undergoing changes but I hope they'll be area mainstays for a while.

On another note, this has been a crazy summer around the country and the world. Who knew US politics could get this crazy? Who knew hate and violence could spread around the world so fast with our technological advances? There have been times, watching the news, where I've felt helpless as to what's going on. But out of recent tragedies, and from watching the DNC speeches over the past week, I've also been more motivated to pay attention and be more participatory in our political system, and to encourage others to do so, so that our voices are heard and have an impact.

Finally, this month marks my four-year anniversary of living in San Francisco! I'm not sure I thought I'd be in the city this long. It is one more year than I lived in New York City (after college) and two more years than I lived in Washington, DC. In each city I've taken time to explore neighborhoods and see what they had to offer, but even after four years here, there are times when I still feel like a tourist in San Francisco. The city has the added bonus of being an easy home base for my West Coast adventures. It's so nice to be in a city that still makes nature and travel accessible. I suppose all of that is a part of what's kept me here for four years and counting.

Pokemon Fever (Yes, I'm a Grown Woman)

Pikachu x1000 (Vox article)

I just didn't get into the Pokemon craze at all when I was younger. When I heard about the game coming out I wasn't surprised, but I also didn't pay much attention (for example, I thought it was virtual reality, not augmented reality). Then last Friday, a friend at work said she downloaded it at a family party, and that the Pokemon were even in our office. Later that day, I saw someone on the bus with the game open, apparently searching for Pokemon along our shuttle route. So later that night, after coming home from happy hour, I downloaded it, registered, and found a freakin' Pokemon perched near my armchair.

For much of the weekend I was tagging in at Pokestops and catching Pokemon while walking around San Francisco and even while riding Muni. And I realized how weird and kind of depressing the whole Pokemon story is, but hey, they are oddly cute and the game is oddly addicting. Like many others I enjoy the accidental/not-accidental social aspect of the game. Unlike other apps, you don't connect to social media accounts (yet) to find friends but since the game involves, literally, the real world, you come across a bunch of other people playing it. I was with my husband, standing on the sidewalk (it was empty, we weren't blocking anyone!) and showing him how the game worked. I was catching a Pokemon, and then a car pulled over. He teased me and said the folks in the car would laugh at me, but I knew what they were up to - we all held up our phones with big smiles, excited to be catching these cartoon creatures. I've exchanged quite a few knowing glances with other city dwellers in the last few days. Technology does bring us together, folks.

My favorite feature is the in-depth linkage of the Pokestops to city landmarks. Not only have I found new ones tucked away around San Francisco, but I now know the names of murals, sculptures and buildings that I pass by regularly. The Pokestops are even cooler, in my opinion, than the Pokemon (but I've only just reached Level 5 and haven't started with the gyms yet, I know, I'm lame).

You know what would also be good as augmented reality smartphone games? Monopoly. Mall Madness. Hungry Hungry Hippos. I hope there's some startups out there thinking of these.

Who knows how long this craze will last, or how many new Pokemon names I'll actually remember, but this was fun and made me feel like a kid again.

Photos from Paris

Just got back from spending a couple weeks in France and have quite a few blog posts in mind. In the meantime, here are some images from Paris:

from the hotel in Trocadero

10th arrondisement

Canal St Martin

Republique

Clos Montmarte - Paris' 'secret' vineyard

Mission Murals

Here are some murals from around the Mission, one of my favorite neighborhoods in San Francisco. I spend a good amount of my weekends walking around the area, and these are only a few examples of the great artwork that can be found there. Whether they're bright and simple icons or complicated images across entire building facades, I appreciate them all (I don't always 'get' public art but I get that it's important). I don't know much about their creators, but I have some links to further reading and tour info below.

More reading:

http://www.sanfrancisco.travel

Precita Eyes

7x7
http://dirt.asla.org/2012/10/15/why-public-art-is-important/

Life Lately: Rainy City

a little Paris in San Francisco

It's been raining a lot in San Francisco the last couple weekends, so I've been spending more time indoors. Some of my friends joked how they appreciate the excuse to not go out, which both resonates with me and makes me think about why we feel this way yet still want to live in cities. My generation insists on living in cities (small and big ones) and paying to be so close to other people, but also reserves the right to choose how to be active in our cities. Plus, my friends and I have pretty much lived for a decade or so in various metros. Perhaps for us, it's age (almost all of us have turned 30, so I myself am a granny millennial) that turns us into little urban homebodies.

I've been using my time at home - on the couch, if we're being honest - planning upcoming travel to France. Now I don't speak French, so the research itself is an education (I downloaded Duolingo and am browsing YouTube videos to get familiar with the language). It's also inspiring me to go back and read books and watch movies set in France. Even walking around in the rain has made me look forward to walking around in Paris (hopefully not in the rain but I'd still take it).  

 Pampalasa

I still have gone out a little bit though, running errands and meeting up with friends for a comedy show and a movie. One friend lent me her umbrella as I had to keep walking after she got in her car (she did offer me a ride but I really wasn't going far to my next destination and it would've taken more time driving just a few city blocks). Having to walk led me to snap the picture above outside Pampalasa, a Filipino restaurant that I'd heard of but never actually located. "Have you eaten yet?" is something my Filipino father asks me all. the. time. and even though it was pouring I had to smile at remembering my childhood. I look forward to going back to the restaurant and actually going inside.

Abalone at Cala

One restaurant I did go into was Cala, which could be the Best New Restaurant in the country soon enough (my husband and I have also enjoyed Liholiho Yacht Club so I'm cheering for either SF-based spot to win). It reminded me of traveling in Mexico and other Latin countries with its delicious seafood-based dishes. One California-based item was the abalone, which I've only had once before in my cousins' kitchen up in Mendocino. Cala's version was smaller and farm-raised in Santa Cruz, but just as delicious. Like State Bird Provisions, everything that came out felt like such a treat. Since (a big) part of my vacation-planning is setting our budget, I probably won't go to Cala again anytime soon, but it was totally worth it. 

New York & LA

Back home and back to the grind. Here are some photos from the holiday break, when I was visiting family and friends:

I got to spend a couple days in New York, and the weather was so mild that I ended up walking about 60 blocks (~3 miles) through the Upper West Side one evening. I caught up with old friends over drinks and Shake Shack. 

Another afternoon was spent strolling around Central Park, going ice skating in 60-degree weather, and browsing through the Plaza Food Hall. It was a Kevin McAllister-inspired afternoon, if he were a 30-year-old woman visiting from California. [Side note- I'd never gone ice skating before, so hooray for finally doing it and not even falling on my tailbone.]

Columbia University

Columbus Circle (with a visit from Karl the Fog)

Plaza Hotel

Plaza Food Hall

Central Park ice skating

Then it was back to the West Coast but instead of heading straight home, we took a detour to Southern California. We spent a couple nights in LA, concentrated in Koreatown, Silver Lake/Los Feliz and Downtown, plus Glendale. We stayed in The Line hotel and enjoyed their views, their design, and their food (check out the loaded "notchos" in the pic below, they're addictive). This is probably the coolest-looking hotel I've stayed in - "concrete chic" as you can see in a photo below. I like the desk-as-headboard move, but I love the serape-covered chairs. Pretty much every design-y item in the room was available to buy, which is a pretty smart marketing move. We walked up and down Wilshire Boulevard a couple miles in sunny weather, and hit some golf balls at Aroma driving range. 

We had a lovely tour guide in the form of the husband's childhood friend and long-time LA resident. We grabbed lunch at Grand Central Market in DTLA (like The Plaza Food Hall, but seemingly less touristy) and walked around the Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall before popping into MOCA. I also caught up with a grad school friend over brunch at Messhall Kitchen in Los Feliz (no pics but check out their site)... We've gotten to hang out in a few cities now. All this was before heading out to Joshua Tree, and it was a lovely way to end the year. 

The Line Hotel

way over yonder, the Hollywood sign

concrete chic at The Line

POT Notchos at happy hour

breakfast at Commissary

Commissary at The Line

memorial at RFK Community Schools

Grand Central Market

Disney Concert Hall

The Characters of Dolores Park

come here often?

Fogust has ended and I am fully enjoying San Francisco's Indian Summer... which has actually started with a bit of a heat wave (80s/90s) in the area. I know, I know, I can't complain... but I am about to buy a fan for my very warm apartment.

Anyway, this was the perfect weekend to head out to Dolores Park. I never have a bad time in the park. I've been going about once a month since early spring and besides enjoying the scenery and the sunny weather, I am always entertained by the good people of San Francisco. There was the time a group of fun-lovers took a rainbow parachute (the kind we used in gym class/playtime growing up) and ran around to cover different groups of people in it. Another time, everyone stopped what they were doing to watch the drone that was watching all of us - was it friendly? was it recording? was the owner even in the park? Just realized I haven't seen the dancing robot in a long time... not sure what to make of that.

March Wrap Up

I've been having this feeling all winter where I think it's more like May or September, maybe because the climate is so mild... I keep pinching myself that I haven't been buried in snow like the East Coast. Now it's actually Spring which means glorious 65,70-degree weather in the Bay Area. Granted it gets cooler in the evening, particularly in San Francisco, but it still feels great to get home from work with the sun still out. Here's what's been going on this month:

San Francisco Architecture

I've always liked the unique architecture around San Francisco. I'll always love the classic Victorian homes and earthquake cottages, but there are some zany designs out there that just add more character to the city. When I first arrived, I saw a building in SoMa with furniture attached to the outer walls, like they'd been thrown out the windows... turns out it's a work of art that required more than 100 volunteers. Here's a couple fun buildings I've seen recently while wandering around the city:

Folsom Street

Hayes Valley (couple blocks from the Aether shipping containers)

(Reminds me of a cheese grater)

Urban Hiking

I always love seeing the Golden Gate Bridge peeking above the city landscape. (View from Buena Vista Park)

That hill in the distance is mine :) (View from Corona Heights Park)

 

Views from last night’s run.

San Francisco.

The secrets of the world's happiest cities

how Bogota turned itself around by redesigning how people get around the city



The secrets of the world's happiest cities