San Francisco Again

So last weekend I had a little day trip to San Francisco.. and it was really nice. I got to hang out with a couple of my friends and a couple more of their friends, and the five of us got dim sum at Imperial Palace Restaurant in Chinatown. We sat down and they brought the dim sum out to us in little bamboo baskets, and we must have had at least ten different kinds. Pork buns, shrimp dumplings, veggie dumplings, little taro squares, sesame balls, something with egg custard inside... it was everything I hoped it would be. I was so hungry I just wanted to try everything, and I didn't take any pictures, but just google "dim sum" images and you'll see what the beautiful world of dim sum is all about.

After lunch, we looked around at some little shops. I got two very pretty, soft scarves at a little shop I spotted before we went to lunch. They're made out of pashmina and silk, and I've been wearing one or the other to work every day. One is blue and gold, and the other is pink and magenta. They come in every color you could imagine, so I might get a couple more next time I go. They're so soft and light, yet keep me quite warm. Perhaps I'll wear one in a picture in one of my future entries.

Anyway, we also paid a visit to the Fortune Cookie Factory, which is inconspicuously hidden down this little alley. There, you can buy bags of fortune cookies, and even watch this lady make the fortune cookies. The cookies are cooked on this sort of rotating belt, and the lady peels them off their little irons and slips a fortune inside, and bends the cookie together before it hardens. There are even chocolate fortune cookies.

Before leaving Chinatown, we got some bubble tea, and hung out at a little park to rest. At the park, there were a whole bunch of people-- old and young, just enjoying the sunny day. Some people were even doing group Tai Chi, and there was this pretty oriental music playing. This is why I love San Francisco, it just breathes with such life and energy.

 Chinatown is so colorful, too. There are always pretty red paper lanterns hanging along the street.

We met up with my sister and her boyfriend at Blue Bottle Coffee Company, and my friends enjoyed some coffee before they left. I got the brew of the day, Giant Steps. They have more than enough to say about it on the website, and I'll just say it wasn't anything less than what I was expecting. Blue Bottle is huge in San Francisco, there is often a line out the door. My sister got a New Orleans style iced coffee, which was also quite good.

The Mint Plaza location, where we went, is unique to some of the others in the city, because it has a bunch of fancy coffee machinery. One thing they're very proud of is their siphon bar. I'm not exactly sure how it works, but it's very pretty.

 After coffee, we headed over to the Westin Hotel, which boasts 32 stories and is said to be one of the tallest buildings in San Francisco. Passers-by can go up an elevator and view the city from the very top floor.

Everything just looked so peaceful from up there. It was so quiet, too. My ears were popping a bit because of the elevation. Just imagine what it would be like to stay in that hotel!

Walking around throughout the day, I saw several pretty murals. I guess that's a thing in the bay area, cool murals everywhere. Here are some of them.

After walking around a bit, we went and got some pizza for dinner, went to a record & CD store, and went to H&M, my new favorite clothing store, where I found some cardigans for work. Then we parted ways and I looked back happily upon a great day.