Christmas on the West Side
I never got to post the pictures from our San Francisco trip here. I think it was because for a while, Javi banned me from using the computer at home because I had gotten so addicted to surfing Realtor.com for hours! And then when I was allowed to go online again, the excitement of having gotten back from SF had faded, until I totally forgot that we even went. Oops! I guess it wasn't that much of an exciting trip, then! But San Francisco certainly has a lot of character!
Still, it was great to have been able to leave the apartment and go on a vacation together. More importantly, Javi and I got to go to the West Coast during Christmas, when it becomes very lonely for us since we don't have family here, and most of our friends go home to the Philippines for the holidays.
Out of loneliness, I was bawling in front of the computer one evening in early December, and on a whim decided to book us tickets to San Francisco - Javi's birthplace, and also where his cousin currently lives. It's also somewhat of a joke among Filipinos who migrate to San Francisco - because of the large Filipino population in this city, we always say it's as if they aren't really going anywhere far from home.We also took a city sightseeing tour bus and went around downtown San Francisco and saw the famous Transamerica building.
Below: Transamerica
The clocktower at the Ferry Building:
Aside from touring the sights and eating local food, what else do tourists do? SHOP! So Javi took me to someplace he was quite familiar with - Union Square (the San Francisco version). 
With two cameras handy, we took several pictures, so I won't narrate the whole trip. What I will say, though, is that I enjoyed the movie tour the most, while Javi enjoyed our trip to the aquarium. If I'm lucky, I'll find the videos we took of a stingray smiling at him ;)
Another highlight of our trip: Alcatraz!
The tour guide locked us up in this pitch-black cell!
Gar and Carina (Javi's cousin) at the Crab House.
Oh, their food was soooo gooood!
Of COURSE we had to see the Golden Gate Bridge!
San Francisco victorian row houses: "Post Card Row"
Which one belonged to Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen's character in Full House??
A photo from atop the tour bus.
I wonder if those clothes are part of the artwork?
Dimsum time!
Below:
Jim, one of our tour guides, shows us the alley where they filmed "The Pursuit of Happyness"
Which is also where a fortune cookie factory is located.
And here you go - I found that video!
2 comments:
Kristine, I loved touring San Francisco via your wonderful photos! Its so hard being away from family at Christmas, but I hope you and Javi had the best time possible.
Cynthia, thank you very much for your warm thoughts. Next Christmas should be much better, as it will be spent in our new home. Yours should be wonderful, too - you'll have a baby to visit! :)
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