Vacation Archives - Page 22 of 27

Narita–>Tokyo

April 27, 2011 No Comments

We left on Saturday from LAX at 3:45 p.m. and arrived at 7:15 p.m. on Sunday @ Narita Int’l. We were able to go through Customs, pick up our luggage, exchange our Traveler’s checks, exchange our rail passes, make all of our seat reservations on the shinkansen (bullet train) and buy a Suica card (subway pass) by 8:15 p.m. It helped that Narita seemed pretty empty and that there was a person who spoke very good English in the Japan Rail (“JR”) office. Tip: don’t forget to fill out the back of the Customs cards…oops.

D used the bathroom at Narita and was confused by the setup. I didn’t see the facilities, but apparently he almost went in the sink!

The Narita Express was only running about once an hour, and only in the morning and night in order to conserve power. Luckily, there was a train that left at 8:45.

You can use the JR Pass to get on the Narita Express. We were told all the seats were reserved (make the reservations in the JR office) but I’m not sure why, considering we almost had a whole car to ourselves! The train feels very new, and was a conveient way to get to the city.

We arrived at Tokyo station and had to transfer to the subway. We tried to swipe our subway card at the turnstile, not realizing that we just had to show our JR pass to exit. The subway card wouldn’t let us out (since it didn’t let us in) and we each tried to swipe it about five times before we figured it out. After that, it was smooth sailing, transportation-wise, which I was worried about. Even though the stations are huge, there is good signage everywhere (in English). The hyperdia website really helped us in planning all of our transportation routes.

We found our hotel in Akasaka and checked in around 10:15 p.m.

The room was small, but clean and in a good location. However, we can’t recommend it, for a reason which we will discuss later.

D had a hard time sleeping due to the time change. I managed a little more sleep, but we both felt an aftershock around 2 a.m. It was very small, but a bit unnerving at the same time. (We felt another small aftershock the next night at around the same time).

We received breakfast coupons for the Excelsior Cafe attached to the hotel. The breakfast options were interesting, more like lunch to us. Sandwiches, or soup or hardboiled egg/toast, all accompanied by a green salad and coffee, tea or juice.

D and I both chose the first option, a sandwich with egg salad, tuna salad and shrimp…yes, all three! We observed many men in suits drop by the cafe for their breakfast on their way to work. Also, we inadvertently sat in the smoking section and had to move to get some fresh air. Living in CA, we forget that people still smoke while they eat–gross. Fueled up, we were ready for our first full day by 7:15 a.m.!

Japan, Vacation

Deciding to Go to Japan; Singapore Airlines Experience

April 26, 2011 4 Comments

D and I had been talking about visiting Japan ever since my sister and her family moved to Hiroshima last year. We decided it would be best to leave the kids with my parents, and we booked two plane tickets on Singapore Airlines. We started doing our research and booked hotels rooms. Then, in March, the earthquake/tsunami/radiation triple whammy hit Japan and our plans were up in the air. Most people we talked to advised us not to go, and we went back and forth. In the end, we decided to go forth with our plans and the U.S. government even lifted its advisory against non-essential travel two days before our departure date!

I was excited to fly Singapore Airlines since they’re always ranked high in consumer satisfaction surveys. D had flown them multiple times on his previous trips to Singapore, but it had been a while. After flying United, where the only meal time choice is a $5 box of junk, it was nice to eat real food on a plane. Walking past the first class seats, one cannot help feel jealous…those seats are huge! We settled into our economy seats, and grabbed a few newspapers on the way (free!): LA Times for me, Financial Times and (on the way back I got The Straits Times) for D. We were also given hot towels by the courteous stewardesses.

The flight was over ten hours, but it didn’t feel like it. I was able to watch The King’s Speech and D watched Little Fockers (yes, really). For the rest of the trip, D did “knuckles” whenever we reached a goal, something he learned from his movie, I guess.

Nice video setup. I also liked tracking our trip on-screen.

D started out with their signature Singapore Sling. I had the Fruit Spritzer, which turned out to be apple juice with 7-Up (ha-ha!)

For dinner, there was a choice between the Japanese meal and International (which was pretty much American). We chose the Japanese meal…chunk of seared tuna, tamago, cold noodles with dipping sauce, teriyaki chicken, rice, roll, senbei, green tea.

Dessert was Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Out of all the flavors, this is probably my least favorite, oh well. On the way home it was Haagen Dazs vanilla.

Snack: Curry bun or Turkey wrap. The curry bun was too heavy…like a pie crust with curry inside. The wrap was OK, a little dry.

They also came along with a choice of potato chips and Hershey’s chocolate bars.

Our flight happened to be partially on April 17th, our wedding anniversary. 7 years! For the first time I can really remember, D surprised me by e-mailing the airline beforehand to ask if they did anything for special occasions. (Usually D is very bad at keeping secrets and always hints at things so I usually figure out something is going on). I was half asleep when the crew came by with a little mocha cake. They even put orchids and dry ice to make it all fancy.

Of course, by this time, we were pretty full, but we had a few bites.

Finally, we also had breakfast! We had shrimp fried rice, ham with potato salad, carrot cake, and a roll.

Overall, I enjoyed the flight experience. It felt very decadent to not have to worry about the kids and just eat/sleep/read/watch tv whenever I wanted.

Napa, Restaurant Reviews, Vacation

Avoiding a Two Hour Wait

September 12, 2010 No Comments

Our last night in Napa we were going to try to go to Mustard Grill (we had been for lunch before, but never for dinner). However, they don’t take reservations, and when we arrived at 4:40(!) they said there was just no way because they were booked, and the wait would be two hours! Craziness. So, we drove back towards D’s parents house to a cute neighborhood restaurant called Fume(accent on the ‘e’), which we had also been to before. I’m not sure why this restaurant isn’t more popular, except that it is kind of hidden off the highway. The service was excellent, and it is kid-friendly, even though it is still upscale. They have a kid’s menu, and the kitchen kindly split both the entree and dessert for k and n (it was plenty of food for each of them). The highlight for k and was definitely the ice cream sundae.

Note n wearing much of his entree (pasta sauce) on his shirt.

I had the cajun prawn pasta and D had the roast chicken. D put the chicken on his list. My pasta was delicious, but VERY rich…had to share it around the table.

We left just after 7:30 the next morning. From D’s parents driveway we could see several hot air balloons taking off. That is something I would like to do. Someday.

Testing the zoom feature.

Vacation

Muir Woods N.M.

September 10, 2010 1 Comment

On Sunday we went out to breakfast at a place called Boonfly Cafe. I had read good things about it a while back so I was excited to try it out. It has a cute, unassuming facade and is located just off the road to Sonoma.

Everyone raves about the homemade donuts, so we had to try:

Nice and warm, yum!

D ordered the green eggs and ham and I had the breakfast flatbread.

“Hmm…what should I get? Decisions, decisions.”

k & n had fun on the porch swing outside.

Afterward D’s parents went back home and we drove on to Muir Woods National Monument. The road was pretty twisty and the park was kind of crowded, but it was nice to be able to “hike” on a paved trail with the kids in strollers. We went as far as the paved road could take us, about 1.5 miles total. The redwood trees are so tall that it is perpetually cool on the trail (a little too cool for D, who did not bring a jacket!)

We had seen the Muir Woods cafe mentioned by Tyler Florence on the Best Thing I Ever Ate. I think it was a show about the best “unexpected” food…he really liked the grilled cheese and tomato soup. So, that’s what we shared for lunch. We also bought a kid’s meal which came with a turkey sandwich and the tomato soup.

I was more impressed with the soup than the grilled cheese. It also came with some of the freshest, sweetest peas in the pod I’ve ever tasted.

Back at home k and n had fun playing catch and riding a scooter with Grandpa and Grandma. n was particularly fond of this helmet, so we brought it home with us. (Now he doesn’t have to wear k’s pink flower helmet at home).

Vacation

Eating, Shopping and Eating

September 8, 2010 1 Comment

After D went for his morning run, we drove over to Yountville for a morning stroll. I had fun trying out my new camera. We went to the French Laundry garden and then to Bouchon Bakery.

Having fun with the Macro setting 🙂

Chocolate Cherry Scone

Our brown-haired boy

Afterward we left the kids with the grandparents and hit the Napa outlets. We had a mini shopping spree and justified ourselves by buying our own birthday presents–haha. Shopping is so much more productive without the kids, but maybe that is a dangerous thing.

We met D’s brother and his family back at the house and then we all had lunch at Mini Mango, a new Thai restaurant in downtown Napa. Everything was very flavorful and it made D’s list. They even made pad see ew for k, which was not listed on the menu.

Our kids skipped their naps and had fun playing with their aunts, uncle and cousin. For dinner, D’s dad fired up the BBQ to grill chicken and steak. Uncle S even made a cinnamon cake for dessert!

The weather was perfect for relaxing in the backyard.

Restaurant Reviews, Vacation

First Day in the Bay

September 7, 2010 2 Comments

Just returned from visiting D’s family in Napa. We left early Friday morning. Our first foodie stop was in Oakland for Bakesale Betty. We tried one fried chicken sandwich, one slushie lemonade and one strawberry shortcake. Well, 2000+ Yelp fans were not wrong! Our plan was to eat lunch in two parts, but this satisfied all of us until dinner (we did have Jamba Juice later, though).

As expected, the line was out the door, down the block, but the wait didn’t seem too bad. Maybe because I was being entertained by listening to the two guys behind me that struck up a conversation about the merits of using 00 flour for homemade pizza dough v. Trader Joe’s pre-made dough and thinking, “only in the Bay Area”. Plus, the people watching was pretty interesting. It’s fun to see how people express themselves through their clothing. It gets kind of boring in Orange County. Back to the food, the slaw on the sandwich was too spicy for k and n since it had a slight jalapeno kick. The lemonade was quite tart, which I like, and the shortcake was quite large, but a little on the dry side for my taste.

We then drove on to Berkeley. The last time we had been there was three years ago, so this was n’s first time. We realized that Telegraph/Sproul Plaza is not too stroller-friendly when school is in session! D bought his requisite 2010 Cal football t-shirt, because apparently he doesn’t have enough.

We stopped to watch the Women’s a capella group (can’t remember what their group is called).

Took a picture by the bear statue:

Three years ago:

We walked around campus looking for new construction, but didn’t see anything too different (later on we saw construction at the law school and West side of campus when we were driving around). However, I was struck by how much these trees have grown since we were there over ten years ago. They used to trim them so much every year and they were so bare and gnarly. Look at them now:

D is most excited by the renovation of Memorial Stadium, which is in progress.

There’s fencing all around, but we turned in just to take a quick look. Here’s hoping for a good season so D can wear his new shirt with pride.

We made it to Grandpa and Grandma’s house by around 3 p.m. and had dinner at their home. n is still difficult to travel with. k had a couple of short meltdowns, but n just doesn’t like being in the carseat and does not get tired of letting us know!

Vacation

More Fun in the Bay

April 28, 2010 1 Comment

Saturday we packed in a lot of activities. In the morning we met up with D’s parents at Country Way the Original in Fremont for breakfast. The building is in the shape of a Swiss chalet or Weinerschnitzel, take your pick. D’s parents had huge omelets, which they shared with us, and we had blueberry pancakes and french toast.

After breakfast we went to D’s brother’s new place in Fremont, which we hadn’t seen before. Our friend Janelle’s boyfriend happens to live in Fremont, too, so they stopped by despite their busy schedule.

k playing with her only cousin.

After they left, D’s cousins came over. We talked a bit and then we walked to a Chinese restaurant nearby. There was a lot of food, including this lobster:

We went back to the hotel and everyone was able to take a (much needed) nap this time. Our next activity was a birthday party for the three year old daughter of one of my friends from college. It was at Gold Star gymnasium in Mountain View. I wasn’t sure if k would participate, but she did!

k’s favorite: the rope swing!
(Note to self: Don’t dress k in jeans the next time she goes to a gym! I don’t know why I didn’t think about that.)

n had fun too. I think he’ll be the type to really enjoy these kind of places when he’s a little older. He is already showing daredevil tendancies.

I think D was the only parent that participated too. He is truly a kid at heart. Later told me he wanted to do a backflip on the trampoline but thought better of it. I’m glad. 🙂

For dinner we met up with D’s cousins again, this time in Sunnyvale at a Mediterranean restaurant called DishDash. D had beef kabobs and I had a chicken schwarma salad. We also shared the mixed appetizer plate. k liked the falafel. Probably the best Meditteranean restaurant we have been to. If D had a Mediterranean category on his list, it would be on there. When we got back I looked it up on Yelp and there are 742 reviews (4.5 stars)! There must be more Yelpers in Northern California. I don’t know of any restaurants in OC that has that many reviews. It was also nice to be able to talk more with D’s cousins, whom we don’t see too often.

So that was our trip. We made it home in six hours!

Vacation

A Visit to the Bay Area (500th Post)

April 26, 2010 No Comments

We just returned from a quick trip to the Bay Area. It was a nice little vacation and good to spend time with family and friends. And of course, good food.

First of all, we borrowed my dad’s GPS, and I’m so glad we did. That will definitely be our next purchase. It was so helpful since we were going to a lot of different places in (somewhat) unfamiliar territory. Yeah, we missed a few turns and heard the dreaded “Recalculating…” but it saved us a lot of hassle and arguments, I’m sure.

We drove up at 5:50 a.m. on Friday morning. First stop was Porto’s, a Cuban bakery in Burbank. We ordered the egg & chorizo sandwich on cuban bread, a medianoche sandwich, a mango smoothie, guava cheese pastry, chocolate croissant and raspberry mousse. We’ve been here a few times, and it never fails to impress. It isn’t surprising that there was a line, even before 7 a.m.

We made two more stops and arrived in Fremont at 12:20 p.m. The kids were OK–not too bad, but not too great, either. I’m not complaining about 6.5 hours, though. That was pretty good.

We had lunch at Sala Thai, a Yelp find.
We ordered the pad see ew and crispy garlic fish. Very flavorful. It made D’s List!

Then we checked into our hotel, the Hilton in Newark/Fremont, which we booked through Hotwire for $55/night (around $65 with taxes). Although you can see it from I-880, I couldn’t hear the freeway from our room. As D noted, it served a very “eclectic” clientele. After D checked in, I was carrying n and k was walking in front of me, and one of the hotel clerks called out to me, “If you’re interested, there’s a Chuck E. Cheese next door!” I thought that was funny.

After unsuccessfuly trying to take a nap in our hotel room, we picked up D’s cousin in Santa Clara. She is visiting from Singapore, and is the main reason we made the trip up north. It was the first time I had ever met her, although we’ve hung out with her brother before. We warned her we wanted to eat early and casual because of the kids, and she was game. We ate at Lawrence Plaza food court in Santa Clara, which is located in a Little Korea. I ended up ordering teriyaki chicken and japchae from BBQ Town (not very Korean, I know, but I was sharing with the kids, so I didn’t want anything too spicy, alhtough it did come with kim chee), while D had bimbimbap and his cousin had spicy tofu soup from the stall next door. D’s cousin had stopped in New York before coming to the Bay Area, and brought some gifts for k & n. k liked that she walked with them after dinner. It was nice hearing about all of the sightseeing she had done and plans to do and hearing about D’s other relatives that we don’t see too often, if at all.

There’s a dessert place with funky seating. We decided to take pictures there.

Hawaii, Vacation

Akaka Falls & Hilo

March 29, 2010 8 Comments

Thursday was our big “excursion” day. During our first trip to the Big Island, we drove all the way to Hilo and then on to the volcanoes, and it was just too much for little k to handle. We decided to avoid the screaming/crying with n and just went to Akaka Falls, which we missed the first time around, and then to a botanical garden, not too far from Hilo.

No trip through Honokaa should be made without a stop at Tex Drive In.

Mmmm…malasadas. Especially bavarian cream! This was the only place that I really wanted to go back to from our first trip.

Look at n peaking out from the backpack. That cracks me up.

So, apparently there are two botanical gardens that are in direct competition with each other. We went to our trusty friend, Yelp, to help us decide which one to go to. That is how we ended up at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden. It is not too stroller-friendly, so I’m glad that k was willing to walk. D carried n in the backpack.

Wishing Well

Nice view

Ironwood tree (my family will know why I took a picture of this ;))

Orchid

Forgot the name

Cat whiskers

Tiki and D looking like a ghost

Afterward we went on to Hilo for lunch. We were looking for local food and someone recommended L&L. We didn’t really want to go there since we can get it over here (although maybe it’s better over there?) so we ended up at Cafe Pesto for pizza. We had eaten at the other location last time, so we knew we would like it.

After lunch we headed a few doors down to a lunch counter that also had shave ice.

I ordered one with ice cream for k and I to share, and it was gigantic. See how it looks bigger than k’s head?

On the way home, n and I fell asleep in the back seat. On the way there, and on the way back, k and Grandpa were having a long conversation about anything and everything, but mostly about k’s doll named Abby. It was funny because when I woke up, they were still talking! Much better than screaming and crying.

Hawaii, Vacation

Shopping in Kona

March 22, 2010 1 Comment

On Wed. we decided to go down to Kona for a little shopping. Our first stop was a fairly new Target, my favorite store.

Instead of the Dollar Spot, it had an “Aloha Shop”! This is where I bought almost all of our souvenirs for the trip.

We bought my brother in law a Spam slicer. (They had other Spam merchandise as well). We also bought a trivet for ourselves, mainly because it had a map of Hawaii, and D is a sucker for maps. In the kids’ section I found a cute Hello Kitty necklace with a rainbow for k.

Afterward we went to the nearby International Marketplace for some more browsing, but I didn’t buy anything.

For lunch we went to Jackie Rey’s Ohana Grill. It is a little off the beaten path, but I had read good reviews. I had signed up for a coupon online and I received a personal e-mail from the manager/owner! They also made it a point to visit each table to greet everyone. It was doing pretty good business for lunch, and there seemed to be more locals. D’s parents both had the crab crusted mahi mahi and they liked it. n was being fussy, so I had to spend a lot my time outside trying to calm him down. I can’t wait until he lets me sit down for an entire meal at a restaurant.

This cool car is parked outside of the restaurant.

Notice the license plate.

Next stop was Costco. I bought a bag of macadamia nut Hershey kisses, which I’ve never seen before, as well as a tub of shortbread cookies for D to bring to his co-workers. Right after I made by purchases, the electricity went out! They stopped letting people into the store, so I guess we made it just in time. D also filled up his gas tank, since Costco has the best prices on the island.

Our final stop was Kua Beach. D’s parents had told us how beautiful the beach was, and it was true! The color of the water was amazing. We also saw some whales.