Jeff & the city

The first thing I noticed the moment I walked out of the JFK Airport was the weather – it was so friggin’ humid! Ugh! I guess it was some sort of a transition for me before I head home to Manila since it was pretty much the same feel. My cuzin (Kuya Lito) was kind enough to pick me up from the airport and his family hosted a buffet dinner in a Chinese restaurant near their home in Queens. It was late dinner actually since the clock was 3 hours ahead from my departure city in the west coast. I was looking forward to going to the city before I went to bed.

Chinatown and Little Italy
My other cuzin (Ate Cora with husband and youngest kid Gillian) took me for a little sneak peek of Manhattan. We initially went to Battery Park hoping we could go to Staten Island but jeez, the queue of tourist was just crazy and besides, we had a kid with us so we decided to head to Chinatown for late lunch and some shopping.

Times Square
One’s night-out in New York City will not be complete if you’ll not stroll along the bright lights of Times Square. The midnight still looked as busy as ever! After all, it’s the city that never sleeps!

Empire State Building
Some $19, about an hour of falling in line, multiple security checks (i.e. the one similar to the airports) and only a couple of bites of my roasted turkey sandwich for lunch, I finally sat foot on the setting of the very romantic scene in Sleepless in Seattle. The view of the entire New York City and some parts of New Jersey was indescribable! Of course the Chrysler Building was one of the more familiar spots from the top of the Empire State. After watching three times the entire seasons one through seven of Sex & the City, the building’s image (next to Cynthia Nixon’s name on the opening credits) left some kind of permanent mark on my head.

Staten and Ellis Islands
There were hundreds of people lining up in the cruise trips in Battery Park. My cousin Lorena and I figured we could save time and effort by lining up simultaneously in the ticket and queue lines – of course she took care of the ticket while I waited for her. It was just brilliant! Hint hint for future travelers. A two-hour lining up and cruising didn’t include setting foot on the islands per se but you’ll get a close look of Lady Liberty.

Café Lalo
Francis and I woke up on a rainy Saturday summer. It was about time for brunch and this didn’t give us a good signal at first. I thought, hey this cannot happen! It was my last Saturday in NYC and I had so much to do. I can’t remember if I did a sundance but my prayer kinda worked. The rain stopped as we headed to Café Lalo (www.cafelalo.com) at 201 West 83rd St. – the eyeball place of Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) and Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) in You’ve got mail. The place was a little crowded by noon time. We had to wait for about 10 minutes to get seated.

Broadway
Watching the 19th century setting musical Spring Awakening is definitely one of the highlights of my NYC trip. What’s going to Broadway without that kind of experience? Winning 8 Tony Awards including best musical for 2007 would say more than enough reason for me to spend almost a hundred bucks for the balcony ticket! The music (by Duncan Sheik), the cast and the story twists made it all contemporary in so many ways. I never had a single dull moment watching it, seriously. As a matter of fact, I was almost close to getting teary-eyed in some of the scenes. Somebody else was crying while watching… hush hush (Hi Francis!).

The Met
The famous “steps” of The Met… the other side was under construction though.

The New York Palace Hotel
You know you love me… Do I hear “X.O.X.O.”? You got it! This luxury hotel in Madison Avenue suddenly became an instant tourist spot, especially to the young ones. Thanks to Serena, Blair, Dan, Nate, Chuck, Jenny and the rest of the Gossip Girl folks who are making waves in worldwide television.
Central Park
I think I only got to stroll in the West and East side of Central Park because obviously it was too huge! Francis was telling me how splendid the entire park looks like during winter. Sighs… On the west end is The Plaza Hotel (Home Alone 2 – one of my favorites!). There’s a whole of activities anyone can do in the park – including making out in public!!! Oh yes, we passed by a couple doing just that!

I left my heart in San Francisco

Arriving at LAX 50 minutes before my flight to SFO proved to be a not so good idea. While self check-in is the newest thing in airports, getting your boarding pass is another. Of course you still have to go through the same procedures for checking in your luggage. And speaking of… I got to SFO 45 minutes ahead of my suitcase! It was on the next plane from LA to San Francisco since I checked in too close to the departure time. Sorry naman!

Stanford
A good friend of mine, Djen picked me up from the airport and we headed to Stanford for super late lunch. We visited the University afterwards.

Santana Row (San Jose, CA)
Northern California’s Rodeo Drive, this upscale shopping center in SJ was the next stop for me. Take note, my suitcases were just in Djen’s car! Here I met a few more friends – Paolo (former officemate in PS), Paul (co-editor in DLSU school paper) and Jun-Jun (housemate in college). I thought I’d have a hard time getting them together in one place but everything went smoothly, thank God! New faces were there too - Pete (Paul’s boyfriend) and Mark (Jun’s housemate). We had a few drinks in downtown San Jose then went to a Korean videoke bar.

It was a great Monday to wake up to for me and Paolo. He took the day off from work to be my tour guide. We woke up at about 11AM but I didn’t worry a bit since it’s summer and 8PM means the sun will still be up. I craved for some Pinoy food so we went to downtown Milpitas a few miles away from his place in San Jose. Barrio Fiesta was closed on Mondays for kitchen cleaning so we went to this Filipino restaurant called Kalesa (http://www.mykalesa.com/ ). How can you resist crispy pata and gulay na pinakbet? You just can’t!!! It was just me and Paolo but the food really was good for four starving guys. Reasonably-priced meal at under $30, it was just the carbo-loading we needed for a long day of touring Frisco.
Bay Bridge
Passing through the Bay Bridge in Paolo’s car (with sun-roof open) was just amazing. The weather was so perfect and you could feel the breeze on your face while seeing the skyline of the entire city.
Golden Gate Park
One funny part when Paolo was navigating was when we passed by the Golden Gate Park and he uttered how nice it was to have some photos right there. I was like, yeah it would be and then took a snap shot while the car was moving. We parked about a hundred meters away from the park and I decided to stroll along yet another gorgeous garden. We were planning to leave the car and walk to the bridge but when we checked the map, boy it was too far! Of course the wisest thing to do was to go back and drive.
Golden Gate Bridge
It was quite foggy and breezy when we reached the end of the bridge, I think it was the north end. Anyho, our spot had quite a clear view of the Alcatraz too. I thought I’ve seen Sean Connery’s movie anyway so why bother going there? After all, I’m not really a huge fan of prisons hehe.

Palace of Fine Arts
It was under construction when we were in the area but the ambiance was still captivating.

Victorian Houses
A trip to San Francisco would not be complete if you don’t pay attention to the beautiful Victorian houses. They’re just everywhere!
Lombard Street
Considered to be the “most crooked” one-way street in the world, Lombard is still passable by small to medium-sized vehicles. I’d say the flowers of summer add to the elegance of the said tourist spot. I bet the houses and apartment here are uber expensive.
Pier 39, Fisherman’s Wharf
Here’s another of SFO’s signature spot! There’s a whole bunch of restaurants and shops here for everyone’s delight!
Union Square
If you want to take a good tour of this part of the city, I’ve only got two suggestions – either by foot or by tram but you may find the latter’s route quite limited though. Some tour packages actually include the tram ride to and from the Wharf passing by Lombard then going to Union Square.

Spell L-A-X !!!

In LA, most people would say "Oh, that place is just near! It's only a 10-minute drive." Guess what, those 10-minute travels felt like hopping from Alabang to QC!!! But hey, thanks to the freeways for making things a little convenient. Yes, I know that traffic in LA can get really bad but nothing compares to Manila road jams! Ugh!

Arriving in LAX on a Wednesday afternoon, I was trying to hide both my excitement and fear (that I might get lost or something). Thank God I googled some "how-to's" like getting to my first destination (Brea, CA) via the Super Shuttle service van. After 45 minutes and $40, along with other passengers who the driver dropped off at different locations, I got to my hotel -- The Embassy Suites Brea. It was just beside JC Penny and Macy's. I figured, I could use my idle time "malling" instead. To my dismay, I had to pinch myself and get reminded that I was still on a business trip at least until Friday lunch time.

The fun begins here...

OUTLET Stores (Citadel, Los Angeles)

I did some nice shopping with Teta (my editor in the college school paper). Boy, you really could get a lot of good stuff at very reasonable prices! Only problem was... most stores didn't have my size! I got a couple of shirts from the teens section would you believe?

Universal Studios
This was definitely on top of my list! Geez, you need like two days to go through what Universal City has to offer. The Simpson's ride was the most recent addition this year and it was really fun. Kids stuff? Yeah... but for grown-ups too! Thanks to college friend Polee for showing me around.

This is the closest I could get to the Scavo house in Wisteria Lane!!!! Woohoo!!!

West Hollywood

... need I say more?

Hollywood Hills

Serenity in Michigan

How can you ever beat a lovely summer day in Lake Michigan? It's just so lovely! In my recent US trip, I wasn't really able to spend that much time checking the town and the other tourist spots. Oh well, I wouldn't feel bad, after all I was on a business trip here for one of my clients. Anyho, my clients were just so kind enough to drive me around town and have those sumptuous meals. Overall, everything was still worth it!



At the John Collins park, a superb restaurant called Rose's was the place to eat at! Just look at the view outside... breath-taking! My cold mojitos started that wonderful dinner. Funny thing, it felt weird initially having dinner while the sun was still so up at seven in the evening. Here's my eastcost summer!

My most wanted: STARBUCKS City Mugs (Part 3)

After a long time, I'm back to blogging! And here's a bonus treat especially to my fellow Starbucks city mug collectors -- here are the newest mugs in my collection. Enjoy!

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Shanghai, China
I was surprised when Hannah (colleague at work) learned about my collection and she initially asked me if I wanted to have a mug from Spain since she was visiting. You’d never guess what was my answer… She was going to Barcelona for a visit to her family as far as I can remember. She was not able to find one out there but luckily, in one of the trips of her partner, they were able to manage getting me a city mug from Shanghai! Up until now, I always update Hannah with my collection. She’s always thrilled to hear what new mugs I got.

Jakarta, Indonesia
There’s not much story here… just kidding! But come to think of it, yeah. This is in fact the second mug that Les (i.e. Singapore mug) gave me. By this time, it was just before he decided to move back to Manila for good. He was just on a summer vacation – we went to Boracay, when he got me the mug from Jakarta. I’m still hoping that Starbucks would open in Vietnam anytime soon! I just happen to have so many friends frequenting the country for cryin’ out loud!!!

Tagaytay, Philippines
Being true to form, Claire (who was very instrumental in my Amsterdam mug), texted me when she and her husband were in Tagaytay. I remember planning to drop by Starbucks Tagaytay the last time I was there since I heard some gossips that there’s a mug for the city too. Obviously I didn’t believe it that time… Thanks to Claire and her husband for squeezing a quick purchase of the mug on a husband-wifey date!

Macau, China
If there’s an award for the most number of city mugs contributions amongst all my friends, it will surely go to Tina! In one of her Asian trips, getting me my mug has always been a part of her itinerary! Thanks to Wlad too for tagging her along his trips. I’m also waiting for some European trips you know. I could use some addition to my mugs from there! Hint! Hint!

London, Great Britain
This one’s from Tina too! Wlad got this initially for her I think I couple of years ago. I’ve been making ligaw for this mug to be given to me as a gift but Tina won’t just budge until finally, at the eve of my birthday, he came to my station with the mug on her hand. It was a nice birthday present!

Australia
Marl who initially promised to get me the Jakarta and KL mugs, finally fulfilled his promise. It was a super hectic work schedule in India prior to going to Sydney when Marl got me the mug. He was actually able to save up on his birthday gift for me coz he got back to Manila a few days after my bday! Smart-ass! ;-)

Germany
CJ, my former boss had always known about my collection. The moment he learned about it, he sort of committed to put in his “contributions”. He was meeting up with his family in India during his almost-one-month vacation middle of this year. His brother was coming from Munich and I think he really pushed for the mug. Too bad, the mug wasn’t available yet in Starbucks India.

Sacramento, California
Karen (a colleague from work) and I were at the same work area for a time when I transferred to our office’s main building. I overheard her talking to some friends about her sister coming to the Philippines from California. Of course I didn’t hesitate asking her where she was coming from. The instant I heard Sacramento, I asked her if she could ask her sister to buy a mug for me. Being the sweet and kind Karen like what she has always been (since she was handling my teams as my QA analyst), she said yes. One more thing, she is in Florida right now and boy she is definitely going to look for a mug for me. Her location might not guarantee the merchandise but for sure she would try looking.