Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend's trip to Marin by ferry to go get a pumpkin! 

 ~C

(PS. Just noticed how ugly this post looks on Safari! Check it on using Firefox instead!)

Tales From A Cafe: Nightmare

"He looked through me like I was thin air. I'm so stupid. He didn't even remember me and that night wasn't even a month ago..." Her mind kept wandering back to the last hour before she had left the restaurant. The bus ride seemed like an eternity, and she still had a few blocks to walk before reaching her apartment. The signal was red; she waited to cross the street. The light above her flickered on and off, and finally shut off leaving her standing in the dark.

"...I just can't believe  it. I'm so emb..." She felt a cold hand grab the back of her arm. A young girl with jet black hair and bright blue eyes stood behind her, staring up at her wide-eyed and emotionless.

Startled, she shook off the cold, pale hand and ran across the street. Once on the other side, she turned to look back, but the girl was gone.

"This town is creepy," she thought to herself as she hurried home. She felt a sudden gust of wind and sensed that someone was following her.

"Were those footsteps or the wind howling?"

She glanced over her shoulder and saw the girl following a few paces behind her on the opposite site of the street, head bowed.

She walked faster, fumbling in her bag to find her keys. Her heart pounded in her chest as she unlocked her front door, ran up the stairs into her apartment and bolted the chain behind her. With all the lights on, she crept to the window to peek outside. Down below, she saw the girl's blue eyes staring up at her and jumped back, dropping the window shade back into place.

Tales From A Cafe: Peephole

He tried to hold his breath to still the sound of his beating heart as he listened to the voices on the other side. They were talking in hushed voices and he couldn't quite make out what they were saying.

The thump thump thump of his heart only loudened as he grew suspicious of their words. "What are they talking about? Did I just hear my name? Why are they talking about me?" Thought after thought rushed through his mind even though he knew that the probability of him being the subject of their conversation was close to zero. After all, he had only seen them from a distance getting into the elevator before the doors closed tightly shut.

He glanced through the peephole of his front door again. Nothing. "They must be around the corner," he muttered to Sophie, his white and orange tabby cat who brushed up against his legs.

~C

Umami Burger

Umami: Taken from Japanese meaning savory. One of the five basic tastes (sweet, sour, salty, bitter).

The first thing I was told after having been welcomed into the flagship San Francisco spot was that Umami Burger proudly grounds their own meat every day, processes their own cheese, pickles their own vegetables, and that the word umami means savory. You should expect all of their burgers to be rich in flavor, juicy, and cooked medium-rare.

I first read about Umami Burger on one of my favorite blogs, Cupcakes and Cashmere, and haven't stopped hearing about it since (my LA-based friends can't help but gush over their obsession with it). So naturally, when a co-worker casually mentioned that he had just had lunch at the new restaurant, I -literally - ran over to check it out. I wasn't the only one who was excited to be there - a reporter from the SF Chronicle was there interviewing the staff and taking photos.

A much more professional photo than mine from the Umami Burger site.

Luckily, I had just missed the lunch rush, and was able to sit down at the bar immediately. I asked the bartender what the most popular burger was and he suggested either the Umami Burger or the Hatch Burger. I chose the Umami Burger since, hey, it's Umami Burger, with a Japanese Caprese Salad to start.

Wednesday: Where In The World Am I?

Oh no! I was super busy yesterday and didn't get around to posting this. So let's pretend it's Wednesday today ;)

Where in the world am I...this Wednesday? 

This city will always have a special place in my heart. I lived there for a year while I was in college, and loved every minute of it. It's in Europe, and has played a significant role in the history of cinema due to one of it's countrymen.

Any guesses?

Thanks again to Jeremy at Budget Travel Adventures for this weekly segment.

~C

Tales From A Cafe: Rainy Days

I started writing with the intention of writing yet another cover letter. But I got distracted and wrote this instead.

-----------------------------

She sat at the corner table, near the door, staring out the window at the droplets splashing against the asphalt.  It was pouring down with no intention of stopping; as if the San Francisco clouds were determined to wash away all the city’s debris.  The Internet in the little neighborhood café had cut out, and she turned to gaze at the ever-loading blank screen.

Despite the rain, tourists kept coming in. Something about the cable cars on a rainy day seemed to catch their attention. Whatever it was that got them out in the rain, she wanted no part of it. She was content wrapped in her oversized wool sweater, sipping on her hot mocha, and had no desire to walk the block and a half back home to use the Internet.

Fleet Week

Fleet Week is upon us! This weekend both the Marina and Embarcadero were packed with thousands of people coming to view the Blue Angels show and the docked Navy ships. So, I decided to take a walk down to the Embarcadero to see all the people, and to visit the farmers market.

Crowd down at The Embarcadero

Fleet Week sign

Wednesday: Where In The World Am I?

I'm going to try doing a weekly travel photo feature called Where In The World Am I?. It's just for fun, but I think it's a great way to share some of my travel photos with anyone reading my blog. So enjoy it with me by playing along and guessing where the photo was taken.

Let's start off with an easy one. But as they get harder, I'll post more hints and maybe even tweet a few throughout the day.

Here goes...

Hint: I live in this city. This is one of the bridges that connects to it. What bridge am I on?

Inspired by Jeremy at Budget Travel Adventures.

~C

 Update: Good guesses, guys! Yep, that's the Bay Bridge in San Francisco. Thanks for playing :)

SFO -> PDX

The Willamette River and Burnside Bridge

Portland was not somewhere I had envisioned myself visiting. It had never registered on my internal map of places to see, I had no reason to go to Portland, and I couldn’t imagine what I would do once I got there. But recently, I had a spontaneous choice to make: go to Portland for the weekend or not. I thought about it and figured, “When the hell else am I going to have the chance to go to Portland…why not?” So I booked a flight and landed in Portland a few days later.

Having done a quick Google search (and rewatched half an episode of No Reservations in Portland), I realized Portland is a foodie’s paradise. So, being a big fan of food myself, I decided this was going to be a weekend long search for anything delicious…and boy, was I right.

My fellow Portland newbie (and foodie extrodinaire) and I spent the weekend voraciously eating our way through the city, with the one exception of Powell's City of Books – where I could have happily found a cozy corner to curl up in and read book after book.

The first thing I noticed when I arrived in Portland was that everyone had tattoos. Tattoo parlors were aplenty, and I saw more than one freshly inked arm in my short time there. The atmosphere was definitely not what I'm used to: totally down-to-earth in a I-wear-tshirts-and-jeans-listen-to-rock-music-and-dye-my-hair-funky-colors kind of way. But despite the tough-guy appearances, no one was rude or pretentious, everyone wanted to share with us their favorite places to eat and everyone was genuinely friendly.

Every place we found was delicious. Portland may have a relaxed vibe to it, but Portlanders are very serious about their food and beers.