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. 

Around The World in 5 Stops

A friend of mine asked me the other day: "If someone gave you an around-the-world ticket and you were allowed five stops, what would be your destinations?"

That's a hard question to answer since there are so many places I'd like to visit, especially places that are off the beaten path like the Azores. But I narrowed it down to 5 countries - well, more like 5 regions of the planet - that I'd like to visit:

1. Cuba - Central America  
2. Argentina- South America 
3. South Africa  
4. India - South East Asia 
5. Vietnam- Asia

As I thought of the question again, I realized that I would get 5 stops on an airplane, but that doesn't mean I have to arrive and depart from the same city or even country that I landed in. 

For example, I could use the first leg of my journey to stop in Vietnam, and then travel by land to Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. The second leg would leave from Thailand and land in India - where I could either stay in the south and explore Sri Lanka, or go to the north and check out Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. From there, I could fly to South Africa and explore as much of Africa as I could. The fourth leg of the trip, I'd leave from Africa to Argentina, where I could travel over to Brazil or Chile. After that, I would fly up to Cuba, or Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala.

Where would you go if you got a 5-stop ticket around the world?

~C 

Cover Letter

Dear Travel Industry,

Let me first start off by saying that I'm obsessed with traveling. I think about it all day long. I stalk it on Twitter. I fantasize about the places I could go and the people I could meet.

I am the kind of person you want to hire. I will work for you day and night, think about you when I'm not in the office and crawl out of bed at 4 a.m. when you desperately need me. I am dedicated and passionate and all those other adjectives that cover letters tend to include.

I will come to work with a smile on my face and leave with that same smile.

I will (and already do) encourage everyone to travel, to see the world, to experience a new culture.

Most importantly, I offer a history of results, as evidenced by the following travel-related activities I have accomplished:

• Born in Sweden (I'm already an EU citizen!)
• Lived in Stockholm, Arles, Nice, Los Angeles, Lyon and San Francisco.
• Speak French...fluently!
• Traveled to 5 out of 7 continents (and have high hopes to visit the other 2).

From what I know about myself, I believe I have the potential to make a great contribution to The Travel Industry.

Thank you very much for considering my application. I look forward to the opportunity to meet with you and further discuss my qualifications.

...Well, actually, just give me the job. I cross my heart that I'll be amazing at it.

Sincerely,

Cat

Happy Birthday To Me!

My birthday was a few days ago, and this year I wanted to celebrate by doing something low key. I started the day by taking a long walk with my aunt down to the water near Fisherman's Wharf, through Fort Mason and to the Marina. We decided to have lunch at this cute little place called Rose's Cafe where I had some amazing lemonade: sparkling lavender lemonade with a piece of mint (if you don't like sour, you might want to add some sugar)....mmm so good, I'm craving it right now!

On our way back to Nob Hill, we passed through Polk St. and stopped for some birthday froyo at Loving Cup. They are known for their creative way of mixing their froyo flavors and for their realllly delicious rice pudding.