In the middle of San Francisco’s Walter S. Johnson Park, sits the Palace of Fine Arts, an easily recognizable piece of San Francisco architecture. You’ve likely seen it in many photographs, with attractive shots both by day and by night, so you’ll want to make plans for visiting the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, California. The Palace was designed as part of the 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition, an event hosted by San Francisco to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal. It was also seen as an opportunity for San Francisco to rise from the ashes of the devastating 1906 earthquake and fire. A site was chosen in what is now known as the Marina District, and architect Bernard Maybeck designed the Roman-themed/Greek-styled Palace of Fine Arts. Exposition exhibits are temporary and therefore made with collapsible materials, so […]
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REVIEW: Beyond the Pasta
When I think about Italy, which I often do, it’s not the attractions or the countryside that capture my attention. Oh sure, it’s beautiful and there are lots of incredible sights to see, but what really speaks to me is the food. In my opinion, what makes Italy so fascinating and appealing is its food, wine, and people. As I start planning my trip for this year, I’ve gotten together with friends to talk about what we want to see and do. In no time at all the conversation quickly turns to our favorites restaurants. The fabulous osso buco, the freshest tomatoes for the delicious bruschetta, the hand-rolled pici pasta, and the soft and creamy burrata. In fact, I’m already salivating for the delicious mushroom soup at Latte di Luna. Every time we get started talking about the delicious dishes, […]
Read MoreShopping in Tonalá, Mexico
Tonalá is a city of around 350,000 located near Guadalajara, in central Mexico. The city is well known for its ceramics, glass, and other native arts and crafts, and you can see them all and the city’s open air markets held on Thursday and Sunday. Market days will find the neighborhoods full of goods displayed on the sidewalks, and often spilling out into the streets. Ceramics, pottery, glassware, and papier mâché items are all good buys. Bring cash for your shopping in the market. Bring pesos, as most stalls will not take US currency. If you know a little Spanish it will come in handy. Although many locals do speak a little English, there is some bargaining involved at the market, and it may very well take a combination of Spanish, English, and some gestures, to make yourself understood. If […]
Read MoreForture Cookie Factory Tour in San Francisco
Many cities with large Chinese and Chinese-American communities have fortune cookie factories, and many provide tours. If you are in San Francisco’s Chinatown, you can find a fortune cookie factory tour at the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory, in an alley historically known for its brothels and gambling. You can smell the fortune cookies being made, so just follow the wafting smell of sugar wafer, and you won’t be able to miss the fortune cookie factory. At the factory, the cookies are still made the old fashioned way — by hand. The cookies themselves are formed by batter poured into a mold, making a flat, 3-inch wafer. After they cook on a griddle-like, rotating machine, they are picked up either by hand, or with chop sticks, and a fortune is inserted into the center of the wafer. They are then […]
Read MoreThe Wonder of Lisbon’s Pastéis de Belém
Anyone who has taken advantage of the tempting, cheap deals for Lisbon hotels and headed off for a getaway to the Portuguese capital, will know that Pastéis de Belém are something of an institution, and a gastronomic experience that is not to be missed. Also known as pastel de nata, these egg tart pastries were born in Lisbon but have been exported to all territories which have a Portuguese influence. They are called pastéis de Belém because it is believed that they were created by Catholic nuns at the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (the Hieronymites Monastery) in the Belém district of Lisbon. Being located next to a sugar cane factory obviously aided the nuns but the liberalization movement of the 1820s saw the monasteries close down. By 1834, the laborers and clergy were expelled. In desperate need of work, some […]
Read More5 Awesome Day Trips From San Francisco
A guest post for today, Black Friday, as I take a long weekend off to enjoy time with family and friends. With these great ideas to get you thinking, there’s no reasons not to get away from San Francisco for a fun day trip. —- San Francisco is a wonderful place to visit not only because of all the things to see in the city, but because there are plenty of day trips you can take as well. San Francisco is located within 2-3 hours of many other must-see Northern California attractions. Here are five ideas for awesome day trips from San Francisco that will be sure to please visitors with a variety of interests. Napa Valley – Located in Napa County north of San Francisco, Napa Valley is one of the top wine regions in the United States. It […]
Read More30 Free Things to Do in Santa Barbara
In honor of Buy Nothing Day, Friday, November 26th, this post will try to convince you that the best things in life are free – even when it comes to travel! So let go of your need for expensive 5-star hotels, gourmet meals, and spa treatments. While there’s nothing wrong with enjoying those delectable luxuries (and I do enjoy them), sometimes you need to get back in touch with reality by traveling on the cheap – or free. There are plenty of things to do and see for FREE, even though you might be traveling to an expensive part of the country. With its beautiful location on the ocean, and its lovely temperate weather, Santa Barbara is often referred to as the American Riviera, and common sense tells you that’s not going to come cheap. Still, this seaside community located […]
Read MoreRocky Balboa, Art & Philadelphia
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is as important to the City of Brotherly Love as it was to boxer Rocky Balboa, the unlikely here of the movie Rocky and its sequels. Rocky, played by Sylvester Stallone, trained for his first big fight by running up the steps of the museum. While a visit to the museum will usually find someone running up the steps, known as the Rocky Steps, merely walking up them gives you entrance to a very special world of art and culture. And yes, there’s plenty of people grasping their hands overhead in the Rocky stance! The museum was founded in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition and opened to the public the following year. The current building, quasi-Greek revival in design, was opened in 1928. The museum houses impressive collections of paintings from Renaissance masters, […]
Read MoreDinner & Movie at Foreign Cinema
Long the classic date, dinner and a movie usually requires delicate timing. And early dinner and a late movie? Or an early movie and a late dinner? With both choices fraught with potential for timing disasters and arguments, why not do both at the same time — at San Francisco’s Foreign Cinema. Movies, which start at dusk, are screened in the covered outdoor courtyard. Seating is available in the courtyard, inside by the fire, and upstairs in the semi-private mezzanine that overlooks the dining room. In addition to the dining room, cocktails and a complete menu are served in the main bar and on the patio. The menu and wine list, which changes daily, are heavy on California-Mediterranean cuisine, and features a good selection of plates suitable for sharing. If you’re not ready to call it a night after dinner and […]
Read MoreHonolulu’s Punchbowl Honors Veterans
Overlooking the city of Honolulu is the extinct volcano Punchbowl Crater, home to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, frequently referred to as Punchbowl Cemetery, or simply the Punchbowl. In addition to its tremendous views of the city, Waikiki, Diamond Head, and Pearl Harbor, the Punchbowl is the final resting place for veterans of World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. During holidays, the individual graves are decorated with small flags, making it a quite sobering view. Marble slabs called the Courts of the Missing list the names of military personnel who are missing in action or who were lost or buried at sea (in photo above). At the base of the staircase leading up to the Courts of the Missing reads the following inscription: In these gardens are recorded the names of […]
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