The City by The Bay

San Francisco is beautiful! I was just looking through pictures to see which picture I should pick to share in my blog, and all the pictures are beautiful! I had to share everything. 

So let me warn you, massive pictorrhea ahead!

Pictures above were taken at Coit Tower. Very very beautiful view. Breathtaking indeed. 

Let me start my story telling in a more organized manner. Long ago, I attended high school with a very pretty and cute young lady. We were very close, and we did a lot of fun stuff together with our little high school group. One fine day, she announced that she is leaving for USA, and I was like : "Me Too!". But lo and behold, we ended up in two different ends of America. 

Two years later, we reunited!

The American College of Surgeon was having their annual congress meeting at San Francisco. A perfect opportunity for me to travel down to the beautiful city by the bay, and say hi to Felicia! Well it was more than a "say hi". She took half a day of leave and brought me around the city for 3 whole days. 

Lombard Street

San Francisco City (Note : Coit Tower in the background)

At the Golden Gate Bridge

San Francisco's weather was very lovely on the few days I was there. The temperature hovered around 15-20 degrees celsius, and at times a nice refreshing breeze greeted us. The nights however can be very chilly, and an additional jacket is often necessary. 


We did some tourist-ey stuff, took a lot of pictures. I am very surprised that Felicia have not been to some of the places before. But I guess I have not been to tons of places in Philly. 

Palace of the Arts. Very magnificent. 

Honestly, words can't describe how much I enjoyed my trip there, so I'll let the pictures do the talking. 

Stay tune for more pictures!

Apple in the Big Apple.

Ladies and Gentleman. I present to you *drumrolls* THE APPLE IN THE BIG APPLE!

As corny as it sounds, this is actually an apple outside the big apple. Everyone knows New York City is referred to as the Big Apple. But this apple, was picked outside NYC. 


And yes, I went apple picking. It is something we Malaysians never envision doing. I mean, I have not even picked a strawberry before in my life, even though it is the "must do" attraction in Cameron Highlands. What more an apple, a fruit that doesn't exist in the Malaysia if its not for the importing industry. 

We saw a couple of non-apple fruits too, and were debating if it is a blueberry tree or not. I personally can't tell since I've never seen a real blueberry tree before. 


The whole process of apple picking was very fun and relaxing. We walked around picking one apple per random tree, and then sink our teeth into the juicy fruit. If it is sweet, we picked the whole tree down. But if not, we continue our apple hunting process. 


Halfway through apple picking, I got bored and started wandering around the area. And guess what I found? Four beautiful creatures. 

 We ended up feeding them with apples. And they sure make a huge slimy mess with them. Oh my hands!


Apple picking apart, we were trying out different places in the actual Big Apple. Yes. In New York in case you're confused. 

Brunch @ Sarabeth (And the toast is the fluffiest I've ever had)

Tea time at Alice Tea House. The decor of the place is exactly like wonderland.

And that's our 3 tier tea. And yes we did not finish our food. 

Frozen hot chocolate @ Serendipity3. Did not have such a good experience with the hour long wait and the less than standard food though. (but the hour long wait! that explains how famous this place is)

Lastly, the all famous Shake Shack! Although we did not dine in there. I just walked passed a took a random picture. We ended eating at Three Napkins instead which was recommended by my resident. 

Airplanes

I always look forward to boarding a plane whenever there was an opportunity to board one when I was a kid. Airports and big magnificent giant flying machines always meant lots of running space, lower tolerance for mischief, and the best part, spending the next few days doing nothing but play.

Well, not anymore. I resent airports now. Although part of the thrill still holds when I am embarking on a vacation, I am on my own now. Those flying machines now meant cramping in a small cabin and risking DVT. The huge running space that I am in before a flight is no longer magical, but now used to contain either a teary faced me departing from a loved one, a very bored me dying from the waiting transit time, or a religious me praying I inherit good seat neighbours, or a aisle seat. The worse part is that I am alone now. I no longer have a big burly dad to carry the heavy bags, nor a loving mommy to buy me snacks. Even those tiny screens at the back of the seats give me a headache.

Ahhh, airports. They do tell a story. The way you perceive them sure do tell a story.

And that is my call to board the plane now.

Once Again, We Meet.

The city that never sleeps. Indeed. Arrived an hour late because of the heavy traffic. Gotta be smarter to pick a non-peak hour time to travel into New York. It is amazingly insane how many cars and people are up and driving/walking around. Makes you think that New York carries half of American population (not true). Nonetheless, I still love the city. The buzz and hype it brings. 

Brunch at Upper East Side of Manhattan the next morning. 

More of NYC.

Greenery in the city.

New York City is amazing. 

Little things in my life.

Sunset : A glimpse of hope from the horizon.

Forth year has been nothing short of awesome thus far. I am experiencing so many different aspects of life, that actually attributes to what I have been doing all along. For starters, I have been baking a whole lot this year. Never really grew up baking, simply because my house back in Malaysia lack an actual oven. And my mom isn't the biggest fan of all the mess baking brings. I have also been trying out a lot more Philadelphian delicacies. Had the most amazing vegan style mexican food in North Philly the other day. Gotta make a big thanks to friends who have cars to bring me around, otherwise I will stuck dining in the same ol' places over and over again. Wanted to try out John's Roast Pork but it was closed on the Saturday we were there. 

Mont Kiara/Sri Hartamas/Solaris looking area I found in North Philly. 

I also de-cluttered my room again, seems like there is a never ending end to decluttering here. Threw out all the old boxes I had no idea why I kept them for, threw out a huge table that was making my room look superbly small, repositioned my tv and some tables. Now it looks like a home. A mini-one. 

Also, now that Mr Fong is in NYC, we are experiencing our first LDR ever after being together for 3 and half years. Well, I really wouldn't consider it an LDR because we see each other every weekend. Haha. NYC is only 2 hours away by bus. 

Restaurant week was back in Philly in September. Although, I suspect that it is an opportunity for restaurants to serve customers smaller food portions with better decorations and charge more, it is still a chance to bond with friends. 

 


Food was good. Not really worth the price though. Owh, we were at McCormick Seafoods. 


I am looking forward to year end. Christmas, travelling, interviewing, maybe Boston/LA/Chicago/Atlanta/Ohio/Baltimore. Wow. I'll really be busy. 

Homemade goodies.

Perks of living in a dorm : You can mess the kitchen up like crazy and still don't have to clean it up. Well of course you gotta be responsible and at least throw your rubbish.

I've been having bad craves for desserts lately. I think it is because the cold weather is hitting. Been having sugary shots in the form of various desserts. 

But before that, let me just show off my PINK eyes. Kinda awesome. And bizarre. 

Don't I look like an alien? Either that or some rare form of albinism. (Except my hair isn't blonde)

So I have been trying to make different kind of desserts lately. And I shall just let pictures do the talking. 

Wipe that saliva!