The Getty Villa

I know these great girls from high school. They are never ones to shy away from spontaneous adventures - we once piled in a car after deciding on the spot that we wanted to go to Venice Beach (we always kept a spare bikini and towel in our cars in case of such occasions). I have the fondest after-school memories of consuming copious amounts of tacos and açaí bowls and "doing homework" at the beach with them.

Throwback photo.



We spread out to different universities, but all being home for the summer, it was high time for another adventure - erm, misadventure. The original plan (decided the morning of) was to go to the Getty Center. Upon arrival, however, we discovered the Center is closed on Mondays. Of course.

With spontaneity comes these kind of issues, so without much pause we turned the car around and sat through PCH traffic to get to the other Getty, the Getty Villa. We'd been planning to hit it up sometime anyway.



The Getty Villa was built in the '70s by oil tycoon J. Paul Getty as a museum dedicated to housing Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities. Nothing stuffy or musty about it though, it is Southern California after all - you can browse mummies and icons set atop a hill overlooking the ocean in Pacific Palisades.

Let's get a close up of that view.



Reopened from renovation in 2006, the Villa is a replica of an ancient Roman country home. Which you can tell from its stately columns and sweeping courtyards.



But I'm getting ahead of myself.

We ate first.



Cheeky mid-talking photo.



The money shot:



It was a portobello mushroom caprese sandwich on foccacia bread, by the way.





Then we set out to explore the grounds.







Look at that detail!



We popped in and out of exhibits, unfortunately, photos weren't allowed. There was plenty of beauty to snap away at outside, though.



My serious photographer face not included.













Grapes!























Fell in love with this beautiful, slightly strange fountain.



He looks friendly.



We made a wish. I don't know if mine counted though, because I missed the fountain. Yeah…











Soon enough, it was time to head home.





We had one last look at the view...





Found the car (with some difficulty), and set off again to battle LA traffic into the evening, with Ed Sheeran's newest album playing in the background.





** I'm in the process of working out some changes to the blog… stay tuned!

San Francisco Again - Part I

Let's go back in time a few months to mid-May. I returned home to a suffocating 110ºF (43ºC) Southern California. My mom decided we needed to escape the heat, so after a whirlwind day of unpacking and repacking, she, my sisters and I towed ourselves right on back to LAX and hopped on a shuttle plane to good ol' San Francisco.



I enjoyed the bird's-eye view of the Pacific coast with Kygo, Sam Smith, and this blasting in my ears:





WEST COAST BEST COAST



We landed at SFO just before lunch time. Our amazing and always cheerful driver in SF, Tony, whipped up to the curb and we promptly made our way to one of my family's favourite haunts, R & G.



Specialising in traditional Cantonese style cuisine, R & G is a three-story Chinatown gem on Kearny St. I think what really separates this Michelin Guide recommended restaurant from the many Chinese establishments in the area is their use of the freshest and highest quality ingredients. Everything from the seafood to the snap peas shine through the seasoning and preparation of the dishes.



This is also what keeps drawing us back time and time again: Salt and pepper live dungeness crab.



The whole crab is battered and deep-fried, making for the most melt-in-your-mouth, buttery-rich but somehow still light crab ever.

R & G is loved by Americans, Chinese, and other foreigners alike, but it always helps to have someone around who speaks Mandarin and Cantonese (thanks Tony!).

Bellies bursting, we stepped outside and took in the diamond day. The sky was the bluest blue and the water gleamed turquoise in the sun. Wanting to take full advantage of it, we jumped back into the car for a little driving tour.





Up and over the Golden Gate bridge towards Sausalito.







Stopping here and there for a photo-op like good little tourists.





Struggling with the typical San Fran wind of course.







My sisters are my best friends in the entire world. Not to be too saccharine, but no one understands me better or makes me laugh more. I miss them so much when we're apart.



Photo-whoring a tad because just look at the view.











Notice we're kind of matching? Great minds (and sisters) think alike. For those who care, I'm wearing an old blazer from MANGO, a printed t-shirt bought in Amsterdam (similar here from my friend's brand, Language of Flowers), black Topshop Leigh jeans, and AllSaints taupe suede booties. Hairstyle courtesy of the wind.



When being battered by the wind got the better of us, we rolled back to Nob Hill to check into The Fairmont Hotel...

which has a grand old Beaux Arts lobby.









And newly refurbished rooms. Ours was a decent size for a standard double room.



The view was pretty iconic.



"Woop woop"… I found this really funny. That's my really mature, developed, and discerning sense of humour for you.



Still full from lunch and a little worn out, we finished off the day with a round of room service and a good chat with CNN International on the telly in the background.