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.

Hiatus/Sorting my life out a bit

Sooo… hey there. You may (or may not) have noticed that I've been missing for a few months. Let's call it a hiatus, because that seems more planned and civilised than me being a mess and throwing blogging to the wayside. So what have I been up to? A lot. Try giving this a little listen while I explain.



Aside from jetting from city to city (to city, to city, to city…) I've kind of been sorting my life out. I think summer is a good time for that, and I've changed quite a bit in the past few months. I don't really know what changed exactly, but something has been slowly clicking into place in my mind, and I've begun to realise my priorities, my values, and am trying to tilt my life to be angled in a way that reflects them. I've been separating myself from people who maybe aren't good for me, not bothering with people who don't care much about me, and connecting with the people who really matter to me.



For me, the first two years of uni were about being in a new place, a big city, branching out and meeting all sorts of people and pushing my boundaries without considering meanings or implications too much. There was a lot of growing up involved there, and I think that's the kind of growing up that's encouraged by society. Perhaps we overlook the fact that what happens after that period of time is also growing up. After pushing the boundaries, I think it's important to know when to stop pushing and think about what's really important to you. I guess I'm realising that I'm not a teenager anymore, and although I don't consider myself an adult, maybe it's time to reflect on all the stuff I've done in the past two years and determine what worked for me, what didn't, and what I'm going to do with that synthesis.



It would be too long and too personal to relate everything I've come to learn about myself recently but the two big things I've concluded in the past few months are:
1. My family is more important to me than I realised.
2. My faith is more important to me than I realised.

I've had a few people telling me lately that I seem "more mature", but it's not really even about being mature or adult for me. It's about bettering myself, being at peace with myself, and being someone who can help others. That means reading more, travelling more, being dedicated to the things I like doing, and not being afraid to live creatively.



I could ramble on a lot more, but to put it succinctly you might see a few life changes on the blog in the upcoming months. I also have a great backlog of adventures to share with you from the Great Smoky Mountains, the Hamptons, Southern California, and Korea.

NYC Notes - A week in the city

I've been a naughty blogger - doing bloggable things but slacking off on actually blogging about them.



Last week I barely had any school and therefore spent a large part of the week and weekend popping all over the island of Manhattan.

Over the weekend I was so lucky to see some of my uni friends perform on Broadway with their dance company. The show was called Black Hole, White Rabbit (a modern interpretation of Alice and Wonderland). I thoroughly enjoyed it, and of course it was brilliant to see my friends show off their talent on a Broadway stage!



Here are some of the dancers releasing balloons that were used in a (very cool) dance into the city sky… (the environmentally-conscious Californian in me was cringing, but it was a cute moment nonetheless).





Earlier that day I had brunch in the Meatpacking District and wandered around the High Line. The weather was gorgeously sunny… thus seemingly doubling NYC's population!







I also swung by the MoMA. I not only love the art at the MoMA, but the museum building itself. Its courtyard is a nice place to cool down on a warm day. You can look at the sculptures (and the people!) as a fountain bubbles and a breeze wafts through the trees.



















I love this piece because it incorporates the viewer into the art and the art into the viewers.



And this Liechtenstein makes pop-art evocative.



During the week I was in the Meatpacking/High Line area again.



Had lunch outside at a place called Bubby's.



Honestly we just got Bloody Marys because they came in mason jars. I think we would have been much happier with lemonade.



We did a spot of rooftop pool exploring at the Gansevoort Hotel.





















We stopped in Chelsea Market with a hankering for dessert.







We came across the Doughnuttery, a little doughnut stand with some unique gourmet flavours.







We plumped for three cinnamon sugar and three lemon poppyseed.



Which turned out to be brilliant choices. We enjoyed our plunder whilst the market buzzed along.



Before waving goodbye to Chelsea and heading back to uni, happy and full.