The Little Town of Saratoga Springs, California

March 12, 2013 by SmartChick | Leave a comment

After going hiking at Castle Rock State Park recently I stopped for dinner in Saratoga Springs. This is such a cute little touristy town.

It’s filled with vineyards and opportunitites for wine tasting. Sadly I wasn’t actually in a wine mood after hiking so I’ll have to back some day for that.

Nopales from Casa de Cobre in Saratoga Springs, California

What I did do while I was here:

Walked along the main street, reading the menus of various restaurants and doing some window shopping
Truffles tasting at a chocolate ship; it was good although nothing beats my favorite XO Truffles in North Beach in San Francisco
Stopped into an antique store and saw some cool old perfume bottles although mostly it was dishes that were here
Stopped into a gift shop that had High Heel Shoe Shaped Wine Caddies that were adorable
Had dinner at a Casa de Cobre

And I read the signage on a historic home on the main strip, musing upon thoughts about the people who may have lived and worked in this space over time.

Recent San Francisco City Moments

February 27, 2013 by SmartChick | Leave a comment

I love San Francisco. I love almost everything about this city. Even the things that annoy me are things that I love. Because of my love for this city, I am constantly embracing the small and large opportunities for joy here. Here are some recent San Francisco city moments I loved:

San Francisco Street Musician

I adored the cheery attitude of this terrific street musician over at The Ferry Building one day.

Sunny Day by the Bay

With so many foggy, rainy, chilly days here it is always important to stop and appreciate the sunny ones!

I also got to enjoy perfect Farmer’s Market strawberries:

Music at Union Square

This man was singing old love songs in Union Square on Valentine’s Day while many couples took pictures by the heart sculptures located there. I was headed someplace else but had to stop for a few moments to enjoy the celebratory magic moments in the air there.

Arcade Machine Sign

There is a free vintage arcade museum here called Musee Mecanique. Loved this sign on one of the machines:

Writers with Drinks

One of my favorite monthly city events is Writers with Drinks at The Makeout Room in the Mission. I could go on and on about the writers themselves or the fun of experiencing different types of writing in the same event space but in this case I’ll just share the magic city moment of seeing the lights sparkling on the floor of this dive bar before any of the reading even happened.

Dragon and Crowd

I was at another Mission bar recently, Elbo Room, to see a fun burlesque show. The show was terrific. But it was two smaller things that I noticed in the in-between moments. First, the large dragon statue on the side of the stage. I’ve been to shows here several times and never noticed it which either means it’s new or I’m not very observant. Either could be true. Second was the energy of the people in the room watching the show. Fun times.

Images from Amsterdam

February 7, 2013 by SmartChick | 2 Comments

Earlier this week I shared with you some of my sister’s photos from her trip to Israel, which she happened to store on my computer because she came to visit me right after she was there. Oddly enough another friend also recently stored images on my computer after a trip, this time to Amsterdam, so I figured why not share those with you too?

Images from Israel

February 4, 2013 by SmartChick | Leave a comment

My sister recently went to Israel. Shortly after that she came here and she ended up putting some of her photos from that trip on my computer. I thought I’d share a few with you today, although I can’t really tell you what they’re of since they’re from her trip and not mine!

Beautiful Day at Sutro Ruins (and the new San Francisco otter)

January 28, 2013 by SmartChick | Leave a comment

Back in 2009 I shared a photo here on the blog of the Sutro Baths Ruins, which are located near Ocean Beach here in San Francisco. I rarely go out to this spot but it’s truly one of my favorite places in the city. There’s a magic feeling here. Last weekend a group of us went out there on an amazing, clear, sunny day and got to enjoy the views.

Sutro Baths History

Sutro Baths a historic bathing center that was built at the end of the nineteenth century. It was an extravagant thing that cost over one million dollars to create. People took the train out to the coast to spend the day playing at this glass-encased water wonderland. The baths were 500 feet long, included 6 salt water tanks and 1 fresh water tank and had fun things like swinging rings, a spring board and a 50 foot slide. There were 500 private dressing rooms, amazing striking columns, an amphitheater and a promenade in this building that could hold 25,000 people. Sea water would come in but be about 80 degrees, which was perfect for swimming, and the whole place was considered healing and playful.

Sutro Baths Ruins

The baths changed over time for a number of reasons. In the 1960s they burned down. The ruins remain and they create a striking historic artifact that you can see against the amazing view of the ocean on a clear day.

The Otter

I went to the baths because I had friends visiting from out of town and we were hitting up some of the touristy highlights that I love. But I also really wanted to go back to see if I could see the otter that has suddenly taken up residence in this beautiful spot. According to SF Gate, this otter (the first one to be spotted near San Francisco in decades) has been dining on the overgrown goldfish that fill the ponds here but nobody knows quite why he ended up in this space. I love the nature of San Francisco and how it can change from time to time like this.

I did get to see the otter. I didn’t get any good pictures of him because he was keeping his head underwater most of the time but he’s there in the pond within the ruins.

Favorite Photos from Buenos Aires

December 31, 2012 by SmartChick | Leave a comment

To wrap up my series of photos from my 2010 trip to Argentina, here are my very favorite photos from the trip.

It was a terrific trip and my first international vacation. I’m hoping to go to Australia in 2013. Where have you gone recently?

Argentina Architecture, Sculpture and Decor

December 30, 2012 by SmartChick | Leave a comment

One of the neat things about walking around Buenos Aires, Argentina was the range of different architectural styles you could see. There are historic buildings and modern buildings and everything in between. Here are some photos of the the city’s buildings, homes, monuments and interior decor.

Buenos Aires Botanical Gardens and Nature Preserve

December 29, 2012 by SmartChick | Leave a comment

Yesterday I shared photos from the Buenos Aires Japanese Tea Gardens and mentioned it’s one of many tea gardens I’ve visisted. Likewise, I’ve visited botanical gardens in many places (San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Tucson, Phoenix and yes, Argentina). Here are a couple of photos from the Buenos Aires Botanical Gardens.

I also went to a nature preserve in Buenos Aires called the Costanera Sur Ecological Reserve. Here are some photos from there:

Buenos Aires Japanese Gardens

December 28, 2012 by SmartChick | 1 Comment

I’ve been to Japanese Gardens here in San Francisco as well as in San Diego and Los Angeles. I also went to the Japanese Gardens in Buenos Aires Argentina; here are some of those photos.