Category Archives: travel

sweetened latte a la farm: table

i hella love sf

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i had a nice mini vacay with my boyfriend this past weekend in good ol’ san francisco!

houses on haight (photo courtesy of kb | yoga)

the fact that the city is only about 45 mins away makes for a perfect weekend getaway. i packed my lulu, my eminence & my lumix lx3, left work and yoga behind and looked ahead to some well-deserved r & r. for the relatively small size of the city (approximately 7 mi x 7 mi), it is bursting at the seams with culture, shopping, and FOOD… ha, can you tell what we did for most of the weekend? ;)

weekend digs c/o hotel vertigo | 940 sutter street sf

lobby at hotel vertigo (photo courtesy of kb | yoga)

now, i may not know SF the way some people know the city. but i like to think of exploring every nook and cranny of san francisco in the same way i approach my yoga practice: every day is different; i know what is familiar, but i am also are open to discovering something new & exciting.

i took jeff to a couple of my favorite spots, and we explored some new ones together, too!

ryoko’s | 619 taylor street

be prepared to wait…. wait for possibly a very long time. a dj spins on fridays. i’m sure saturdays, too. great vibe. fresh sushi. friendly staff.

thank you, yelp. :) the consierge at our hotel recommended another japanese restaurant, but when i looked it up, ryoko’s received a higher star rating and was also just down the block. score! i knew it had to be good if people were willing to wait 30-45 mins to get seated. they will serve you drinks while you wait. a party next to us ordered a pitcher of beer (nice). there is no lobby to wait. you wait on the stairs, as the restaurant is below grade.

sweetened latte à la farm: table (photo courtesy of kb | yoga)

farm: table | 754 post street

their menu changes daily. their coffee is divine. their dishes are full of flavor. be open to sharing a table – it’s communal seating.

farm: table (photo courtesy of kb | yoga)

jeff & i were here 2 mornings in a row. i found this spot thanks to yelp.com. it is literally a hole in a wall, but super cute! we met a young couple visiting from boston who were here without an itinerary, without a home to return to and a baby on the way – the epitome of living in the moment! the husband witnessed a dog outside the breakfast nook take a leak on a woman’s suitcase who was enjoying her farm: table meal outside. he was appalled – not because the dog pissed on the woman’s stuff, but because the owner didn’t apologize or even acknowledge the situation. being the good citizen that he was, he approached the owner to let him know, only to be told to “mind your own f*#%ing business.” wow… gotta really love those san franciscans.

mushroom quiche with mascarpone & greens (photo courtesy of kb | yoga)

i had to exploit my camera for a weekend. it’s been in hibernation for weeks. maybe months. we were originally planning on going to SF zoo and the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park, but time was not on our side. we opted for the conservatory instead since it was closer.

san tung restaurant | 1031 irving street

be prepared to wait. must order: dried fried chicken wings & dried fried string beans

during our 25 minute wait, we managed to convince an indian family to wait for a table and suggested the dried fried chicken wings. when finally seated at our table, i noticed that everyone around us was ordering the same dishes (on top of other things): dried fried chicken & dried fried string beans. hungry bellies (that know wussup) think alike! i am glad i wore stretchy pants to this meal. i suggest the same to you! wish i had a picture… but i was too hungry to stop for photos!

that takes the cake | 2271 union street

my ultimate faves: prom queen, chocolamento & gentlemen prefer red. get there early or call ahead to reserve your favorite flavors! the popular ones sell like hotcakes! check the website for menu changes. they server certain flavors on certain days.

absolute decadence: (shown t-b/ l-r) orange zinger, chocolamento, over the rainbow, gentlemen prefer red, tuxedo & over the rainbow (photo courtesy of kb | yoga)

foreign cinema | 2534 mission street

original menu with cinematic theme (duh). menu changes daily. indoor and outdoor seating… if it’s nice out, ask to get seated outdoors. reservations are a MUST… at least a week in advance. later reservations in the evening (after 8pm in the summer) are also nicer since they play a film in the patio after dusk.

although it looks like it, we didn’t spend the entire weekend eating :) we also visited the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park, the Haight & Union Square. the latest exhibit at the Conservatory was wicked plants, plants that cause death, but there are still 3 other green houses full of different kinds of plant life. orchids of the americas was another great one. my camera really got some good action here.

wicked plants at the conservatory (photo courtesy of kb | yoga)

deadly houseplants? eeps! (photo courtesy of kb | yoga)

"jellyfish" orchids (photo courtesy of kb | yoga)

…sadly, laying in bed saturday night catching up on my emails/fb/twitter/news, i found out that amy winehouse passed away… i will miss her soulful, sultry voice.

this one’s for you, amy winehouse. r i p.

photo courtesy of 7x7.com

til next time, san francisco, stay hip. stay retro. stay true. thanks for the fun times.

had to stop on the way to manuel antonio to walk along the black sand! (playa hermosa, jaco, costa rica) (photo courtesy of kb | yoga)

¡pura vida!

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on the way to cerro chato (la fortuna, costa rica) (photo courtesy of kb | yoga)

¡pura vida! translates to pure life! …it’s a common expression used by Costa Ricans for greeting each other, bidding farewell or as a means of expressing satisfaction. it’s like saying ‘cool’ or even ‘thank you.’

up, up & away! climbing up cerro chato! (photo courtesy of kb | yoga)

i was going through some old photos on my external hard drive looking for a sweet photograph to add to my new layout. (do you like it? i’d love to hear your feedback!) :) on my quest, i stumbled upon a folder full of pictures from Costa Rica from 2008 that documented every moment of my trip. going through all of them brought me back to the cool air in Monte Verde, the balmy rain forest in La Fortuna, and the jungle-beach town of Manuel Antonio.

view from the canopy tour, selvatura park, monteverde (photo courtesy of kb | yoga)

i finally settled on a picture i took atop cerro chato, a dormant volcano, in La Fortuna. (shown on my site header). the sky was overcast, but the air was still dense and humid. the hike started off really mellow. we (with our jungle guide) stopped to admire the wildlife and leafcutter ants, but as we ascended up the dormant volcano, i realized that this hike was no joke – one of the most intense hikes i’ve been on to this day… aside from halfdome. both hikes ascend straight up to the top, but cerro chato was a different beast. it was pure jungle. our guide told us we were lucky it was raining out, otherwise we would’ve run into snakes. wtf? ..and i’m sure the snakes he was talking about weren’t you’re harmless garden snakes, either!

volcán arenal (photo courtesy of crstours.com)

out of the 3 cities i visited in Costa Rica, La Fortuna was my favorite: the intense hiking, the small town feel, and the hot springs! La Fortuna is adjacent to an active volcano: Volcan Arenal. on clear nights, they say you can see the lava seeping out from the top of it – i didn’t get to see it because it was overcast both nights i was there. :( no worries, because visiting the thermal baths at the tabacón thermal springs resort made up for the weather! submerging my body in the thermal baths and feeling the waterfalls come down on my sore muscles was so therapeutic and relaxing, especially after hiking up cerro chato in the jungle! it should’ve been the last stop on my trip!

photo coutesy of northerncostarica.com

i fell in love with Costa Rica: the warm and welcoming nature of the people. the raw untouched nature that blankets the country is truly breath-taking and peaceful. it’s in places like these in the world where people understand the beauty of living in the moment. life is simple. people are laid back. people are happy.

i had to stop on the way to manuel antonio to walk along the black sand! (photo courtesy of kb | yoga)

allow yourself to escape the chaos of life every once in a while – and maybe incorporate a little bit of ¡pura vida! in your everyday life!

sunset on the beach at manuel antonio (photo courtesy of kb | yoga)