The first two times I’ve visited San Francisco, I’ve wanted to check out the California Academy of Sciences but just hadn’t had the time. The Golden Gate Park is just lovely on its own, especially that it has its own Japanese Tea Garden which is so serene and beautiful, and I must mention that the Golden Gate Park is actually bigger in size than Central Park in New York City.
I had the great pleasure to finally visit this museum on my third visit to San Francisco and I was glad I did! There are just so many cool things to see here which makes your money worth while.
California Academy of Sciences Photos
One of the coolest things about this place is the planetarium - where we were taken into a journey through space from billions of years ago to our present day. It felt so real!! You really did feel like you were a star in space with the rounded screen. My mind was spinning.
My favourite things to see is animals. They’re just so adorable!
TURTLE EATING A LEAF = CUTE!
PENGUINS = MAJORLY CUTE!
A unique feature of this museum is the indoor rainforest!
The higher you go inside this dome, the more humid it was and the more interesting the animals got.
Plus I saw more butterflies!
If that’s not enough animals for you – you can go all the way downstairs to the aquarium!
White Aligator :)
If that’s not unique enough – you can go all the way to the top to see the living green roof on top! How environmental conscious!
You must must must see this museum! I really enjoyed it and I’m sure you will too :)
California Academy of Sciences
55 Music Concourse Drive
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, CA 94118
Mon-Fri 9:30-5pm, Sun 11-5pm http://www.calacademy.org/
I had the great opportunity to visit the Willis Tower (formerly named Sears Tower), a 108-story building in Chicago which was the tallest in the world from 1974 to 1998. A rank that was held from time of completion and for a further 25 years. It is now the tallest building in the United States and the fifth-tallest freestanding structure in the world.
The Willis Tower is a major tourist attraction because you can purchase tickets to ride the elevator up to the 103rd floor and view spectacular 360 views of the city. The John Hancock Center’s tower which also offers an observation deck is only a mile and a half a way but is 98m lower. 1.3 million tourists visit the Willis Tower Skydeck annually and a main part is to see the all-glass boxes so you can look to the street below!
It’s actually much scarier than it looks as the box protrudes out and you feel like you’re floating out mid-air! But fear less – the glass used is the same material they use for space ships and can hold the weight of 4.5 tonnes!
Willis Tower is located on 233 South Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606 in Chicago’s Financial District.
SammyliciousTV: Willis Tower (Sears Tower) Video
Willis Tower (Sears Tower) Photos
The many names of the Second City: Windy City – Chicago Chi-Town
I love observation decks because it makes you feel like you’ve seen the whole city from this one spot. I highly recommend visiting the SkyDeck at Willis Tower, especially to experience the glass box! You have to be there to experience it.
Whenever I go to San Francisco I can’t help but marvel over the beauty of the Golden Gate Bridge. Being declared as one of the modern Wonders of the World and also one of the most beautiful and photographed bridge in the world, it is the most international recognised symbol of not only San Francisco but the United States.
When the bridge was built in 1937, it was the longest suspension bridge and it was to connect the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula to Marin County and spans over the opening of the San Francisco Bay in the Pacific Ocean.
The San Francisco bridge is pretty busy in terms of car traffic, but it is also busy with pedestrians – not only tourists, but frequent joggers and cyclists.
You can get a magnificent view of the whole city of San Francisco from the the bridge.
Peeking down below, it’s also nice to watch the waves hit the coast.
Because of the waves – there are also a lot of surfers!
And yachts!
San Francisco gate is a lovely area where I’m sure gets frequented by thousands of tourists a day.
From here you can peek through the binoculars.
From this side of the coast, you can get a good view of Alcatraz as well.
At the pier, there are many fishermen.
About Fort Point National Historic Site
At the bottom of the Golden Gate bridge, you can visit the Fort Point National Historic Site which is open for free 3 days a week (Friday through to Sunday 10am to 5pm) which became a National Historic Site on October 16th, 1970.
The fort was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1853 and 1861 to prevent entrance of any hostiles into San Francisco Bay and was designed to mount 126 massive cannon. The fort was occupied throughout the Civil War, but when more faster and more powerful rifled cannons were invented, brick forts such as Fort Point became obsolete.
The troops were withdrawn in 1889, and the last cannon was removed about 1900. The fort was then used for storage and training purposes for many years. The fort was then used as a base of operations for the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge between 1933 and 1937.
San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge & Fort Point National Historic Site Location
When I booked my flight to Chicago, I had no idea what I was going to do there. Even 2 days before going to Chicago – I had no idea what to do! I did a quick search on Tripadvisor, my all time favourite online travel advisor and the number #1 thing to do was Bobby’s Bike Hikes. Knowing that I would probably be doing a lot of eating in Chicago, I knew I needed to do something that required a great deal of exercise so the bike tour seemed like a good idea.
On the website was a 3 hour Lakefront Neighbourhood Tour which is the tour that made Bobby’s Bike Hikes famous. They promised to take you to quiet neighborhood streets, city parks, and packed beaches of the North Side of Chicago. The highlights of the tour are Gold Coast Mansions, Oprah’s House, the Playboy Mansion, Lincoln Park Zoo, Old Town Historic District, North Avenue Beach, and the Lakefront. I love cycling and haven’t done it in a long time so I signed up right away!
The morning after I arrived I woke up early, had my breakfast and walked over to the River East Docks which was only about a 10 minute walk from my hotel. The tour started at 9:30am and it was already a bright and sunny day!
Sammylicious TV: Bobby’s Bike Hike Tour Video
If you watch the clip above, you can see how we ride along the beach to this even more amazing spot where you can view the Chicago skyline in full view. So awesome!
I was a bit over ambitious and wanted to record a video with one hand and steer my bike with another. You’ll see how I end up riding through a puddle of dirt which I get completely splattered with. Lucky I cut the video just before that!
Bobby’s Bike Hike Tour Photos
I don’t recall my tour guide’s name but he was extremely enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the city of Chicago and all its neighbourhoods. He was also very mindful of all the riders in the pack and made sure everyone was safe and having a good time.
There were riders from all over the USA and of all different ages and fitness levels. It was really good that the tour wasn’t too difficult and was a comfortably easy ride that it was very enjoyable. It was so good to ride with the sun beaming on your face and arms and the wind in your hair.
Our first stop was the Museum of Contemporary Art which is also not far from where Oprah’s house is. I forgot to take a photo – sorry!
We then rode up to the Gold Coast, where many millionaire homes reside – thus why this neighbourhood is named the Gold Coast!
We rode up to Lincoln Park where there’s a lovely monument of Abraham Lincoln. It is said that this park used to be a graveyard and is thus now haunted. No one has been able to prove such a theory but no one has yet to prove the theory wrong either…..
We then stopped off at Old Town. Old Town is a beautiful little town with cute little bungalows. It’s a very quiet neighbourhood in Chicago.
See these cute houses in Old Town!
We paused for a break in Old Town by a church.
This church is the only surviving building from the Great Chicago Fire in 1871 which killed thousands of people and burnt down many buildings. While most of the char has been cleaned from the building, there are still some that remain in memory of the event.
Inside is a beautiful church.
This was one of my favourite parts of the tour – we got to visit Lincoln Park Zoo! Lincoln Park Zoo is not far from Lincoln Park and has free admission! Now just because it has free admission, doesn’t mean it’s a lousy zoo. It had some pretty awesome animals to check out. I didn’t have enough time to see the whole zoo but I still got to see plenty!
Deer!
Zebra!
Sichuan Takin
Alpaca!
Kangaroos!
Then, I bumped into a squirrel wondering around
From all the way at Lincoln Park Zoo – you get a pretty awesome view of the Chicago skyline!
Here’s me with my bike and Chicago!
After all of that, we were off to the beach. Look how amazing the sun was at this hour! Believe it was just 11am.
What a lovely peaceful beach. I love that you can ride along here. The path takes you all the way back downtown. Very cool!
Here’s the panorama I took from the spot. Chicago looks so nice. From here, we rode all along the water back to that black building situated on the very left. It looks far but it didn’t seem that far because it was such a lovely ride. There were a lot of people jogging and biking along the water as well.
Arrival back downtown! Here’s Chicago wasting water by spraying the harbour. Pretty though! Haha.
In all, I highly recommend Bobby’s Bike Hikes. I recommend all bike tours but in particular Bobby’s Bike Hikes! I recommend renting bikes! I recommend biking anywhere! I just love bikes now.. and I love Chicago!
When I tell people I am going to Chicago – everyone, and I mean EVERYONE has said to me “you have to try the Chicago Deep Dish pizza!”
I had no idea what I was in for. On the very night that I arrived I was excited to try one for dinner. It was about 11pm when I finally got to my hotel and I still hadn’t eaten yet! It was pouring with rain at the time and so I looked at the closest place to go to. This was Pizzeria Unos, and to my luck – the place is actually where deep dish pizzas originated from!
Uno’s was established by a former University of Texas footballer and his friend World War II G.I. Rick Ricardo in 1943. The original recipe for the deep dish pizza was created by chef Rudy Malnati who wanted to transform pizza (primarily being a snack food) to a whole hearty meal experience.
As I went to Pizzeria Unos, I couldn’t believe the line. Yes it was 11pm on a Thursday night but there was a line waiting to go inside and they were taking orders in the foyer. I asked for their recommendation and ordered the classic Numero Uno pizza.
Deep Dish pizzas take about 30-40 minutes to make so don’t go in with the expectation to eat one right away like I did. At 11pm, I was starving, so I decided to snack on some fried onion rings as recommended by the waitress. These were really good!
I wanted to eat this entire thing but knew I had to save my appetite for the pizza that was to come!
When it finally came, I was so excited! Here’s the Numero Uno Deep Dish Pizza – the ‘works’ pizza with sausage, pepperoni, onions, peppers, mushrooms and our unique chunky tomato sauce. It is also topped with mozzarella and grated Romano.
Look at all that goodness in side! Mmmmm! Rudy Malnati did what he wanted to do – create a hearty meal. I only bring myself to eat half of it even though it was so delicious.
Pizzeria Uno Restaurant Review
Food
Atmosphere
Service
Value
Overall
In all, Pizzeria Unos gives you a wonderful Chicago dining experience. I will sure to be back for more!
In May 2010, I went to Napa Valley which is known for their wines and has become increasingly comparable to the wines from France and Spain. I was lucky enough to have beautiful weather. It was so sunny and the air was so fresh
I went on a wine tour by Platypus Tours which took a small bus full of people (about 12 of us) to four wineries. Above was my tour guide who had a tremendous amount of knowledge of wines.
Our first stop was Judd’s Hill where we tasted various wines but really enjoyed the Rosé, Sauvingnon Blanc and Lodi Petite Sirah. I purchased a bottle of Lodi Petite Sirah for myself and the tour guide bought a few bottles of Rosé for the whole group to enjoy in the bus! Woooo!
In my tour group we happened to have two couples that were married recently and on the same day! Judd’s Hill offered us all another tasting of an $80 bottle of wine. Shown above is my glass of Rosé, below are the barrells at Judd’s Hill.
Our second stop was Casa Nuestra which was a cosy winery with a wide range of wines on offer.
We had free tasting directly from the barrell. The experience was that the wine is a lot fruitier and stronger. It was intense! We also had our lunch here which the tour provided.
In all, I enjoyed the Rosado and Dry Riesling that they had to offer.
Our third stop was Arger-Martucci. I loved the beautiful view of the mountains at this place. When we had got to this place, it was mid afternoon already and the sun was at it’s peak. It was so lovely to sit outside and enjoy the combination of wine, sun and the view.
My favourite at this place was the 2004 Dulcinea which is comprised of 70% Semillon harvested at 42 brix and 30% Sauvingnon Blanc harvested at 38 brix was 11.7% by weight. I love botrytis wines. This was a nice sweet dessert wine which I was excited to take home with me.
Our fourth and last winery to stop at was Robert Biale Vineyard. I stopped drinking by this point, because we already spent most of the day drinking! Also, this winery specialises in Zinfandel and it is too sharp for my liking.
This winery was so beautiful! Check out the view below.
Here’s the whole group before we went back to the drop off spot and went our own ways.
In all – the tour was a lot of fun and we all learnt a great deal about wines and what we liked. We definitely got a great showcase of the amazing wineries in Napa Valley and it was a great experience. I have no doubt that every person in our tour group left with a few bottle of great wines to enjoy at home as well.
San Francisco is my second favourite city in the world (after New York City). Union Square being my third favourite place in the world (after Times Square and Central Park in New York City).
I’ve travelled to San Francisco three times now (November 2007, February 2009, May 2010) and I always make sure that I make a visit to Union Square. In fact, the first two times I travelled to San Francisco I made sure that we stayed in Union Square so I could soak up all that joyful shopping atmosphere. I absolutely love it.
The main reason why I fell in love with San Francisco so much is the people. They’re so laid back and friendly. Sometimes I wish I could live in this city!
Union Square is home to many stores (many of them designer). San Francisco Mall is not far, which I frequented often and is where Bloomingdales and Nordstrom is located. Macy’s is the main attraction here at Union Square all year round, having colourful windows. During Christmas, they have entertaining Christmas windows but is a compliment to the massive Christmas Tree that is put up in the centre of the Square. It is an absolute must to visit here during Christmas! It’s just too pretty!
I love shopping at Tiffany’s, Louis Vuitton, Coach, Macy’s, Bloomingdales, BCBG, Banana Republic, Nordstrom, Barney’s, Longchamp, Lacoste, and Victoria’s Secret (just to name a few).
At the top floor of Macy’s, is The Cheesecake Factory which has some of the best cheesecakes I’ve ever tasted. YUM! They also have a lookout where you can take a fabulous view of the Union Square. I took the below photo at this lookout. It was a stunning view!
I also love the Heart at Union Square.
Here’s me in 2007 with the Heart and my shopping bags!
Here’s me with the heart and shopping bags again in 2010! Hahaha.
On the way back to NYC, I really wanted to go to Fifth Ave. It was too packed with people and traffic that we only could manage to go to Sak’s Fifth Ave although I wish we could’ve gone to a lot more stores like A&F and Henri Bendel.
Nevertheless, we still got to drive down Fifth Ave. It’s such a happyland for me. Pretty holiday lights, decorations and Christmas Windows. How could you not feel joyful?
This is what Sak’s looks like at this time of the year:
I didn’t get to look at the Christmas windows that Sak’s had to offer but I saw some of the mannequins dressed in hot red. Love.
We also managed to get a glimpse of the Rockefeller Tree. Yayyyyy.
Then Aunty Glenda & Uncle Jovin took me to eat Malaysian food. Yayyyy what a happy day. Here’s what I had (Har Mee). I was craving this since the morning so I was really excited when they asked if I wanted to eat Malaysian food. Haha.
On the way back to New York from Atlantic City, we stopped by and had breakky at Denny’s, a typical American diner that serves breakfast all day long! Yummmm.
The food was gigantic, to the least! American diners are proof of why Americans are extremely obese!
These are the steak & eggs:
This is my Heartland Scramble (Pancakes, Omelet, Harshbrown & Bacon). I was shoving all my bacon on James’ plate.
Then after such a huge meal we knocked out.. hahaha.
