Las Vegas: Day 1

After five amazing days in San Francisco, we left for Las Vegas, the Entertainment Capital of the World. We took Virgin America, a budget airline which is way way better than Cebu Pacific. We had our own TVs infront of us, which displayed safety instruction videos in funny cartoon characters, instead of the flight attendants doing the normal boring announcement. It was indeed an attention catcher!

This mini bus was waiting at the airport to bring us to our hotel at the Strip. I pity our driver who had to stuff all our 30+ pieces of luggage at the trunk. He did a great job though because everything fit perfectly! In the bus, I could not stop taking photos of the Las Vegas skyline.

Finally, we arrived at the Bellagio Hotel. My fascination for this five-star hotel started after I watched the Ocean's 11 movie. Limousines were everywhere in Las Vegas! 

Presenting...our 510 sq. ft. Queen Room. We had two luxurious queen-size beds with triple-sheeted linens and super comfy duvets.

After we rested and freshened up, we lingered in Bellagio's lobby.

Outside our hotel, there was a big musical fountain performance! For dinner, we walked to the Miracle Mile, a mall just below Planet Hollywood Hotel.

Grand Canyon

From Las Vegas, we took a day trip to the Grand Canyon, a steep-sided canyon carved in the state of Arizona. Most of my relatives took the more expensive day trip package complete with an airplane and helicopter ride, but since our budget was a bit tight, my family together with Auntie Cherry went there by coach. As the saying goes, "you get what you pay for". It was quite uncomfortable to be sitting on the bus for hours. I was so pissed with this inconsiderate middle-aged Korean woman seated infront of me because she was reclining her chair so low that it kept hitting my knees. There was nothing interesting to see along the way except for piles of rocks and deserted neighborhoods. After a few more hours, we started seeing snow from our bus window. 

Part of the day tour package was a stopover at the Grand Canyon Railway. It has been a year since I last experienced snow in Japan. I missed the chilly feeling!

We had a yummy lunch buffet at the restaurant near the Grand Canyon Railway.

After lunch, we finally arrived at our destination, the Grand Canyon National Park. The Grand Canyon is considered as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. We arrived at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon through Arizona State Route 64.

Many freezing visitors stayed inside this wooden cabin with a restaurant and souveneir shop. 

San Francisco: Day 5

During our last day in San Francisco, our family together with Achi Sherry and Ahia Edward went to De Young Museum at the Golden Gate Park, which incidentally had a special exhibit of Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaos. Too bad we were not allowed to take any photos of the Egyptian exhibit so we merely took photos outside.

Hair-raising trees at the Golden Gate Park. The 1,017 acres park is covered with grassy meadows, wooded bike trails, secluded lakes, open groves, and gardens.

After our light lunch, we went inside the California Academy of Sciences located in the same park. It is a multifaceted scientific institution with very interesting exhibits. 

What's cool about the exhibits is that most of them are in 3D. Plus, the tour served as a little review of our past science lessons.

Rainforests of the World is a 4-storey rainforest exhibit, where dripping water sets the beat for a symphony of croaking frogs and chirping birds. Some exhibits include Borneo’s bat caves, chameleons from Madagascar and the Amazonian flooded forest. Meanwhile, the exhibits from the Kimball Natural History Museum draw heavily from its 150-plus years of research, its 20 million specimens, and the expertise of its many world-class scientists.

The Steinhart Aquarium is home to 38,000 live animals from around the world, representing more than 900 species.

That night, we went to the Orpheum Theatre to watch the world-renowned play, Wicked. The tickets were pretty expensive but it was so worth it.

San Francisco: Day 4

My cousins and I woke up early this day to catch the annual Christmas Day sale. As early as 7:30am, we braved the streets of downtown San Francisco to be first in line when the shops open. I was a bit hesitant to join my cousins that day because I had limited cash and they were ready to splurge big time. I ended up buying only one thing: a pair of BCBG flats, which was sold for only USD $19.00 after all the reductions.

About 9:30am, I hurriedly went back to our hotel to meet up with my parents and siblings because we were set to attend mass at St. Mary's Cathedral. It felt good that we were still able to hear mass as a family on Christmas Day. We met so many Pinoys in the church.

After mass, we walked to Yerba Buena Garden just across the cathedral. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is also in the same vicinity. It offers West Coast's finest selection of modern and contemporary art books, design objects and furniture, among other things.

There were lots of random statues and public art in Yerba Buena Garden.

We had lunch at a classic American diner. While walking, we saw Jollibee and Red Ribbon outlets! What a surprise!

After our late lunch, we took the tram to Alamo Square, a residential neighborhood with lovely, colorful houses.

For Christmas day dinner, all 20 of us went to Chinatown and ate at R&G Restaurant, said to be the best Chinese restaurant in the city.

We walked back to our hotel that night because we were so full after dinner.

San Francisco: Day 3

Our itinerary for the entire day was to hang out at the Fisherman's Wharf. After getting off the tram, we walked along Jefferson Street and saw many attractions such as the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum, the Wax Museum and the Ghirardelli Square, once home to the world-famous chocolate factory. For lunch, we ate seafood and pasta at a restaurant called Sabella and La Torre. Our server was surprisingly a Pinoy from Bacolod.

After the sumptuous lunch, we strolled along the Pier Area. A huge submarine was docked at the Pier.

We visited the Toy Museum near the Pier. This was where Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews hung out in the movie, Princess Diaries. 

Pier 39 is a renovated cargo pier which is now full of specialty shops and restaurants.

Aquarium of the Bay, located at Embarcadero and Beach Street, is at the edge of Pier 39.

We took an hour-long cruise along the San Francisco bay area. The cruise ship passed under the Golden Gate Bridge.

The cruise also brought us close to Alcatraz Island, a former federal prison until the 1960s.

Since it was Christmas eve, we had a special dinner at Morton's Steakhouse that night. It was probably the most expensive meal in my life. Haha! But it was undeniably good!

San Francisco: Day 2

Our first itinerary for the day was to visit the Golden Gate Bridge. It was located way outside the city center, but we were still dying to see the iconic bridge because it truly represents San Francisco. It took us 45 minutes, 1 tram ride plus 2 public bus rides to get there. 

The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most photographed sights in the world. To be able to see and walk on it is a dream come true. I've never been happier!

We witnessed a stunning view of San Francisco City from the Golden Gate Bridge.

For lunch, we ate at Rico's Famous Burritos, which is located in a residential area.  I love the hilly streets of San Francisco! We were also able to check out the famous Lombard Street, the crookedest street in the world.

When we were heading back to the hotel, we got off at the wrong stop. But it was a blessing in disguise because we were able to fortunately see Washington Square and its beautiful cathedral. For dinner that night, we met up with our relatives at Cheesecake Factory near our hotel. 

San Francisco: Day 1

Last December 22, our first family vacation in the U.S. finally pushed through. We have bought airplane tickets as early as March this year when Philippine Airlines had a crazy three-day sale and the roundtrip tickets were sold for only USD 400. My parents were at first hesitant to buy the tickets but they eventually gave in. We were all 20 in our entourage.

After 16 long hours in the plane, we finally arrived in San Francisco! It was already about 6:00pm local time. We had more than 30 pieces of luggage all in all. Three airport shuttles brought us to our hotel in downtown San Francisco.

My cousin made reservations at Hotel Stratford, located a stone's throw away from Union Square. After we settled in our rooms, we all gathered in the hotel's tiny lobby and had dinner at a Thai restaurant about two blocks away. 

After dinner, the oldies went back to the hotel while my siblings, cousins and I strolled to the nearby Union Square. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that my family and I would be spending Christmas abroad! Everything was so pretty! I especially adored Macy's window display. A block away from our hotel was H&M. My fascination for this brand started after my friends and I did some research about this brand for our Marketing Communications class two semesters ago.

Ten Weeks To Go

Several weeks ago, I started my countdown to the end of college! Just to give you a little update before my family and I leave for the U.S. for our Christmas and New Year vacation... there are 10 more weeks to go! Yahooooo!

Countdown

The countdown to the end of college starts right now! I am super excited to end my agony! I can't wait to start working and earning my own money! One boring afternoon, I invented this wacky idea of posting the number of weeks left (before the end of college) on my dorm room including some reminders to myself.

Orange Peeptoes

One of my best finds in Singapore was this orange peep toes from Topshop. I have never bought anything from Topshop in the past because I couldn't afford it. But I indulged myself this time because this pair was on SALE!