It's nice to be able to just drop everything and enjoy yourself once in awhile. Now that work has slowed down to a more relaxed pace, I was able to take a mini-trip down to California.
Lucky for me, the weather turned out to be exceptional and throughout the weekend, the sun tirelessly shone through cloudless skies. Since the road conditions were perfect, it was a great opportunity to check out the Lick Observatory, just outside San Jose.
Prior to seeing the Observatory, I actually wasn't aware of its existence. Apparently, it's part of the University of California, and it's more like an observatory park - the grounds are home to six telescopes! Unfortunately, since it was daytime, I didn't get a chance to look through any of the telescopes; but it was still pretty cool learning about how modernized astronomy has become, while still maintaining some legacy techniques. It seems, just like everything else, a lot of work is done remotely with only a few technicians physically operating the telescopes. I guess it makes sense - since getting to the Observatory took quite awhile!
Besides going to the Observatory, I was also able to attend San Francisco's 2nd Annual International Chocolate Salon! OK, it wasn't really that "international" - I think almost all of the vendors in attendance were from the Bay area. It was a lot of chocolate though...
There were even chocolate Obamas!
It was my intention to spend a day at the Salon, tasting everything that was on display and listening to the various presentations. However, after about an hour of stuffing myself, I have to admit that I couldn't eat another bite. With something as rich as chocolate, I should have known better than to expect a satisfied stomach!
Thus, I ended up in Japantown - where the 39th Annual Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival was in full swing. There weren't exactly tons of cherry blossoms, but they did have a stage set up for performances, and lots and lots of booths.
Crowds seemed to be everywhere, but at least we were able to find real food among the many booths dedicated to feeding the masses. There was everything from shaved ice, to unagi (pictured below), to Japanese popcorn! Yes, apparently, popcorn mixed with some rice crackers counts as Japanese food.
I didn't try the popcorn, in case you were wondering - but seeing a Japantown for the first time was fun. I've been to many Chinatowns, but this was the first time I'd seen so many Japanese people in one place! I was also able to visit an anime store (since I've recently taken to watching a lot of anime series) and try to browse through the Japanese titles to find what I was looking for. I think I got a taste of what it must feel like to study abroad and not know the local language.
Anyway, that pretty much ended the weekend. After that, a 2-hour flight brought me back to routine.
Lucky for me, the weather turned out to be exceptional and throughout the weekend, the sun tirelessly shone through cloudless skies. Since the road conditions were perfect, it was a great opportunity to check out the Lick Observatory, just outside San Jose.
Prior to seeing the Observatory, I actually wasn't aware of its existence. Apparently, it's part of the University of California, and it's more like an observatory park - the grounds are home to six telescopes! Unfortunately, since it was daytime, I didn't get a chance to look through any of the telescopes; but it was still pretty cool learning about how modernized astronomy has become, while still maintaining some legacy techniques. It seems, just like everything else, a lot of work is done remotely with only a few technicians physically operating the telescopes. I guess it makes sense - since getting to the Observatory took quite awhile!
Besides going to the Observatory, I was also able to attend San Francisco's 2nd Annual International Chocolate Salon! OK, it wasn't really that "international" - I think almost all of the vendors in attendance were from the Bay area. It was a lot of chocolate though...
There were even chocolate Obamas!
It was my intention to spend a day at the Salon, tasting everything that was on display and listening to the various presentations. However, after about an hour of stuffing myself, I have to admit that I couldn't eat another bite. With something as rich as chocolate, I should have known better than to expect a satisfied stomach!
Thus, I ended up in Japantown - where the 39th Annual Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival was in full swing. There weren't exactly tons of cherry blossoms, but they did have a stage set up for performances, and lots and lots of booths.
Crowds seemed to be everywhere, but at least we were able to find real food among the many booths dedicated to feeding the masses. There was everything from shaved ice, to unagi (pictured below), to Japanese popcorn! Yes, apparently, popcorn mixed with some rice crackers counts as Japanese food.
I didn't try the popcorn, in case you were wondering - but seeing a Japantown for the first time was fun. I've been to many Chinatowns, but this was the first time I'd seen so many Japanese people in one place! I was also able to visit an anime store (since I've recently taken to watching a lot of anime series) and try to browse through the Japanese titles to find what I was looking for. I think I got a taste of what it must feel like to study abroad and not know the local language.
Anyway, that pretty much ended the weekend. After that, a 2-hour flight brought me back to routine.
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