San Jose Getaway

My friend and I decided to finally get away for the weekend. She has never been to San Jose, so we wanted to do some exploration there. A few meetups lined up, several days of planning, AirBnb and Rover reservations successfully placed and off we went to the Bay area.

The trip started out wonderfully. We left around 11 AM and got to SJ just in time for lunch. The original sushi place I wanted to go, Mizu Sushi Bar & Grill, was about to close ("Last call is in 10 minutes, will be closing in 40...", was the nasty response we got from the annoyed hostess who probably wanted lunch herself, when we asked for a table there). We opted to choose another restaurant where people is not in so much of a rush. TGI's Sushi was a small restaurant, hardly presentable from the outside, yet pretty cozy inside. The reviews on Yelp were pretty good, so we stopped by and tried their Shiitake and Philly rolls. A bit bland with a thick layer of rice, both rolls were average, but fish rather fresh. Lunch filled us up enough to barely drag our butts from the restaurant, a good beginning to the weekend!

We checked in our AirBnb room and went to check out Santana Row aka "Silicon Valley's premiere destination for shopping, dining, living, and more." It did not disappoint. Shops, restaurants with outdoor seating, live music on the main square created "city-ish" ambiance that both of us miss so much living in Fresno.

I got coffee and some pastries from Yeganeh Bakery & Kafe Unik, a neat place with fresh pastries and good coffee, and then headed to dinner in Mountain View. Vaso Azzurro Ristorante is one of the many restaurants on Castro Street aka the central street in Mountain View where things happen. We were seated outside on the patio (under a heater, to my relief!). Both of us ordered pasta and a drink, something you can't go wrong with. Our waiter was amazing! In the limited time he was selling us some specials, he somehow ended up mentioning that in the past few years he lost 40 lbs and feels great. No relation to our gluten-filled fatty macaroni with cheese with plenty of saturated fat and a glass of sugary alcohol... The manager later came out to compliment my friend on her outfit, take multiple pictures of us and continue doing this throughout the dinner. Odd? Just a bit... What's even odder is that we didn't get a discount on our bill for the photoshoot...

We later met up with a few people at a bar and had a lovely time. Well, except when I found out that my cat sitter brought a strange man to my house... After kicking them both out (virtually, of course), I had to drive at night to make sure Kitty was ok. Since I was determined that this weekend was not to be ruined, I got back to SJ by 9 AM, just in time for breakfast. Exhausted, I felt a bit of a relief that nobody was "cat sitting", but was working through some options for Night 2. Luckily, two of my awesome friends were able to take care of Kitty in my absence. My luck with pet sitters is just overwhelming...

Our breakfast at The Breakfast Club was quite good, although waiting 30 min for a table was a bit of an annoyance. Their coffee was disgusting...

Blueberry Pancakes, I think...

Classic Eggs Benedict with Hash Browns

On the agenda, we had Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum. If I were more awake this morning, I probably would have taken more pictures and videos, but since none of my equipment and motivation were there, I only took a few. Here is my favorite, yes, of a couch...

Yes, I took a picture of a couch. So comfy and cozy... #IneedaNap

And a few others...

Real mummy, pretty amazing to see a dead human being in this context...

Impressive both from outside and outside, the museum is also surrounded by gardens. We enjoyed the outside area so much that I wanted to take a nap on the bench. My friend said no...

After a failed nap, we went to a day party (does that even exist?), which turned out to be quite boring. We made the best of it, hitting the dance floor.

Because we match :)

Our dinner at Vino Vino (more of a late lunch, since we got the heck out of that party less than two hours into it) was another highlight of the trip. Who knew that panini could be so delicious?

Finally, the last day of our trip was spent eating and drinking coffee at one of the best coffee shops I have been...

...hanging out at the gardens near Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum...

...thrift shopping (without the shopping part)...

...and visiting Google!

Can I tell you something about this chair? It is fabulous! Different modes can stretch you, massage you and squeeze you. This was a tough break up for me, but our relationship is not over. I will be back...