I've had a lot of fun the last few days, and if I'm being completely honest with myself, there's a part of me that doesn't want to go back. Seven days hasn't quite been long enough for my emotional brain to remember that living with one's parents isn't quite as fun as having them spoil you for a week because they never see you. Despite my logic brain trying their best to remind my emotional brain, emotional brain just drowns out logic and sings:
Oh there's no place like home for the holidays... For no matter how far away you roam... If you want to be happy in a million ways... For the holidays, you can't beat home sweet home...
Look, I know no one does Christmas/Hanukkah/Yule/What have you like New York City. But the truth is, California will always be my home in my heart. You can keep your White Christmas - give me 65-degrees-farenheit all December, please. The Silicon Valley is the Valley of my Heart's Delight, and if I had it my way, I'd have taken a month off to visit rather than just a week. A week just isn't long enough to do everything I want to do, to see everything I've missed and some things I never got the chance to see. I'm already counting down the days until the next time I return to the Bay Area (next June for my high school reunion) and I don't even fly back east until Sunday!
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| I can cook a lot better now, too - look at this fondue spread my mom and I made! |
Honestly, if I had it my way, I'd live half the year in New York and half in California. Perhaps do spring and autumn in NYC and winter and summer in the Bay Area. But unfortunately, I'm not rich, that kind of lifestyle is just way beyond my means.
Anyway, I'm just rambling about how happy I've been the last few days, compared to the last few months (I had been, frankly, quite miserable for the latter half of October and almost the entirety of November and December - Seasonal Affective Disorder, you guys. It's a real hell and a half). But if you want, read on for a day-by-day summary of this little week of heaven. If not, I'll see you all in New York!
Sunday, 24 December
I got into San Jose at like 2 in the morning, which sucked, but it did get me onto the West Coast time zone a lot quicker than last year's visit. My first day here was actually fairly chill. It was mostly spent at home. My stepdad did take me back to the coffee shop I used to frequent nearly every morning (I've since found a new one in New York that I like just as much, but it was really nice to go in and catch up) and my mother and I did go downtown for just a couple of hours for drinks.
Side note - I do not drink. In the past five days I've drank more than I have in the past five months. I don't like the feeling of getting drunk, and I don't like the taste of most alcoholic drinks. In fact, my hard "NO ALCOHOL" rule has five very specific exceptions, and if these exceptions are unavailable, then I will not drink:
- Irish Coffee (GOOD ONES MADE THE PROPER WAY, DO NOT JUST THROW A SHOT OF WHISKEY INTO A MUG OF COFFEE YOU FUCKS.)
- Absinthe
- Mead (I am a Viking at heart)
- Bailey's Irish Creme Liqueur
- Historically accurate drinks if I'm in a place where it is appropriate to try them
I am proud to say that I have not gotten drunk and will not ever get drunk. I know my limits, and will stop at one or two drinks. I hate drunk people and I'm not going to be one of those annoying drunk people, not ever. I did that in my early twenties, I got that out of my system forever.
We didn't get Irish coffees right away, of course. We decided to wander around Christmas in the Park, a downtown San Jose tradition. The charmingly handmade decorations on the trees (each is decorated by a different organization, a lot by various scout troops for example) were perhaps a bit dingy when compared to the giant professionally decorated trees at, say, Rockefeller Centre or Bryant Park or wherever, but that just adds to the charm tbh.
Christmas in the Park isn't glitzy or glamourous. That's the point. It's supposed to be quaint. Anyway, it's something I used to go to every December, so the nostalgia factor is high. I don't know if you could take an out-of-towner here and expect them to be impressed, but if you grew up with it than it's like "MY CHILDHOOOOOOOD!!!!!!111!!!" That's worth something, I think.
We had our drinks at Il Fornaio (Irish Coffee Count: 1) in the historically landmarked St Claire Hotel. That wasn't the exciting part for me, it's lovely in there but I've been there a few times in the past. No, the exciting part was that, feeling a bit peckish, we got to go into Original Joe's - a place that had been on my Bay Area Bucket List before I abandoned that project, but that I'd never gotten around to trying.
I just had a cannoli but it was a damn good one. Eating wasn't the exciting part. Being in such a beloved old-school Italian institution (pictured above - it hasn't changed since the 50s, the waiters still all wear tuxedos and you can hear them speaking Italian in the kitchen) was the exciting part. It was completely spontaneous but I'm so glad I got to try it.
Monday, 25 December
Christmas is Christmas, you know? I spent the day with my family. The morning I was at my mom's, we had eggs benedict for breakfast and opened our Christmahanusolstiyule™gifts and tried making Irish coffees (Irish coffee count: 2). The afternoon, my sister and I went over to an aunt and uncle's house where our dad was, and caught up while some sports game was on in the background. (Apparently the SF 49ers kicked ass? I don't know anything about sports but it made my dad happy, so good for them.) And at night, my sister and I resurrected an old childhood tradition - getting peppermint hot chocolate and driving around the suburbs looking at other people's Christmas Lights while listening to cheesy Christmas music.
Tuesday, 26 December
If I was in New York, I'd have had to go back to work this day, but I'm not. As it was, my family (well, my mom, stepdad, and little brother) and I went up to San Francisco.
Of course our first stop was the place I always go to whenever I am in SF, the Buena Vista, home of the most perfect Irish coffee I have ever tasted, and yes that is including every single one I've tried in New York, though admittedly I've only had like 3 there. I had 2 at the BV with my brunch of even more eggs benedict. (Irish coffee count: 4.) The food there was delicious as always, and the waitress we somehow always get remembered me.
We stopped into their little gift shop and got an Irish coffee kit that was actually a pretty good deal - four of the signature glasses and a huge bottle of Tullamore Dew Irish whiskey, as well as official Buena Vista napkins, for $45. Not bad, right?
Next we went to the Legion of Honour museum, which is still a museum I love a great deal - I went here on my summer SF trip, and it was the setting of my 2013 NaNoWriMo novel - but I will admit it seems much smaller than it used to after the MET! Still lovely, though. We saw a special exhibit they have right now called "Gods in Colour", part of which is pictured above. As you can see, it showcases reproductions of ancient Greek works in the bright pigments many of these now-white statues once were.
At my request (of course) we also stopped at the Sutro Baths ruins afterwards. It's my favourite place in all of San Francisco. My little brother had never been here! He loved it of course, and now it is his favourite place in SF as well! There's just something enchanting about climbing over the old ruins. It feels almost Grecian even though the structure is far newer than that, almost spiritual even.
We drove down the coast along Highway 1, the prettiest highway in California, making a stop in Pacifica for their infamous Taco Bell on the beach and another in Half Moon Bay to go to some winery so my mom could pick up some stuff for the fondue party, and listening to the Doors. It was, all in all, really nice.
Wednesday, 27 December
This was a nice, chill San Jose day. In fact, most of the day was spent preparing for the fondue party that I posted a picture of at the beginning of this entry.
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| Since I already posted a picture of it, have a photo of Momo instead |
Thursday, 28 December
We went to Monterey today!
We had come here for two reasons - to go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and to see my friend Ashley who lives down there now and has been my friend since we were 11. But before either of those things happened, we had more drinks (Irish coffee count: 7) and did some shopping. My mom bought me fancy "Tuscan herb" olive oil and socks with matryoshkas on them since I collect matryoshka dolls.
Also we went wine tasting. I do not drink wine. But the Bargetto Winery appealed to me anyway, in two ways. First off, it was officially founded in 1933 when Prohibition ended (remember, I've been on a 20s kick lately) but during Prohibition it had already been making wine for priests, one of the exceptions to the no alcohol law in America during the 20s. The sommelier was all too happy to talk history with me, always a nice plus to any visit anywhere.
Second off, they had something called "Chaucer's tasting". Which had MEAD. And not just any mead - WARM MULLED MEAD. I've had good meads before at various Nordic-type events, but never warmed with mulling spices. It was amazing. I've been unable to stop thinking about it since. Holy shit was my inner Viking pleased.
The aquarium afterwards was really nice. It's changed a lot since the last time I was there (which was almost a decade ago) but they still have the kelp forest and the dreamy beautiful jellyfish tanks. They also have cuttlefish now! The only bummer was that it was so crowded there, it was hard to see anything or get good pictures.
After this, we met Ashley at another winery called A Taste of Monterey which has stunning ocean views. I got a cheese plate, and only drank some water as again, wine is not one of my exceptions. Ashley was able to point out some seals playing in the water below, which was fun to see! And it was lovely catching up with her.
TODAY, 29 December
As I write this, I'm doing some laundry and Momo is purring her heart out. I'm gonna start packing today, boooo. I'm also gonna visit my grandma. And, let's be real, have another Irish coffee or two since my mom is really good at making them. (Irish coffee count: 8 or 9)
Tomorrow, 30 December
Tomorrow I plan to take my old car and go out on my own all morning. I might visit Winchester in the morning, that'd be really nice. I do know that I plan to see Sarah in the afternoon. We're gonna go to downtown Willow Glen like we used to back when we both still lived here, and get ravioli at La Villa. It'll be nice to see her for a bit because she's on vacation for most of January, so otherwise I wouldn't have seen her for almost an entire month!
My last dinner in California will be with my family at the Vegetarian House, a vegan restaurant that has a strange, almost cultish vibe that I used to love eating at. I'm very excited to go there again and eat delicious vegan food under the large portrait of "Supreme Master Ching Hai". (I wasn't kidding about the cultish vibes.)
Sunday, 31 December
I have to fly back at like 6 am, booooo. But it's been a nice vacation from all the stress of my normal, day-to-day life.
And my liver will probably be grateful to be home, at least!
-Nym
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