Road Trippin’ California

Jocelyn
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Road Trippin’ California

After almost nine years of living in California, I finally made some time to visit Big Sur. Living down in San Diego meant that I couldn’t make it an easy day, or even weekend trip, so with a week off between Christmas and New Years I made a mini-road trip itinerary.

Day 1 – Paso Robles

Being that I’m a wine lover and had explored Temecula, Santa Ynez and Sonoma, it only made sense that the first stop to break up the drive would be Paso Robles.

Stay

There are some winery resorts to stay at, but since we were only there for one night we opted to stay in town. Town didn’t have too many higher end options, and their mid to low range options were relatively expensive. I opted to use points for the Paso Robles Inn and was not disappointed. The location couldn’t have been better for staying in town and the room we had was nice (with a very spacious bathroom).

Eat

We had dinner at La Cosecha – Restaurant & Bar. The paella and cioppino were so so, but my mezcal drink in a smoked glass was quite good. The scallops appetizer was delicious. Not my favorite place I’ve ever been, but I’d go back, if just for drinks and appetizers.

Red Scooter Deli – anxious to get on our way to Big Sur, I stopped into this little place for some breakfast sandwiches and cappuccinos. Both were delicious.

Wine!

Of course, the main reason I decided to stop here was for all of the wine. We spent about four hours wine tasting that afternoon. There are about 200 wineries in the area so I know there a lot more to taste, but here’s where we went and what we thought!

Adelaida – I honestly chose this place because it looked pretty in a photo (and because I had decided we would stick to the west side) but was impressed with all of the wines we tasted. It was here I learned about the Mourvedre grape and where we decided to pick up a bottle of Mourvedre wine. They snuck in a little extra wine, port, some walnuts and chocolates too.

Halter Ranch – at this point we decided to let our UberWINE driver lead the way. He brought us down the road to Halter Ranch which was absolutely gorgeous. They just built a brand new building for their tastings. Everything we tasted there was delicious as well and the views were gorgeous.

JUSTIN Winery – we were warned that they had been purchased and turned corporate, and it definitely felt that way. The wines were all pretty great and they had two different tastings you could do. One was more expensive than the other so we split them. (some of the wines overlapped). We didn’t purchase any wine here but ended up buying some merchandise for our friend Justin and received the tastings for free (a $35 value).

Turley Wine Cellars – it seems that most wineries in Paso make a white wine or two just to appease those coming along for the ride who might not love red wine. Well, at Turley we tasted 100% red, and 100% Zinfandel. While they were good, I’d prefer a more diverse tasting menu (and perhaps they do have a more diverse menu at times).

Cypher Winery – our last stop of the day was a smaller winery called Cypher. To be honest, at this point I was pretty tipsy and a little bit more focused on an adorable yellow lab puppy, but I had no complaints and they gave us wine glasses when we left. There was also another winery right next door but they were closed (it was the day after Christmas and a Monday).

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Tip!

UberWINE was great. It can get expensive (averages around $40 an hour) but you have a private driver the entire afternoon. So, if four of you go wine tasting for four hours, what’s $40 a person?! If you’re not doing a pre-planned wine tour or have a designated driver, I’d highly recommend this option as cell phone service was not the best, sometimes non-existent out at the wineries.

Day 2 – Big Sur & Monterey

We woke up bright and early and started our drive to Big Sur. These were the stops we made along the way:

Elephant Seals Vista Point (San Simeon) – early on in the drive we decided to check out the elephant seals – worth a few minutes to check these guys out if you have any interest!

McWay Falls & Julia Pfeiffer State Park – pretty crowded, but amazingly beautiful. Definitely worth the stop.

Nepenthe Restaurant – we had actually been told the food wasn’t very good, and with an hour and a half wait we weren’t very interested, but it was easy enough to order a glass of wine at the bar and take in some gorgeous views.

Big Sur River Inn – we stopped for a late lunch here – a rustic, woodsy feeling place and enjoyed some beers, a burger and a delicious pulled pork sandwich.

Bixby Bridge – probably one of the most photographed spots in Big Sur, we obviously joined the crowds during golden hour for a few great shots. It was a wonderful end to our drive (until we realized we were on a one lane road of traffic leaving Big Sur and Point Lobos State Park at the same time)!

We then checked into The Monterey Hotel in downtown Monterey for the next two nights. It is a historic hotel but our room was rather modern and again, the location made everything easy.

Still full from our late lunch we opted to do some more wine tasting at Sovino Wine Bar & Merchant and then had a late dinner at a really cool restaurant called Restaurant 1833 (also, delicious!).

Day 3 – Redwoods & Carmel-by-the-Sea

Our original plan was to explore Point Lobos State Park, but after spending all day driving the coast the day before, we decided to find some redwoods instead. Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park was closest, about an hour drive away, and we wandered around in the cold forest for a while, in awe of these amazing trees.

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The park was actually just east of Santa Cruz so we decided to head there for a quick lunch. Santa Cruz has yet to impress me, so after a little bit of seafood we made our way back down to Monterey to drop off the car and yet again, taste some wine.

We spent mid-afternoon to early evening visiting a few wine bars in Carmel (there are about 14 in a couple of square blocks – they actually call it the Carmel Wine Walk By-The-Sea). We picked up a couple of bottles from Blaire Estate and Shale Canyon Vineyards and then were ready for dinner.

It was recommended to us to go to Grasings and it did not disappoint. We managed to snag a table in the bar area during a busy dinner time and enjoyed good drinks, lobster mac and cheese, paella and duck. Definitely passing along this recommendation!

The next day we started our journey home after picking up some more breakfast sandwiches at Caffe Trieste Monterey – it just happened to be across the street from our hotel, but another good (and relatively quick) breakfast spot if you’re downtown.

Can’t wait to explore even more of this amazing state!

Looking for more west coast road trip ideas? Check out what our friends at The Upbeat Path did!

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Long Layover: Shanghai Edition

Jocelyn
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Long Layover: Shanghai Edition

While I have some recommendations and tips for a long layover in Shanghai, I have to admit, it didn’t make it on the favorite places list. Perhaps Shanghai requires a longer stay in order to truly appreciate it (and I must admit there were places I had on my list of things to do and see that I didn’t make it to) but I tried to make the best of my long layovers anyhow!

Customs:

The negative experiences really started as soon as I got off the plane. I bee-lined it to the 144-hour visa line and luckily there were only about 10 or so people in front of me. Piece of cake, right? Wrong. I’m not sure what was going on with the couple at the front of the line but we just didn’t move. They finally opened up a second line for those of us staying in Shanghai for under 24 hours (although I’m really not sure why this would be a requirement to be in one line over another) and that cut the number of people in front of me down to 5. The line started to move but it still took me about an hour to get through customs.

As a side note, on my way back through Shanghai on the way home this entire process took less than 15 minutes.

Tip: make sure you have proof of your flight that will be taking you out of Shanghai within the 144-hour visa. I also had the name of the hotel I was staying at but they didn’t inquire.

Cash:

Once through customs, I made my way to the ATM. It didn’t work. A woman working at a car service desk told me it only worked with domestic cards. To be honest, I have no idea if there was another ATM in the airport that would have taken international cards because at this point I just wanted to get to my hotel. I paid for the car service with credit card and after a few minutes wait I was on my way. The car ride was about 40 minutes and cost $65.

You’re probably thinking, “she showed up in China with no cash?” and you’d be right. Aside from being the crazy cash girl in Cuba where I knew I would have to bring all of the cash I needed for the entire trip, I’ve never had an issue using the ATM at any airport so yes, I showed up in China with $3.

Luckily I knew it would be easy to find an ATM once I was in the city. The only problem was it was a Saturday evening and there seemed to be only banks lining The Bund with no outdoor ATMs. When I finally came across an ATM it was in Chinese and there didn’t seem to be an English option. Hopefully, you don’t find yourself in this bind, but if you do, the Waldorf Astoria (on The Bund) has an ATM near reception.

Stay:

Due to my limited time I chose a hotel on The Bund. I picked Les Suites Orient as they were reasonably priced (and I could use Chase Sapphire Reward points). The hotel room was very nice and I took the below picture after just walking across the street from the hotel. It was on the more southern end of The Bund but near restaurants and Yu Yuan Garden.

Eat & Drink:

Another issue I had was finding a place to eat dinner that Saturday evening. By the time I had gotten settled, took some skyline photos and was ready for dinner, it was after 9pm. I had a few spots written down that were close to the hotel (since I was cash-less at this point I knew a taxi was off limits) and both were closed when I went to eat. What kind of restaurants are closed before 9:30pm on a Saturday night right on The Bund in a city of 23 million people?! I still don’t understand.

After my unsuccessful attempts at scoring some Chinese food I settled for Pop, a rooftop bar restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. It was a rather warm (and humid) night so I choose to enjoy my yummy almond curry outside. At least I had a pretty view of skyline and was eating some sort of Asian food?

Luckily, on my way back through Shanghai I did make it to Shanghai Grandmother Restaurant which had been on my list of restaurants to try. We had a noodle soup (I was freezing that day, but it honestly didn’t have much taste) and some chicken with peanuts and rice that reminded me of a Kung Pao chicken. Our waiter did not speak English much at all but the menu was filled with photos which made things a lot easier.

Cloud 9 in Hyatt Jin Mao – after attempting to go to the Shanghai Tower, realizing we had to buy tickets in advance, and seeing how smoggy it looked from the camera up above, we settled on drinks at the bar on the 87th floor of the Hyatt Jin Mao. We went between tea time and dinner time so we had the bar area we were in mostly to ourselves and enjoyed $15 glasses of wine before heading to the airport to make our way home.

Do:

With my first layover primarily being overnight, I didn’t have time to do much besides wander around The Bund and take photos of the skyline (especially considering I had no cash to get anywhere very far). In my opinion walking along The Bund is a must at some point in your trip.

On our daytime layover, we did try to make it over to Yu Yuan Garden. It was a cool area to walk around, but it was a Sunday so it was packed. We took a few photos but never actually made it into the garden – maybe if you can, save that for a weekday!

If I went back I’d definitely want to check out the French Concession neighborhood and try to make it to the top of Shanghai Tower (if the weather was agreeable).

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Additional Tips:

On our second layover in Shanghai we bought roundtrip tickets on the Maglev (the fastest magnetic levitation train in the world) and it took about 8 minutes to get from the airport to the city. Once you get to the city you are still a taxi ride away from anywhere you are probably looking to go to.

Once you get in a taxi, make sure you have a taxi card for your hotel, or wherever you are going translated into Chinese – otherwise there seems to be a decent chance your taxi driver will have no idea what you are saying – even if you try to show him on a map.

Have cash! We paid for taxis in cabs and some food as well. Of course, the hotels will take credit card but it’s definitely more of a cash society than most other big cities I’ve been to.

Enjoy! While Shanghai wasn’t my favorite city, there were still good experiences during both layovers and now I’ve finally gotten to experience mainland China, if only for a short amount of time!

I’m on a Boat…In Coron, Philippines

Jocelyn
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I’m on a Boat…In Coron, Philippines

When we decided to go to the Philippines we knew we would only be able to pick one place to go due to time constraints. We would be coming from Hong Kong and it seemed no matter where we wanted to go we’d have to fly through Manila to get there.

After chatting with some friends that had been to various islands, reading countless blog posts, and considering travel times, we chose Coron.

So why did we choose Coron?

  1. Once we got to the airport in Busuanga we were only a 45-minute van ride from town.
  2. We could fly Cebu Pacific, a more budget airline, which helped keep costs down.
  3. The beautiful limestone cliffs and formations on Coron Island. While I’m sure you can’t really go wrong with any of the touristy islands in the Philippines, we live at the beach and wanted something a bit different.
  4. Boats! Again, while the water in San Diego is nothing like the water in the Philippines, we can lie on the beach most months out of the year and the different boat tours Coron had to offer interested us.
  5. Scuba Diving. If you’re into diving (or even snorkeling) there are many wrecks in the area which you can’t necessarily find everywhere else that scuba diving is popular.

Have I convinced you to go yet? Here’s where we stayed, where we ate and what we did:

Stay

We chose Corto del Mar – walking distance to everything in town but away from the busy, loud streets (however, there are roosters nearby). The hotel was nice, there is a pool and large jacuzzi (that wasn’t hot the one time we went to take a dip) and a good breakfast was included. I originally stumbled upon the hotel looking through my Chase Sapphire Rewards Points but found a great rate on agoda.com so opted to pay for our stay.

Eat

Sinugba sa Balay – located near the center of town, this outdoor eatery serves up great local food – we ended up having dinner here two of the four nights we were in Coron. From chicken to fish and shrimp, to noodles and rice, smoothies and local beers, we enjoyed everything we tried here.

Altrove – if you need a break from Filipino food, Altrove is the place to grab pastas and pizza. It’s located up on the second floor, so we actually missed it the first time we walked by. We had their pesto pasta which tasted so fresh and delicious, and a thin crust pepperoni pizza.

Asia Grandview Hotel – one downside of Coron is that you can’t really just sit on the beach and enjoy the sunset. We ended up choosing to have some post-boat tour drinks and appetizers at the Asia Grandview Hotel, located above the harbor with excellent sunset views.

Do

Get on a boat! If you don’t want to spend your days on boats, I probably wouldn’t recommend that you come to Coron. We had three full days in Coron and spent the better part of every day on a boat.

Calamian Tours – we actually ended up with Calamian Tours because when we arrived to Coron it was sunset so we decided to just book a tour through the hotel. We did the Coron Island Ultimate Tour which I’d recommend. Kayangan Lake was beautiful, and it was cool to swim through the Twin Lagoons and check out snorkel spots, beaches and a shipwreck. Lunch was included, and while alcohol wasn’t they are totally happy with you buying beers or rum before starting the day!

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Scuba Diving – I don’t actually dive (I hurt my ear in a Discovery Dive in Bali in 2009 and have been a baby about it since) but Toby does and I went along for the ride (luckily two of the three stops were shallow enough that I could actually snorkel around and see fish, coral and one of the wrecks. We used Reggae Dive Center (or Rocksteady Dive Center – they were in the middle of rebranding to Reggae when we were there) and they were great. Lunch was included, as well as a post-scuba beer.

Rent a Private Boat – on our third day we decided to sleep in a bit and then just wander down to the docks to see if we could get a private boat for the afternoon. We walked about 10 feet out of hotel when a tricycle driver asked if we wanted a ride and made it his mission to help us find a private boat for the afternoon. Once we found a boat we went to the market by the water and chose a fish, rice, veggies and some items for cooking so that they could make us lunch while we were out. We chose three beaches we hadn’t visited in our previous tour and they boated us around and let us stay as long as we liked. It was a wonderful, relaxing, romantic way to end our trip in Coron.

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What to Bring

You’re heading to the Philippines – of course, you already know to bring your bathing suits, shorts, and sundresses, but here are a few of our favorite things that we brought along:

  • Bug Spray! One option I like is the Repel 100 bundled with the mosquito wipes.
  • Patagonia Black Hole Duffel Bag 45L – some may opt for the larger, 60L size but 45L has gotten Toby through trips lasting up to a couple of weeks!
  • Exofficio Underwear – not just for traveling, but awesome quick-dry, moisture wicking fabric that Toby swears by.
  • REI Traverse 48 Pack – they make larger versions, but being that I’m pretty small, I opted for a smaller backpack and I’ve been able to make it work for trips up to a couple of weeks long with no problem!
  • REI Expandable Packing Cubes – no doubt these guys help keep us organized and make packing in smaller duffels and backpacks just a little bit easier. I really like that these are expandable too!
  • Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones – whether it’s for a long flight, noisy hotel neighbors or to get you through a boring layover, I haven’t taken a trip without my Bose since 2011.
  • Longchamp Tote Bag – a favorite of mine since back in 2009, this tote weighs nothing and the material is very durable – my tote has been on countless trips with me! It also folds up to be quite small so you could also bring it as an extra bag for day trips during a trip or if you find yourself buying too many souvenirs and need an extra bag to carry them all on the trip home.
  • Cabeau Evolution Cool Memory Foam Neck Pillow – Toby’s new favorite accessory for long flights – no more neck pain after falling asleep on the plane!
  • Inflatable Travel U-Pillow – I, on the other hand, have had my trusty inflatable neck pillow for a couple of years and am perfectly happy with it. I’m also short enough to use the tray table as a place to lay my head and tend to use the shape of the neck pillow like a massage table.
  • Kindle E-Reader – Yes, I know, I could read on my iPad, but I like my Kindle. Plus, while I’m reading my Kindle I’m not using my iPad’s battery. Of course it does take up a little bit more space in my carry-on, but I always bring it on longer trips.
  • Apple iPad Air – while many long haul flights come with a seemingly never-ending library of movies and tv shows, some do not. Before flying to the Philippines we flew China Eastern over and I was glad to have options on my iPad – and, while I’ve only found myself watching tv on vacation when I had food poisoning, it’s always a nice backup option to have!

As most places I’ve been in Southeast Asia, I completely fell in love with the sleepy little town of Coron. I only wish I had had more time to explore other islands in the Philippines – but I guess it just means I’ll need to go back one day!

Have a favorite island? I’d love to hear your recommendations!

A Hong Kong Weekend

Jocelyn
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A Hong Kong Weekend

I loved Hong Kong. It reminded me a bit of a cross between New York City and San Francisco, in Asia. My “weekend” in Hong Kong was actually parts of two weekends but it makes up a Friday night through Monday morning, on both Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, in the humid sunshine and cooler rain, so I feel like I got a wide range of experiences in.

Do

I arrived midday on a Sunday and was staying in Kowloon. My hotel was close to the harbor and Nathan Rd., so it was easy to wander around for awhile snapping photos and taking it all in.

Shop – I didn’t fly halfway around the world to go to the mall, but if that’s what you want to do you don’t have to travel too far to find one! I ended up eating lunch in a mall one day and that was enough for me.

Nan Lian Garden – a bit farther away, but completely free and while a little crowded, it was peaceful. It appeared that you could have tea there, but I just wandered around and took in the pretty sights.

Temple Street Night Market – I didn’t end up making it here and I’m not sure if I’m disappointed about that or not. If you haven’t been to a lot of markets and bazaars I’m sure it’s worth going to – but I didn’t really feel the need to haggle over DVDs and things I just didn’t need.

Lan Kwai Fong – if you find yourself on Hong Kong Island (or hop on the ferry or train and head over) this area is full of bars and people drinking on the streets. We had fun wandering around and people-watching until 3am (when we got tired, but it didn’t seem like anything was dying down yet).

Victoria Peak – unfortunately, the day we planned to do this started out a bit foggy with drizzle. We waited until things appeared to be clearing up and halfway up to the peak it started raining. And raining. And raining. How we even managed to get a picture this good is beyond me. If I go back to Hong Kong (which I hope I do one day!) I’d like to go up at night, and maybe again during the day if it’s sunny! Tip: if the line for the tram is long, take a taxi – it’ll be a similar price and you won’t be waiting in line. However, the lines to leave were tremendously long. I’m not sure if this was due to the weather, but we ended paying surcharges to get an Uber back to our hotel – well worth it since we were tired and it was cold and dreary out.

The Light Show – at 8pm every night you’ll see a light show from Kowloon. I was up on a rooftop bar so I had a great view, but apparently, there is also music you can hear if you are closer to the harbor.

Star Ferry – ridiculously cheap and why not? We took the ferry from Hong Kong to Kowloon one morning, but I’m sure taking it at night during the light show would be great.

Eat

Tim Wan Ho – Three words. BBQ Pork Buns. Yes, this is the cheapest Michelin star restaurant in the world. Yes, it is a chain. Yes, it is as good as people say. The two of us spent less than $20 on lunch, ordered more than we meant to, and enjoyed every single bite. Get the BBQ Pork Buns, perhaps two orders (and when the menu says “bun” understand that means three will come in your order.

Din Tai Fung – another chain that you can even find in the United States, but we don’t have one in San Diego and I had never been. There was one around the corner from my hotel in Kowloon so I grabbed a quick lunch there (across from a Ruby Tuesday in a mall).

Kin’s Kitchen – described as upscale Cantonese, we found ourselves feeling like some of the only tourists in the restaurant on a Saturday night (making us feel that we had made the right choice). We had one of their signature dishes, the smoked half chicken, which was delicious (and appears that the chicken has been cut right down the middle – head and all), some BBQ pork (no bun here) and some fried rice. Everything was delicious.

Budaoweng Hot Pot Cuisine – this was my first hot pot experience and my waitress was really helpful with showing me what to do and helped me make a sauce. I’d definitely recommend checking this place out and the more people the merrier! It’s also on a high floor in the Tsim Sha Tsui neighborhood so if you sit near a window you’ll have great views of Hong Kong Island. Afterward head even higher up to Eye Bar which has indoor and outdoor seating.

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Stay

Due to the fact that our “weekend” in Hong Kong was spread over two weekends, we opted to spend the first part on the Kowloon side of the harbor and the second part on the Hong Kong side.

Hotel Pravo – located in the Tsim Sha Tsui area of Kowloon, this hotel was close to the harbor, Nathan Road, and the MTR, making it easy to get around. The hotel itself was rather dark, but the bedroom was a decent size with a couch and the bathroom was nice. For the price and location, I’d stay there again.

Metropark Hotel Wanchai – I think they may be very soon changing the name of this hotel to Kew Green. The hotel was in a decent location on Hong Kong Island in the Wan Chai neighborhood, a close ride to Central, to get to the Peak or the ferry. The room smelled of stale smoke, though, so if possible I’d request a non-smoking room or floor.

Your San Diego Guide to Tacos

Jocelyn
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Your San Diego Guide to Tacos

When many people come to San Diego and think about food, they think about Mexican. At least that’s what I thought (and ate a little bit too much of) when I moved here. After years of eating tacos all over San Diego, here is our wide variety of favorite spots. Don’t see yours on here? We’d love to hear about new taco spots to try!

Puesto – with locations in both the Seaport District and La Jolla Cove, this is not only a delicious spot but makes it an easy lunch or dinner stop if you’re touring around San Diego. I honestly love all of their tacos, and they have lots of yummy tequila and mezcal drinks to wash them down with. While the food is well priced, swing by for dinner on Taco Tuesday and grab some tacos for $2.50 each.
Address: 1026 Wall St., La Jolla, CA 92037

Pacific Beach Fish Shop – as the name might allude to, we’re talking about fish tacos here. Pick your fish, your marinade and your style (salads, sandwiches and plates are also available), grab a beer and enjoy indoor or outdoor seating. My favorite things to order are the TKO Taco and the Fish Shop Shrimp. Tip: while they sell wine there, you can also BYOW as well! And if you like oysters, they sell them for $1 each starting at 4pm until they run out! Lastly, this place is so good, they opened a second location in Encinitas.
Address: 1775 Garnet Ave., San Diego, CA 92109

City Tacos – if you find yourself craving tacos in North Park, City Tacos is the place to go. We ended up trying this place out on Cinco de Mayo which corresponded with their anniversary so found ourselves drinking some free beer with lots of entertainment around the tiny restaurant. But, I promise, this place is still good – free beer or not. The chorizo asado was my favorite.
Address: 3028 University Ave., San Diego, CA 92104

Oscars Mexican Seafood – with two locations in Pacific Beach, one in Hillcrest and one in East Village, Oscars popularity is obviously growing. We’ve only been to the central Pacific Beach location and we definitely recommend grabbing some fish tacos and watching the sunset over the Pacific.
Address: 746 Emerald St., San Diego, CA 92109

Luche Libre Taco Shop – their original location is in Mission Hills and you should always prepare yourself to wait in line. However, they’ve recently opened another location in North Park. And while I didn’t sample anything, I did notice you can pick up some Luche Libre the next time you’re at a Padres game. I definitely recommend the Surf & Turf taco.
Address: 1810 W. Washington St., San Diego, CA 92103

South Beach Bar & Grill – another fish taco spot next to another beach. Head to Ocean Beach and grab some grilled or fried tacos. The lobster taco here is one of my favorites. Check their website for a variety of daily specials.
Address: 5059 Newport Ave., San Diego, CA 92107

Taco Surf – if you really want some classic, good old Mexican food, look no further than Taco Surf. While I have to warn you, you might end up in a Mexican food coma after visiting here, you won’t be disappointed. There are tacos are cheap, delicious, and you have the option to get crispy tacos as well!
Address: 4657 Mission Blvd., San Diego, CA 92109

Rubio’s – yes, I am including a chain, fast food restaurant here. But it’s good. And it’s really not that bad for you! Get yourself an Original Fish Taco, but try out some of the grilled fish, steak and chicken options too.
Address: All over San Diego

Again, we realize this is just a sampling of taco spots in San Diego, but these are some of our favorites that we wanted to share! New recommendations for us? Comment below!

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