"The Ferry and Marketplace"
[Music || Jay Chou, "Sunshine"]
The best things about having 8 a.m. morning classes is making guiltless plans for the whole afternoon. For Friday, right after class I decided that I wanted to go explore everything at the Embarcadero center. Last semester, I went there after class to watch "Pieces of April" and after I came out of the theater, it was already night time and I didn't want to hang around an unfamiliar place on a school night.
So, this time, I went right after class and arrived there around 11 a.m. on a Friday; plenty of time to stroll around without any pressure. The only thing I didn't like was on Friday, it just happened to be cloudy and ready to rain (good thing I brought my handy umbrella; I don't take chances now because clouds = rain in SF... and it DID rain later in the afternoon!).
There wasn't any movies I wanted to watch so I felt I had even more free time. Behind the large outdoor mall (but most of the shops were shut down) was a park I didn't notice last time. It was so refreshing to see all this green; across from the field was a ferry port. I was starving though and I wasn't dressed up to eat inside this fancy restaurant which was about to open at noon; I strolled around looking for something that would taste like drops from heaven. I didn't want any Italian food; I hardly get to eat outside of the school cafeteria which composes of pizza, pizza, and pizza... eck, I don't like pizza anymore except for CPK or Gale's. Around the corner in the mall was a bright sandwich shop, with fresh sandwiches stacked on all ends! It looked so warm and inviting. The restaurant was called Birley Sandwiches and I highly recommend them. Not only was their warm Goat Cheese and Roasted Vegetables sandwich completely satisfying, but their service was warm and friendly to strangers of the city like me. For refreshments, I selected some carbonated orange drink (it was lighter than soda but still contained the fizz).
Instead of sitting in the restaurant, I decided it was best to take my time and enjoy my lunch in the gloomy but breathtaking scenery. There were three dozen, CLEAN outdoor furniture which overlooked the park, art structures, and the ferry port. After my early lunch, I headed over to the ferry port which was also a "marketplace"! Jumping off this wall to get across the street, a teenage boy about my age startled me because he came out of nowhere to ask me where the BART station was. Unfortunately, I'm not a city resident and I hardly know the area... I directed him in the direction I came from, I hope he found it. The "marketplace" sold some fresh produce, expensive chocolate, and seafood. On the pier, I could see the dirty water... yesh!
Returning to the mall, I noticed there was hardly any shops worth visiting. I have more than enough clothes and most of the shops were not very interesting (Picture shopping at Citadel or Old Towne Pasadena; outdoor shopping ain't for me especially in cold weather). Worst of all, the lonely FYE Music store I saw last time shut down! It's not like I want to buy anything, but I do like music window shopping.
All in all, it was an eventful day. Before heading back to campus, I made a pit stop at the local library (not the university's). I've visited it once before and it's very small and cozy; it reminds me of days at the Lakewood Library. Now the Cerritos Library is so vast and upgraded that it has everything. Cozy librarys, although have small selection, feels like visiting an old friend's home and reading their books and magazines there.
I look forward to exploring more in future, carefree weekends.
[Music || Jay Chou, "Sunshine"]
The best things about having 8 a.m. morning classes is making guiltless plans for the whole afternoon. For Friday, right after class I decided that I wanted to go explore everything at the Embarcadero center. Last semester, I went there after class to watch "Pieces of April" and after I came out of the theater, it was already night time and I didn't want to hang around an unfamiliar place on a school night.
So, this time, I went right after class and arrived there around 11 a.m. on a Friday; plenty of time to stroll around without any pressure. The only thing I didn't like was on Friday, it just happened to be cloudy and ready to rain (good thing I brought my handy umbrella; I don't take chances now because clouds = rain in SF... and it DID rain later in the afternoon!).
There wasn't any movies I wanted to watch so I felt I had even more free time. Behind the large outdoor mall (but most of the shops were shut down) was a park I didn't notice last time. It was so refreshing to see all this green; across from the field was a ferry port. I was starving though and I wasn't dressed up to eat inside this fancy restaurant which was about to open at noon; I strolled around looking for something that would taste like drops from heaven. I didn't want any Italian food; I hardly get to eat outside of the school cafeteria which composes of pizza, pizza, and pizza... eck, I don't like pizza anymore except for CPK or Gale's. Around the corner in the mall was a bright sandwich shop, with fresh sandwiches stacked on all ends! It looked so warm and inviting. The restaurant was called Birley Sandwiches and I highly recommend them. Not only was their warm Goat Cheese and Roasted Vegetables sandwich completely satisfying, but their service was warm and friendly to strangers of the city like me. For refreshments, I selected some carbonated orange drink (it was lighter than soda but still contained the fizz).
Instead of sitting in the restaurant, I decided it was best to take my time and enjoy my lunch in the gloomy but breathtaking scenery. There were three dozen, CLEAN outdoor furniture which overlooked the park, art structures, and the ferry port. After my early lunch, I headed over to the ferry port which was also a "marketplace"! Jumping off this wall to get across the street, a teenage boy about my age startled me because he came out of nowhere to ask me where the BART station was. Unfortunately, I'm not a city resident and I hardly know the area... I directed him in the direction I came from, I hope he found it. The "marketplace" sold some fresh produce, expensive chocolate, and seafood. On the pier, I could see the dirty water... yesh!
Returning to the mall, I noticed there was hardly any shops worth visiting. I have more than enough clothes and most of the shops were not very interesting (Picture shopping at Citadel or Old Towne Pasadena; outdoor shopping ain't for me especially in cold weather). Worst of all, the lonely FYE Music store I saw last time shut down! It's not like I want to buy anything, but I do like music window shopping.
All in all, it was an eventful day. Before heading back to campus, I made a pit stop at the local library (not the university's). I've visited it once before and it's very small and cozy; it reminds me of days at the Lakewood Library. Now the Cerritos Library is so vast and upgraded that it has everything. Cozy librarys, although have small selection, feels like visiting an old friend's home and reading their books and magazines there.
I look forward to exploring more in future, carefree weekends.
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