As most Americans make their way to a family gathering this weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving, we decided to take our first road-trip. Long weekends are rare in the American work calendar, and a four-day weekend is exceptional.
L.A. was a natural choice. We spent last Christmas at Hearst Castle and G was well behaved. […]
Of all the annual events held in San Francisco, Fleet Week is possibly the most exciting. The US Navy and Marines visit the city every year during the Columbus Day weekend with a flotilla of ships and they host a superb air show over the waterfront.
The main attraction of the airshow are the Blue […]
R and G returned from Singapore at the beginning of this month, together with my brother, D.
The first weekend was the Labor Day holiday, so I persuaded the jet-lagged travellers to go to Yosemite. We found a semi-campsite by the Merced River in the heart of Yosemite Valley called “Housekeeping”. They […]
Last Saturday, a couple of colleagues and I went up the Pinnacles, a park with soaring peaks and imposing monoliths. These rocks rise in the middle of the valley, remnants of an ancient volcano. The chaparral vegetation provides little shade from the sun and vultures circle overhead. If one is lucky, they […]
It’s July 4th, and Americans everywhere are celebrating Independence Day. In most towns, fireworks are the order of the day.
On the eve of the holiday, Stanford University had fireworks at Ford Amphitheater. The fireworks were not hard to find - just follow the crowds. The field next to Stanford Stadium was packed […]
Villa Montalvo in Saratoga lies amidst a posh estate estate of huge mansions. It is nestled in the foothills of the Santa Cruz mountains and its grounds are popular of outdoor weddings and performances. The estate garden is charming - there are fountains and streams, gazebos and flower beds.
The grounds of Villa Montalvo […]
Its the end of the year … already! How quickly time flew. I’ve been busy catching up on processing videos and photos, and there’s quite a bit to share.
We spent the holidays rather quietly. R and I felt that G wasn’t ready for any big ambitious trips so we planned small this […]
Tomorow, R, G and I will board the morning flight to San Francisco. SQ16 flies via Seoul to San Francisco with a flight duration of nearly 20 hours. We’ve already checked in over the telephone, and were assigned seats with a baby bassinet.
The movers have packed most of our belongings on a container […]
We visited the American Embassy in Singapore on Friday to apply for my US L1 Visa. I finally received the approval to work in the US after months of wrangling with bureaucracy, so this was the final step.
Because of the paranoia and xenophobia in a post September-11 era, I read the embassy’s website carefully […]
Winter isn’t over yet. A couple of friends and I drove up to Squaw Valley yesterday to hit the snow. Our usual routine is to start at 4 a.m. in the morning, arriving at the resort between 8-9 and spending the whole day skiiing and snowboarding. It’s a four hour drive and […]