I walked my thick soles off on the urban hills of sunny California. Exploring a city on foot is one of my favorite things. The (almost) direct consequence of walking a lot is to find lots of … interesting shops. Don't think I'm a shopaholic, some of those things are presents for other people :-) and I was very much in the mood of Hey I'm not coming back any time soon so I should make the most out of this trip. So here are a few picks:
- Chicago Chop & Steak rub, California Chipotle dry rub.
- Jack Daniel's Pecan Nuts.
- Onion Powder (works well for Chinese dishes).
- Flavored coffee from World Market (Eggnog, Chocolate Pecan Pie, Caramel Pumpkin Pie)
- The famous Ghirardelli chocolates.
- Beef Jerky milk chocolate (looking forward to that experience!).
- San Diego a Wave of Fresh Breath mints.
- Oaxaca coffee (Mexico) locally roasted in the Mission, San Francisco by Proyecto Diaz Coffee.
- Honey & Dijon Mustard roasted almonds from CVS.
- Maybelline Color Tattoo purple eyeshadow.
- Painkillers cheap tin box from Chinatown San Francisco.
- Chocolate brains from Li-Lac Chocolates New York. I didn't buy those, they were given to every attendee of the Society for Neuroscience presidential reception. This was supposed to be a V.I.P. party held at Seaworld San Diego exclusively upon personal invitation, but I'm sure about 90% of the people gathered there (like myself) managed to enter without any invitation, just by showing a member's badge. It was a fun evening, good food and wine, all for free and in a very nice setting. And the scientists got brain chocolates, what a laugh... When we opened the boxes it was rather dark and we couldn't see what's inside, chocolate polar bears? Chocolate penguins maybe? (the theme was Wild Arctic). Well, no, chocolate brains it is :-))
- Knit cardigan (extremely handy when I walked across the Golden Gate Bridge, it was freezing) and knit dress from Ross (second hand).
- Second hand t-shirts from a thrift store in Mission district San Francisco.
- A baseball ball found in the street. It's written Little League so I suppose it belonged to some kids. Sorry kids. It was very old anyway.
- USC t-shirt. I bought this one very cheap at Humble Heart thrift store San Diego because it was warmer than I expected it to be in San Diego and I just needed one more T-shirt. I took the first one that was somewhat decent, without knowing or caring what USC means. I was wearing it the day after to walk around town, when I noticed that some people were waving at me from their cars, without apparent reason. Then I went to the supermarket and two more people told me Go USC!! and laughed. I told them thanks but I don't know what USC means, I just bought that T-shirt yesterday because it's very warm and I like red. One very kind senior shopping at Whole Foods Market told me that USC stands for University of Southern California, and that they were having and important game (football? baseball? I can't remember) the day after against a rival team in San Francisco. I said oh I'm going to San Francisco tomorrow, I'll wear it then. He replied oh no, you want to avoid that. And if you get any comment from those guys over there in San Francisco, just show them two fingers :-))
to be continued...
Wow, very nice gifts and finds. You crossed the bridge by foot!!
ReplyDeleteYes! :-o The thing is, I started when it was already 3pm and I had walked the whole city all day, from Chinatown through Tenderloin to Ashbury Haight, then up north through the Presidio Park where I got kind of lost. All hills. But it was nice because by the time I walked back the sun was setting. I could look back at the whole city, see where I have been, and I thought Marie you must be mad. I rewarded myself with great lobster ravioli and a glass of pinot noir :-))
ReplyDeleteThis is the BEST blog! I wrote a 10 liner comment yesterday which disappeared when I pressed Publish. Then I got so mad I threatened to pour water over this bastard thing. I'll try to comment again when I'm not feeling so violent!
ReplyDelete(And I'll tell you which things I want sent to ME!! ) Ha ha ha! Choc jerky? WTF?
Hahaha… let me tell you, Sweat, the thing that is to be sent to you is so flat and so light I couldn't include it in the pic, it just flew away. Choc jerky WTF is right!!! haven't tried it yet. Maybe it's a delight. I doubt it. Was quite expensive though.
ReplyDeleteA new pair of shoes would probably do good! Crazi girls.
ReplyDeleteOh yes. And new socks too :-))
ReplyDelete