It was my birthday yesterday... December 27th. The plan was to have CC, a family friend drive my mom and I to San Francisco for the day. We took the scenic route along the coast and views of valleys and rivers. Stopped in San Mateo to pick up J, my cousin then continued on. Though it was sunng during the drive, when we actually arrived in SF, it was kind of grey and cold so I was happy to have one black tights under my black and blue Express dress. I had my tiara on the whole day as well and much to my pleasure, a couple of people called me princess.

We ate at a place called Lakeside and I ordered the grilled chicken with pesto, provolone and tomato sandwich with fries. I ate half then got myself a piece of three-layered choocolate mousse cake that came with whipped cream and chocolate drizzles. It was so delectable and light, airy at the same time.

We spent most of the day at Pier 39 where we enjoyed the sights of the decorated Christmas tree, boats and ocean, and shops. We explored both the ground level stores and the upstairs. I found some really cute stuff at Paper Palace: An orange bookmark with a design of a silver star and two different-colored blue hearts. Also bought a blue business card holder with heart design on top. It will come in handy.

After Pier 39, CC took us to see some sights that were along the 49-Mile Scenic Route. There was the Golden Gate Bridge, Palace of Fine Arts which was reminiscent of ancient Rome and so pretty, and through the Presidio of SF. When that was done we headed to the Civic Center and waited at the UN Plaza, where I'm to meet SG and actually to my delight, AE also called and he was nearby so he walked over and joined us as well.

I hadn't seen AE or SG (both friends from Santa Cruz) in awhile so I was very happy to have them come along for dinner. However, SG was a bit late in meeting us because she couldn't find where we were and I was worried about having enough time to eat so I got a bit out of control but was restored to good spirits after seeing her. I need to learn how to relax though and let things be. Hmm, wonder how to do that...

Anyway, what I didn't realize was that the restaurants were so close by-- less than a block and also the Opera House was also very near to us. I decided to eat a nice Indian restaurant where I get vegetahle samosas (they were huge), chicken tikka masala (they weren't spicy at all, thank goodness), garlic naan and a Mango Lissy (a great, smoothie-like drink).

We all crowded into a booth and had a great conversation with my two buddies and we got a chance to talk about what's been going on in our lives, etc etc. AE and SG are both so sweet... They told me they each have a gift for me so they'll send it to my NY address later on. Awww. I'm very glad I got to see both of them before I have to leave.

CC, J, my mom and I headed to the Opera House for the Nutcracker Ballet with plenty of time left. It's a lovely building and inside was vast, sparkling and clean. We had Balcony seats so were pretty up high but could see the costumes and dance steps just fine. The show was wonderous: Glittery, graceful, beautiful music, magical, and skillful dancers. I enjoyed the snowflakes, the horse drawn carriage, the French and Russian dancers best.