Where do you go when you live in San Jose and want to hang out in a fun and lively neighborhood but don’t want to drive an hour to San Francisco? You go to Santana Row! Santana Row is a brand new complex that opened just couple years ago. It attempts to recreate the european street looking style. There are french cafes where they use the exact same tables than the real ones in France! The difference is that it is an upscale development with luxury residences and restaurants. This has become our favorite place to hang out in San Jose. Last time we went, there was a fashion show and live music. Today, we had an ice cream and played chess outside 
We were driving to San Francisco again today, after planning a little trip to the Japanese Tea Garden inside the Golden Gate Park. Why stay in San Jose when the weather is so nice and SF is only an hour away? 
. After getting closer to the park, we got lost and took a little detour, but that turned out to be quite a scenic drive as we got to see the Golden Gate Bridge from an unusual angle.
The Japanese Tea Garden was actually smaller than I thougth but did not disappoint as it was very pretty and charming, much better than the Japanese Friendship Garden in San Jose.
We then decided to stop by the Botanical Garden since it was next to the Japanese Garden. We didn’t expect too much at first but quickly started to enjoy it very much. There were so many strange looking plants and trees, and it felt so fresh it was difficult to believe we were in the middle of San Francisco. This reminded me a lot of Central Park in New York.
At the end of the day, our feet were so sore we could barely walk back to the car! But what an agreeable trip and pleasant surprise it was!
Last Memorial week-end, we drove to Southern California to visit Minh Chau’s parents and to see their new house.
I have always wanted to have a thin and light laptop with wi-fi capability so I could work on my bed or on my couch, watching TV