Welcome to Floy & Brian's home on the web! We are two hardware engineers hanging out in Silicon Valley, working in the high tech industry.
Fun in the Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area is a great place to live! We are located central to the world-famous Pacific Coast, the beautiful scenery of Marin County, the culture and history of San Francisco, the vineyards of Napa and Sonoma Counties, and the summer/winter playgrounds of Lake Tahoe. Here are some suggestions for sights to see and places to eat in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Points of Interest
Monterey:
Cannery Row, an area popularized by John Steinbeck by his book of the same name, it is now an area of shops, restaurants, and attractions (see Monterey Bay Aquarium, below). There is even a Bubba Gump Seafood restaurant (of Forrest Gump fame) located on Cannery Row, as well as a Ghirardelli ice cream store.
Monterey Bay Aquarium, 886 Cannery Row, (831) 648-4888. The Aquarium is home to 3 cute and furry sea otters, as well as a host of other marine animals, including various types of jellyfish, a sea turtle, and a sunfish (as our friend Mikee puts it, someone hit him with an ugly stick (the sunfish, not Mikee!=P)). The aquarium's newest exhibit, Mysteries of the Deep, just opened earlier this year.
Point Lobos State Reserve is a beautiful area about 10 minutes south of Monterey. There is a nice hike that goes to the end of the point, where you can sometimes see seals sunning themselves on the beach below.
Seventeen-Mile Drive is a scenic stretch of drive (guess how long?) along the California Coast that runs by the famous Pebble Beach Golf Course. Their signature trademark is the Lone Cypress.
Palo Alto:
Downtown Palo Alto is a quaint area with many restaurants and bookstores. The Stanford Theatre at 221 University Ave. is an old theater which showcases classic movies. If you're lucky, you'll get to enjoy a performance on the Wurlitzer pipe organ before the show.
Stanford Shopping Center is a nicely designed outdoor mall which includes a Bloomingdale's, Macy's, and Tiffany's (of "Breakfast at Tiffany's" fame). A great place to go on a nice day to peoplewatch.
Stanford University. Founded by Leland and Jane Stanford in memory of their son Leland Stanford Jr., Stanford University consistently ranks among the top schools in the nation.
San Jose:
Lick Observatory, (408) 274-4061. For astronomy buffs, Lick Observatory sometimes holds laser and planetarium shows. Call for their schedule.
Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, (408) 947-3636. You can see a real mummy here, along with other Egyptian antiquities.
Tech Museum of Innovation, 201 S. Market St., (408) 294-8324. The Tech Museum is a hands-on science museum. Be sure to check out the Intel exhibit. The IMAX Omnidome theater makes you feel as if you are actually in the movie.
Winchester Mystery House, 525 S. Winchester Blvd, (408) 247-2101. Built by Sarah Winchester, widow of the heir of the Winchester Rifle fortune, this house is odd, to say the least. Stairs leading to nowhere, skylights in the floor, fireplaces that stop just short of the roof. What was she thinking?
San Francisco:
Alcatraz Island ((415) 546-2700/546-2628), once a federal penitentiary and home to such infamous criminals as Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly, and the Birdman of Alcatraz. Daily tours by ferry, but call ahead for reservations, as most weekends sell out.
Angel Island is the largest island in San Francisco Bay and used to be the site of an immigration station, where the majority of Chinese immigrants were quarantined before being allowed to enter the United States. There are ferries available for transportation to the island.
Exploratorium, 3601 Lyon St., (415) 561-0360, is located next to the Palace of Fine Arts and is a hands-on science museum for kids of all ages, similar to the Detroit Science Center or the Hands-On Museum in Ann Arbor. They also have a Tactile Dome (be sure to call ahead for reservations), which is a multi-room half-dome that is completely dark inside, and you have to feel your way around. An interesting experience.
Fisherman's Wharf, where you can buy a sourdough bread bowl of clam chowder.
Ghirardelli Square is home to a host of shops and restaurants, including a Ghirardelli chocolate store & soda fountain. If you stop by on October 16, there will be a jazz festival in swing. For details, check out the Event Calendar on their website.
Lombard Street, Crookedest Street in the World. Take a drive down and you'll see why.
North Beach, San Francisco's version of Little Italy. Lots of coffee shops and good Italian food, and the childhood neighborhood of Joe DiMaggio.
Palace of Fine Arts, built for the World Expo. San Franciscans liked this Greek architecture so much, they kept it. There are usually 3-4 wedding parties having their pictures taken here at the same time on any given day.
Pier 39, (415) 705-5500. A collection of shops along the pier with a great view of the San Francisco Bay.
Other:
Gilroy Outlet Stores are located just 40 minutes south of Santa Clara on Highway 101 and contain many name-brand outlets (Nike, Ann Taylor, Levi, Liz Claiborne, Bose).
Muir Woods National Monument, Mill Valley, (415) 388-2595. Home to some impressive redwoods and many relaxing trails through the woods.
Napa and Sonoma is the place for wine lovers. There are many wineries in Napa Valley and Sonoma County (north of San Francisco) where you can take wine-tasting tours.
Santa Cruz Mystery Spot, 465 Mystery Spot Rd, (831) 423-8897. Why is it a mystery? We could tell you, but then we'd have to kill you. Come here to see many strange sights that seem to defy the laws of nature and physics.
Dining
Here are some recommendations for great places to dine in the Bay Area:
Castro Street in Mountain View (just south of Central Expressway) consists of a large variety of foods (this is different from the Castro Street in San Francisco!). You can find Thai, Chinese, Indian, American Grill, Mexican, Italian, and Vietnamese all within a few blocks of each other. One of the best Chinese restaurants on Castro is Szechuan Garden. Hunan Gourmet is a little more upscale, and Amarin Thai is great for Thai food. They even have a vegetarian menu.
Chelokababi (1236 Wolfe Road, Sunnyvale, (408) 737-1222) is where you can go to sample tasty Persian food. Their specialty is (you guessed it) kebabs of beef, chicken, and lamb on beds of saffron rice, accompanied by roasted tomatoes and grilled onion halves. Delicious!
Chez Sovan (2425 South Bascom Ave., Campbell, (408) 371-7711) serves excellent Cambodian cuisine. Their chicken sticks are tasty appetizers (try 1 per person). Just make sure you go to the nice Chez Sovan (S. Bascom Ave.), and not the scary one (N. 13th St.).
The Fish Market (3775 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, (408) 246-3474, at Lawrence Expressway) serves all kinds of American fish dishes broiled over mesquite wood charcoal. Orange roughy, sea bass, mahi mahi, you name it, they've probably got it.
Frankie, Johnny, and Luigi Too! (939 W. El Camino Real, Mountain View, (650) 967-5384) gives you so much Italian food, you'll have to take home a doggie bag.
La Fondue (14510 Big Basin Way, Saratoga, (408) 867-3332), serving fondue. You can even view their menu online. We recommend the Fondue Feast. La Fondue is a very popular romantic restaurant, so be sure to call 2 weeks in advance for reservations. And plan 3 hours for your meal - we guarantee you won't leave hungry!
Macaroni Grill (110 Ranch Drive, Milpitas, (408) 935-9875, in the McCarthy Ranch Plaza at the corner of highways 237 and 880), serving Italian. Their rosemary-infused bread is delicious, and their portions are hearty.
If you like microbreweries, try Stoddard's (111 S. Murphy Ave., Sunnyvale, (408) 733-7824), Tied House (954 Villa St., Mountain View, (650) 965-2739), or Faultline.
Miyake Restaurant (140 University Ave., Palo Alto, (650) 323-9449) is the place to go for a sake bomb and some sushi. Miyake's is loud and hip, and if you wait long enough, they'll turn on the disco lights. They even have a sushi boat bar, where you can grab the food you want as it goes by. Talk about instant gratification!
Pedro's Restaurant and Cantina (3935 Freedom Circle, Santa Clara, (408) 496-6777) serves good Mexican food, and is conveniently located very close to Intel.
Peninsula Creamery (900 High St., Palo Alto, (650) 323-3175) - our friend Karen swears you cannot leave the Bay Area without trying one of their milk shakes.
Ranch 99 is a major Chinese grocery store which anchors a plaza of various Chinese restaurants, bakeries, and other stores. There are two Ranch 99 plazas in the South Bay. The first one is located at McCarthy Ranch, at the southeast junction of highways 237 and 880. Good restaurants in this complex include Mayflower Restaurant (good dim sum!) and ABC Seafood. The second Ranch 99 plaza is located at the southwest corner of Wolfe and Homestead, in Cupertino Village. Joy Luck Place serves good Chinese food here.
Sneha (1214 Apollo Way, #404, Sunnyvale, (408) 736-2720) serves Northern and Southern Indian cuisine, buffet style. All you can eat Indian food, yum! Don't forget the mango ice cream and kheer (rice pudding) for dessert.
Stinking Rose (325 Columbus Ave., San Francisco, (415) 781-7673) - if you love garlic, the Stinking Rose is for you! Located in the heart of North Beach, the Stinking Rose serves everything with lots of garlic. You can even finish off your meal with a helping of garlic ice cream. Just be sure to bring a pack of gum!
Sweet Tomatoes (1210 Kifer Rd., Sunnyvale, (408) 730-8117) and Fresh Choice (1105 W. El Camino Real, Sunnyvale, (408) 732-7788) are the two "soup and salad" places in the Bay Area, similar to Souplantation in southern California. They have all-you-can-eat buffets of soup, salad, breads, muffins, pasta, chili, baked potatoes, fruits, and desserts. What more do you need?
Taraval Okazu Ya (1735 Taraval St., San Francisco, between 27th and 28th Aves., (415) 759-6850), serving sushi and fish dishes. Their grilled sea bass platter is excellent! And the fish specials come with green tea, miso soup, rice, grilled veggies, and green tea ice cream.
Thai Basil (101 South Murphy Avenue, Sunnyvale, (408) 773-1098), serving Thai food. This restaurant is *teeny tiny*, but the food is extremely delicious.
Castro Street in Mountain View (just south of Central Expressway) consists of a large variety of foods (this is different from the Castro Street in San Francisco!). You can find Thai, Chinese, Indian, American Grill, Mexican, Italian, and Vietnamese all within a few blocks of each other. One of the best Chinese restaurants on Castro is Szechuan Garden. Hunan Gourmet is a little more upscale, and Amarin Thai is great for Thai food. They even have a vegetarian menu.
This page continually under construction.