I Run Like A Girl

As you can tell from this post’s title, I have a lot to share today. Last week was filled with a variety of activities – a mix of indoors/outdoors time, cultural activities, being active & lazy, and trying new things. Let’s dive right in. 🙂

July 4th in Berkeley

The highlight of the week was having Tuesday off from work for Independence Day. Joe and I were craving some outdoor time, so we chased the sun all the way to Berkeley since it was max glooms in San Francisco all week.

First up, we ate lunch at Saul’s Restaurant and Delicatessen, a Jewish restaurant that resembled a classic New York deli. It’s a popular spot in Berkeley so there was a small wait, but it was so worth it as the food was absolutely phenomenal. I ordered the matza ball soup and pita sabich – it was so good I was thinking about it for days after! I definitely recommend this spot if you are in Berkeley. 🙂

After lunch, we headed to the Botanical Garden in Tilden Regional Park located in the Berkeley Hills. This was a free 10-acre botanical garden specializing in California-native plants. It was such a pleasant space. The garden was large and had a lot of break-out trails, which made it feel like you were getting lost in nature. We loved studying all the plant varieties and seeing the beautiful, diverse plants of California.

There was a sequoia section with towering redwood trees making it feel like you were in the middle of a national park in Northern California. It was a nice contrast from the sunny, exposed sections of Southern California.

Overall, our Independence Day was an A+ and gave us rejuvenation for the rest of the work week. Now fast forward to the weekend…

Saturday: roller skating + SF Folk Festival

Saturday started off with bringing back one of our old activities…rollerskating in Golden Gate Park! Flashback to the pandemic when Joe and I did a lot of rollerskating. We haven’t skated in a long time as I admit it was somewhat of a pandemic obsession, but now that we live so close to the park, we decided to resurface it. I even bought new rollerskates as I previously had rollerblades which were too advanced for me. 😛

We decided to start slow at a skate park at the entrance of Golden Gate Park. It was early in the morning so we basically had the whole place to ourselves. The flat, traffic-free space was perfect for getting my feet wet again. Joe picked it up like a pro as he is surprisingly very good at rollerskating.

I took a little more time to get used to skating again, but I’m so glad we did this. I definitely want to make this a more regular activity. It’s perfect for getting fresh air and a nice alternative to taking walks all the time.

We relaxed in the apartment for the rest of the morning, and then we headed out for lunch in the Sunset. After 3 weekends in a row eating at Crepevine (our latest lunch obsession), we finally branched out and ate at a Vietnamese restaurant called Yummy Yummy. I saw it was mentioned on several food blogs, and I wanted to check it out. It definitely lived up to the hype as the food was authentic and truly yummy yummy! It brought me back to my Vietnam days last year. The service was great too with its family-like atmosphere. Another solid food stop in the books. 🙂

After lunch, we headed to Golden Gate Park and stopped by a plant sale in the SF County Fair building. It was heaven for us as you know how much Joe and I love plants. 🙂 We are at plant capacity in our apartment, but it was fun walking around and checking out all the small boutique vendors.

Then, we headed further into the park. We saw the SF Folk Festival was going on, and it was the perfect place to lay out our blanket. The folk music was the perfect backdrop while we napped in the sun and enjoyed donuts from Donut World – you know we can’t visit the Sunset without a stop at Donut World 😉 . It was the perfect, rejuvenating afternoon.

In the evening, Joe went out with some friends, and I stayed home and made a salmon salad pita for dinner. Ever since visiting the Jewish deli, I have been obsessed with pitas, and I tried several new recipes this week. I tend to get obsessive when I find something I like. 🙂 I also made a curry chickpea pita (2nd photo) and attempted to recreate the pita sabich from the deli (3rd photo). So good!

Sunday: Japan Town + movie date

The next day had gloomy weather in the city, so we knew it was going to be an indoor day. Joe and I wanted to go to Japan Town ever since moving back to the city, and we decided to finally go. Flashback to Joe’s last apartment which was walking distance to Japan Town – it was our go-to spot and we probably went once a week. It was nostalgic going back for the first time in a year. There are a lot of food options in Japan Town and we went to our #1 favorite lunch spot for chicken katsu and ramen. It was even better than I remembered.

There was a cultural festival going on in Japan Town. We stopped by for a little bit and saw different performances. It was a cute event and reminded me of the Chinese cultural events I took part in as a kid.

In the afternoon, we went to the movies and watched Joyride. It was so funny and hit home! We were laughing so hard at some parts, and I definitely recommend it. It was the perfect low-key day before entering a new week.

Until next time!