News from Beyond the Paceefick Part 3!

The first part of my journey ends (described here and here); another begins.
As one of my friends’ rightly noted, i am going from one area of the US full
of Indians to another area of the US which is full of Indians.
The last two months have been fun. I met some friends’ after a really long time. I met a good friend after a gap of almost 2 years.
I got a chance to drive some really nice cars especially the V6 engines (Nissan Altima/Maxima and the Pontiac GT); got to ride is couple of nice Audis (A1 coupe and A6). Driving/Riding them on the freeways (Max speed 65-75 MPH) was a great experience. Especially after driving in India and that too Pune.
No rickshaw drivers who think they are Michael Schumacher. No motor-bikers who think the road is their shooting locale for the next D(h)oom sequel.
One of things i admired most is that pedestrian is king. All the traffic rules are such that they favor pedestrians.
Coming back to the fun part; another i got a chance to try was a lot of cuisines.
California (especially the Bay area), being a melting pot of a lot of nationalities; there are restaurants that cater to almost everyones’ taste buds. I got a chance to try Mexican, Thai, Malay, Vietnamese, Chinese, European (Spanish, Greek etc) and obviously American. Not to forget Indian food. More recently(just before leaving for Jersey City), i tried Ethiopian. The spices they used were very close to Indian but the taste was quite unique and tasty.
Out of all the cuisines, i loved American (Salad bars, burger places, chicago-style pizzas etc) the most, with Greek and Asian(Malay/Thai) coming a close 2nd. With thanksgiving around the corner, i got a chance to taste some very delicious Turkey.
The almost puking experience  when i tasted Octopus/sea bass belongs to the “fun” part. All part of the game.
While on the subject of culinary interests, one thing i really loved here was the variety of flavors (Strawberry, lemon, orange, peach etc) in which yogurt is available. Frozen Yogurt also deserves a mention. Its a dessert similar to Ice-cream.

Coming to the liquids. Starbucks coffee is really kick-ass. Not just for the variety of coffees (which are great), but also for the ambience itself. People read, play chess, work, surf the net, listen to music or just chit-chat even at midnight!
Napa Valley being near-by, there was lot of variety of local wine available. The pinot noirs and chardonnays kept me good company and worked as a good treatment for the bad throats i allegedly had I tasted a locally brewed beer from a friend’s glass, which tasted very different from the ones i ever tasted.
And Yes, one thing i totally freaked out on was the Coca Cola Zero (yeah! Zero cal Coke). Only people with me can comment on my consumption of Coke. I think the Coca Cola’s stock price went out on account of significant rise in sales in the Bay area.

The main “fun” thing obviously was roaming around during weekends. We did couple of one day/half day trips and one big trip to Los Angeles.San Francisco being just an hour’s drive away. We went there often. Golden Gate, Coit Tower, Twin Peaks, Downtown were the main attractions. The pics are here, here, here and here!Besides that; we went on the scenic California – 1 which runs along the Pacific. Pics are here and Some Beaches . Pics are here, here and here.
Wine tasting/touring in the Napa Valley was great experience. Luckily we went there on a day with perfect weather. Pics are here
The highlight of this first leg was LA trip. A 6-hrs one way trip by car on a very straight I-5 was a great experience.

We stayed very close to USC. Their campus was huge and beautiful amongst other things . The Universal studios was an awesome experience. The rides and shows was worth a every penny spent. Pics are here.
We sent some time near the Hollywood walk of fame which i felt was really in the presence of greatness. Pics are here

Now the main part of the trip is over. I am looking forward the next leg on the east coast where i am *officially* on vacation !!
Get ready New York, another tourist is coming!