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Did you ever stay at a hotel where the width of the building is, well, approximately comparable to the length of your car?

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad thing. It’s just an unusual, and rather cool. This means that the 6-story hotel we were at only had 30 rooms. And that, my friends, can either turn into a nightmare bed and breakfast, or a very pleasant tiny little hotel with personal service. I’ve done lots of research in advance – let’s just say I don’t like unpleasant surprises . And TripAdvisor reviews go a long way in helping with that.

440 Post is indeed an unbeatable address. Just look at the aerial map – the green stuff in the middle is the block of the Union Square; the building to the right of the red arrow is the Inn at Union Square hotel where we stayed:

Amazing breakfast. Beautiful, tiny room with the charm of an east-coast hotel. Aveda products in the bathroom (major score for Irina, and I – admittedly – am quite impartial to their stuff).

First place: North Beach. For the first time in years, I had a chance to spend a significant amount of time in Italian Quarters of the City (San Francisco city, of course). As you know, Irina and I are major fans of fancy coffee, simple-but-amazing sandwiches, and french desserts.

Man. Did we come to the right place.

Pictured, from top to bottom, are: hungry me; the best gorgonzola and pear sandwich I’ve had in my life (walnut bread plays a big part here); freshly squeezed orange juice well worth the $3.50.

The place is called La Boulange. Irina claims their Napoleon was just as good, but I was only mildly impressed by the fruit tart. I am quite spoiled, yes.

…..

Second place: Nordstrom near Union Square. Unlike our Downtown Seattle Nordstrom, this place has a fancy-upscale-dinner establishment. They get the spot for the location, amazing service, and the views. Food was just OK; Irina liked their seafood pasta; my asparagus and shrimp risotto was not bad.

But the views!

….

Honorable mention: mushroom soup on Santana Row. Nothing can compare to La Fontana’s mushroom soup. But this one came really, really close. Upside: the bill wasn’t the usual $120 you get for two people at your friendly next door La Fontana .

Last March, Irina and I went to Los Angeles – and I took a few pictures and even made a video. And yes, it took me a while, but late is better than never .

Here’s the video that I made (Windows Movie Maker is not that bad of a tool, btw):

You’d expect that after getting a bartending certificate I would want to organize a party to show off the “mad skills”. Well, there weren’t really any skills yet, just some basic knowledge of the process, and desire to entertain .

So, Heiwad and I decided to co-host a party, and with lots of Irina’s help, here’s what turned out.

Evite:

Bar Menu (we had a few “signature cocktails”):

Some party pics (the rest is here):

We asked guests to bring their favorite bottle of hard liquor, so we had a few bottles remaining… I guess we’ll have to throw another party soon

Mom shared a few pics of the cat – Halva is definitely having a good time in California

All that for me? Why, thank you!	Waz goin on?	How are YOU doin’?

Rosemary and oregano – um, we bought them a few weeks ago and I haven’t killed them yet! I deserve a medal!

Сижу я, значицца, дома, никого не трогаю..
So I’m just at home, playing with Pixel..

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My very close friend DavidAir came to Seattle for a few days, and I was SO happy to see him. Man, I really miss the guy. How dare he move away to the snowy Montreal land?? Ain’t right, come back, brother, we need you here!

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