Thursday, November 18, 2010

Sampling the Culinary Delights of Pasadena

Francis lived in Pasadena when he was 18, and he still harbors wistful memories of his favorite eateries. If you know Francis, then you understand. We visited all his old haunts.

1. Himeko Chicken (now Teri & Yaki) : Asian dark chicken served with kimchi salads


2. The Hat: Hot pastrami sandwiches dipped in au jus, with a mountain of french fries

3. Tops: Chili-cheese fries and fresh grilled chicken salad with spicy carrots to start

I'm not sure why he is frowning in the photo -- probably because this was our last meal in Pasadena.

Here we are with Ellie McPhant after being turned away from Dancing with the Stars. We rushed directly from the airplane to the television studio in Beverly Hills, stopping on the side of the road to change into dressy clothes. We waited in line for 2 hours before being told we were some of the last people who would be able to make it into the show. All but two of the people behind us were told to go home. But 15 minutes later, they came back and said we would not make it into the show either. I was pretty disappointed, but maybe next time.

We also watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One while relaxing in Pasadena. The theatre we went to was amazing. It has a full bar and individually-reserved seats.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Disneyland on Francis's 28th Birthday

I planned a trip to LA for Francis's birthday because he has tons of happy childhood memories from Disneyland and we've talked about going for years. Above we are wearing our 3-D glasses before entering the Toy Story ride at California Adventure. That ride was by far my favorite because it's basically a giant game. I loved "shooting" 3-D pies, rings, and tennis balls at the screen while the Toy Story characters cheered me on.

Francis playing the standard Western shoot-em-up game that can be found at any amusement park. He made the owl's eyes light up just for me. *sigh*

About to take off on Space Mountain! The lines were exceptionally short because we went mid-week right before Thanksgiving, so we made it on a ton of rides. My favorites included Toy Story, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain, California Screamin', and Matterhorn.

Putting the "A" in DisneylAnd.

Oh how I love amusement park food...if you can call a great cloud of fluffy pink sugar food.

And apple pie!

This shot was taken while we raced past the camera on the California Screamin' roller coaster. We got greedy at the end of the night when the lines were short and rode this one twice in a row. I felt nauseous after that. Luckily, it was the end of the day anyway. It was a super fun yet exhausting one.