Alcatraz Island, San Francisco 2008

Alcatraz Island is an island located in the San Francisco Bay, near to San Francisco. It is featured in a number of movies, i.e. The Rock, X men: The last stand, The book of Eli, etc. I don't think I could remember much from the movie "The Rock", but now think about it, no wonder I feel it was so familiar when watching "X men: The last stand". It's Alcatraz Island alright.

Visiting Alcatraz Island and its famous prison made me value the freedom I am having now (relatively speaking). I dun even dare to imagine myself locked in some small cells. Not fun at all.


Pier 33


On the ferry, waiting for departure, even this seagull


Alcatraz Island, here I come


First look of Alcatraz Island


Alcatraz Cruises ferry


On Alcatraz Island




Inside a federal prison (ex)


Rows of prison cells


A prison cell


Isolation prison cells


San Francisco viewed from Alcatraz Island


I'm not so sure about the name of this bridge. Is it Golden Gate Bridge?


The ruin of a federal prison

Enough with the scenery photos, now it's my turn to pose:


On the ferry to Alcatraz Island


In front of a federal prison cell


San Francisco in the background


Again, what is the name of that bridge?

Twin Peaks, San Francisco 2008

If you'd like to have gorgeous view of SF, where is better than Twin Peaks? I prefer this to Coit Tower and there is a reason for that. I had a very bad experience getting to Coit Tower, and of course, I didn't enjoy my time up there. So yeah, give me Twin Peaks anytime.

I think for Twin Peaks, it is better to show you the photos I took there than using words. So enjoy yourself with the beauty SF offering you.




Around Twin Peaks


San Francisco viewed from Twin Peaks


San Francisco Bay viewed from Twin Peaks


On Twin Peaks

Cable car, San Francisco 2008

Another must-see and must-try in San Francisco is its cable cars. Each single ride costs you 5 bucks, but if you are a tourist and buy a Muni 1-day, 3-day or 7-day pass, you can ride it many times, whenever and wherever you like. That was why cable cars were my main method of transport when I was in SF, more than buses and trains. It was fun to ride the cable cars, enjoying the scenery along the way and hop on, hop off when and where you like. Also, it was exhilarating to ride up and down those steep streets. It was one of those factors that make me love SF so much, of all the cities I have been in the States.


Cable cars at Powell St.


Queuing up, waiting for departure

One interesting fact about SF cable cars is they can't turn around by themselves (the cars, I mean). At both ends of each line, there are cable car turntables and the gripmen and conductors have to turn the cars around to make return trips. As I frequented the Powell - Market, I managed to observe this turntable twice, which were quite interesting.


Push...


... and push...


... finally the car is turned around


Of course, I am not myself if I didn't take any photo with these cable cars


At Powell - Market cable car line

My new favourite make-up item...

... is Chanel Rouge Coco in Orchidee
My make-up routine is very simple. Foundation (liquid and powder), eye brows and blush. I don't put on eye make-up as my eyes are very sensitive and dry, and when I put on beauty products, they irritate my eyes to the extent that I might need to see the doctor's. So better safe and boring than being sorry. That's sad, I know.
Also, I am not a lipstick girl. I often forget my lipstick or gloss, feeling content with my lip balm. Not only that, the lipsticks I have are of those safe colors, which don't really inspire much.
But fortunately (and unfortunately for my wallet), I love Chanel beauty products and naturally I am very curious about whatever the brand releases each season. Last year was Rogue Allure which I really like with its abundance of moisturizer. This year we have Rouge Coco and I couldn't ignore it, could I? And I don't want to play safe anymore. I am in the mood of looking for something different, something not me (partly). And I love red (which you could have guessed). That's why I have bought Orchidee.


It is a warm but bold pink shade but looks good on me. I have been wearing for 2 days and for the first time in my life, I could see another color on my lips after lunch time. And I have the desire to wear it everyday. So yeah, it is my new fav!

Lombard Street, San Francisco 2008

Another attraction in SF is Lombard Street. I visited the city some time end of summer, early autumn so the flowers were blooming beautiful. I visited the street a few times, just to soak up the atmosphere.


Here it is, Lombard Street


Viewed up


Viewed down


Self-posing, as usual

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco Sep 2008

They say you can't claim to visit SF if you don't take some photos with their icons. One of them is Golden Gate Bridge. So yeah, I've been to SF.




Some interesting shots of the bridge:


Golden Gate Bridge in its glory


The cable of the bridge


Driving on the Golden Gate Bridge

Ice rain in Chicago

The fourth day in Chicago marked my first encounter with a winter rain. And damn, it was cold.

It was quite dreary when we left for John Hancock Observatory, raining and all! But we couldn't be deterred due to my full-day planning.


This was when we still didn't know that our trip to see Chicago from top of the world was quite wasted. As it was raining and foggy, the visibility was zero and that was why I do not have any cityscape photo of Chicago.

When we got out of the building, not only was it still raining, it was raining ice. At first, I thought it was snowing; but apparently, the weather turned too cold so instead of water, we'd got ice. Well, snow or ice, I still wanted to take some photos. It's not like I experience this every year, if I continued to stay in Singapore.


Icy rain in Chicago


With John Hancock Observatory as a backdrop


Super duper cold but we were still outdoors. The extent of our vanity

However, to award me with my patience, it snowed a little bit that night. Light and snow make a beautiful picture. I heart Chicago.

The world's tallest observation tower

For my trip to Canada last year, I decided to leave all the planning to Giang cos I was quite fed up with all the itineraries for NY and Chicago. My only request was that I wanted to go to CN Tower. Well, it's one of Toronto's attractions and what is better to get a feel of the city than viewing it from an observatory?

From what I could see, Toronto is quite a concrete city. And as it was in winter, the city looked gray with no greenery. But again, I didn't spend much time there so my observation might not be accurate.


I really love this photo: the sunset on Toronto Habour


Toronto Habour viewed from Sky Pod


Toronto in a winter day


On a lower observatory room


One of the bravest moments in my life


Braving the cold


With my dearest


Taking photos any time, any where


On Sky Pod with Giang


New pose: getting taken (un)knowingly