This year, we stayed in Mimi's house in Palo Alto for our annual get-together.
We really appreciate Mimi's invitation to Helen, Alice and Fei for staying at her beautiful house for this gathering.
Friday, October 25, 2024
September 24 - Enjoying the Food and Shopping in Palo Alto
After Alice finished her grandma duty in LA, she flew to San Jose Airport on 9/24. Fei flew to San Jose from Houston on the same day.
Mimi and Helen came to San Jose Airport to pick up Alice and Fei. Four of us were very excited to see each other, and to have chance to spend the following 5 days together.
Mimi drove us to lunch at Neiman Marcus Cafe in Stanford Shopping Center. After lunch, We were checking on several stores and trying on clothes that we like. We love shopping together and offer each other honest opinions. Of course, we did buy the clothes that we liked and we all were very happy.
For Dinner, Mimi made reservation at RH Rooftop Restaurant. The RH Rooftop Restaurant is located on the third floor of RH Palo Alto, a 60,000-square-foot design gallery that blurs the lines between residential and retail, indoors and outdoors, home and hospitality. What a wonderful idea of having this experience! Thanks to Mimi.
After dinner, we went back to Mimi's house and had a great time chit-chatting for a long time.
September 25 - Having Wonderful Meals in Palo Alto
Mimi served a wonderful breakfast for us in her cozy kitchen. We had coffee, hard boiled eggs, toasts, and fruits. Mimi shared her favorite Jam, honey, broth, dipping soy sauce and bone strength Calcium with us. Fei loves her coffee machine too.
She also prepared travel medicine (Vitamins C, D3 and Zinc) for all of us.
We went to Westfield Valley Fair Shopping Center first. Stopped at Nordstrom and other shops. And then ate at Din Tai Fung for lunch. This place offers a delicious array of Chinese-inspired dishes from Taiwan. We ordered Cucumber Salad, Seaweed & Beancurd Salad, Sweet & Sour Pork Baby Back Ribs, Xiao Long Bao, Dumplings, Taiwanese Cabbage with Garlic, and Pork Chop Fried Rice. What an exciting restaurant for Texans like Alice and Fei. They wish they have Din Tai Fung in Houston.
For dinner, Cheng treated us a wonderful meal in a French Restaurant called Le Papillon. For over 40 years, Le Papillon has carried out a tradition of serving the finest cuisine, beautifully presented in an elegant and quiet setting. The 4 courses meal was wonderful. Other than wonderful food/dessert they served, we got a change to spend more time talking to Cheng. Thanks to Cheng for his generous offer.
September 26 - Trip to Healdsburg, CA
Mimi planned a trip for us to go to Healdsburg, CA. Healdsburg is a city located in Sonoma County about 2 hours drive from Mimi's house. The city is surrounded by rising hills and vineyards. Healdsburg nestled against the Russian River in northern Sonoma County. It holds the charms of a small, agricultural community with the amenities of a world-class wine and food destination.
We got up early and had breakfast in Mimi's kitchen first and then started our journey to Healdsburg. The drive was smooth by our expert driver Mimi.
For lunch, we ate at the Acorn Cafe. Just across from this cafe, we found a nice clothing store. They carrie beautiful barrel jeans, light and heavy sweaters. We have to try them on and decide which one to buy.
Later, we checked into Hotel Trio for one night stay. This modern hotel is conveniently located close to Healdsburg Town Center. After we settled into our room, we went to town center and done more shopping in the afternoon.
Dinner is at the Willi's Seafood & Bar. We enjoyed the food very much. We also had an early celebration of Helen's birthday. Happy, happy birthday to our dearest friend Helen.
September 27 - Shopping, Olive Oil Tasting in Healdsbug
We had breakfast in the hotel. It offers standard American breakfast.
We did more shopping in this nice down. We found a clothing store with Japanese designed clothes called Yasuko. It specializes an original, and one-of-a-kind clothing using kimono silk and vintage Japanese textiles. Many of these textiles feature a quality of workmanship which is now only produced by a handful of artisans, making them nearly unobtainable today. They have beautiful and unique pieces. She also creates a line of everyday cotton wearables that feature Japanese inspired graphics in unique styles.
Helen loves the material they use and the design. She bought several beautiful outfits that can go easily for her upcoming travel. Mimi, Alice and Fei also found and brought some pants and tops.
We had lunch at Asahi Sushi & Kitchen. Sushi, sashimi and other traditional Japanese dishes are served at this relaxed restaurant. We had a great time eating at this restaurant.
Mimi saw a tote bag in a souvenir shop and she got one for each one of us. Thanks, Mimi!
We visited Trattore Farms and Winery in the afternoon. Trattore Farms and Winery offers a “sense of place” where people look forward to slow down and enjoy the stunning views of Dry Creek Valley. They also offered some award-winning wines, extra virgin olive oils and freshly prepared local cuisine. We did olive oil tasting and picked the ones that we like.
Alice and Fei were delighted to learn that they do shipping in the US. So, they picked several bottles and let the farm ship them to their house in Texas.
For dinner, we ate in Chef Zhao Kitchen. This is a Chinese eatery serving ample portions of Shanghai-style dishes in a contemporary, informal interior. Mimi is so lucky to have this restaurant close by.
September 28 - More Fun in Palo Alto
Again, we had breakfast in Mimi's house.
After breakfast, we did errands (find a UPS store to ship Alice's package) and window shopped in downtown Palo Alto.
For lunch, we ate at Evvia Estiatorio. Evvia Estiatorio brings the warmth and charm of Greece to Silicon Valley. This place is a must visit restaurant in Palo Alto, everything tastes amazing here!
For the past 5 days, we chatted, laughed, exchanged ideas, shared new findings and had a great time together.
September 29 - Last Day in Palo Alto
What a gracious host Mimi is! She not only invited us to stay at her house, she also is our driver, trip planner and medicine/cosmetic/fashion/food advisor. We really appreciate her hospitality. Thanks, Mimi.
We all going to part our way and go home today. Helen took a Uber to go back to her house in Saratoga. Mimi has to drive Alice and Fei to San Jose Airport.
We all had a great time being together for the past 5 days. We all looking forward for our next trip in April next year.
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