A digital travel diary. · WP v1.08 · Updated
On Saturday, March 28, 2026, Inna and I drove to San Francisco to see the play "Our Class" at Z Space (in the Mission District). . Before seeing the play, we decided to park at Crissy Field and stroll along the waterfront. Hungry, we stopped for lunch at Cracked & Battered (one of our favorite local eateries). We were finally able to get a table…
Read More: “Our Class” Play at Z Space
The de Young Museum's Bouquets to Art is an annual exhibition where floral designers create arrangements inspired by artworks in the museum’s galleries. The bouquets are displayed next to the paintings, sculptures, or objects that inspired them, allowing visitors to see a botanical interpretation of the art. . . . . . Here’s a concise summary of the exhibition: . Concept. Professional florists, garden clubs,…
Read More: Bouquets to Art Floral Exhibition at de Young Museum
A Mai Tai and a Leap of Faith: Why You Can’t Miss 'Primary Trust' at TheatreWorks . If you’ve ever felt like the world was moving just a little too fast for you to keep up, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s latest production will feel like a warm hug. . . . Coming to the Lucie Stern Theatre this March is "Primary Trust," the 2024 Pulitzer Prize…
Read More: Primary Trust by at Lucie Stern Theatre
Before our Theater Works Primary Trust performance, Inna made dinner reservations for 18:00 at Ettan - one of our favorite local Indian restaurants. . . We had eaten at Ettan last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. Ettan is extremely popular and can be challenging to reserve on short notice. . . . At around 18:00, we checked in and were taken to a table on…
Read More: Dinner at Ettan, Palo Alto
I was lucky to purchase 2 tickets (via Todaytix) for Spamalot at the Golden Gate Theater on March 5 at 19:00. . . Before the show, Inna and I met up at the Georgian Cheese Boat for a quick dinner. She was visiting the Bouquets to Art show at the Legion of Honor Museum (and took many photos there). We ordered the following items for…
Read More: Spamalot at Golden Gate Theater
For Inna's birthday, I had planned a two-day getaway retreat at Calistoga, featuring rest & relaxation at the Indian Springs Resort & Spa. . Friday, February 27, 2026. After Inna and I finished work, we started our drive to Indian Springs Resort & Spa in Calistoga. There was some traffic on the way, and we arrived later than expected. After checking in at reception, we…
Read More: Calistoga Weekend
For Inna's Birthday dinner, I made reservations at Evvia - one of our favorite Palo Alto restaurants. Evvia serves authentic Greek entrees, and we really like the high-quality dishes. . I was really tired from work and came home around 18:30. We even contemplated cancelling going to Evvia, but I decided it was worth the effort to revisit this local gem. . . We arrived…
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For Valentine's Day, Inna decided to treat me to a fun evening of guitar music at International Guitar Night at the Villa Montalvo. . . International Guitar Night (IGN) is a celebrated touring acoustic guitar festival that showcases some of the world’s most inventive and expressive guitarists. Founded in 1995 by Brian Gore, IGN brings together a rotating lineup of virtuosos from diverse countries and…
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Since Super Bowl LX between the Seahawks and Patriots was being played at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, I decided to arrange a place to watch it locally. I looked around at Double D's, but it was too expensive ($150/person). Many other places were already all booked. However, I found that Water Tower Kitchen in Campbell had reservations available (with a $50 per-person minimum). I…
Read More: Super Bowl LX: Seattle Seahawks vs New England Patriots
I had decided to try using my iGPSPORT BiNavi GPS Bike computer to mountain bike from my house to Lexington Reservoir and back. This is a popular, highly rated trail also available on Komoot.. My GPX directions can be downloaded here.. . It was a very difficult, 20-mile climb with 2,835 feet of elevation gain. It has some spectacular views of the surrounding mountains. It…
Read More: Mountain Biking around Lexington Reservoir
Since our tee time was not available (booked for 09:30), we decided to practice driving at the Pruneridge Golf Club. When we arrived at 09:00, the parking lot was already getting quite full. . . I had a lot of difficulty getting sufficient depth and consistency.. . Perhaps I should be looking to purchase some Golf Clubs?. Callaway Edge Regular Flex 10-piece Golf Club Set,…
Read More: Playing Golf at the Pruneridge Golf Club
Inna decided to treat me to a concert of Vasya Oblomov, who was playing at Chez Nous Cafe in Redwood City. . . Overview . In late 2025–early 2026, the Russian musician and songwriter Vasya Oblomov is on tour, promoting his new studio album, Как всё было на самом деле (How It Really Was), and performing many of his well-known songs live. . Tour Purpose…
Read More: Vasya Oblomov at Chez Nous Cafe
Today, we saw a performance of "The Book of Mormon" at the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco. We had seen it many years ago (and had forgotten a lot of the songs). This performance seemed fresh (and a bit different from the one we had seen last time). . . . . We really enjoyed the performance a lot (despite having off-center seats) - a…
Read More: Book of Mormon at the Orpheum
Inna decided to see the newly composed/revised version of Zolushka. This was a more mature take on the "Cinderella" children's classic with a unique (more mature) update to the themes in the original version. . "Zolushka" (Cinderella) is a unique Russian-language musical performance taking place at the Oshman Family JCC Click to open side panel for more information in Palo Alto. Described as a "musical…
Read More: Zolushka at Palo Alto Oshman Family JCCBefore our planned stop at JCC to see Zolushka, Inna had made dinner reservations for 6:00 p.m. at the highly rated Ettan Indian Restaurant. . . We had eaten at Ettan last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. Ettan is extremely popular and challenging to reserve on short notice. . . . . . . . At around 17:12, I dropped off Inna at Ettan and…
Read More: Dinner at Ettan, Palo AltoInna decided to purchase tickets to Kasia Smolarek's Classical Guitar concert at De Anza College's Visual and Performing Arts Theater (VPAC). . When we arrived at De Anza College, we had difficulty finding the VPAC because I had programmed 21250 Stevens Creek Blvd. (instead of the Visual and Performing Arts Theater). Even though we arrived at 19:21 for the 19:30 opening, we still had to…
Read More: Kasia Smolarek at De Anza
Inna heard about the AURA show in San Francisco's Grace Cathedral, and we decided to purchase tickets and see it for ourselves. . . Before the show, we stopped by for dinner at Dacha Kitchen & Bar (an Eastern European restaurant 15-minutes away), where we ordered the following: . . Boris: Chicken Skewers. Inna: Pojarskaya Cutlet. Alex: Seasoned Salmon. My Chicken Skewers were alright, but…
Read More: AURA at Grace Cathedral
. A few months back, Inna purchased two tickets to the new Cirque du Soleil Echo show in San Francisco (during a Black Friday sale). We have always enjoyed watching Cirque du Soleil's many shows, including the following: . . 2001 - "O" (Bellagio, Las Vegas). 2007 - Kooza (San Francisco). 2011 - "O" (Bellagio, Las Vegas). 2011 - The Beatles Love (Mirage, Las Vegas).…
Read More: Cirque du Soleil – Echo
At around 18:00, we started our walk to see Let's Glow San Francisco. . This all-ages, family-friendly event runs for 10 nights from December 5–14, 2025. Experience breathtaking animated projections illuminating eight iconic buildings across the city's core, transforming them into colossal, colorful canvases featuring work by 19 artists from around the globe.. Our first stop was at the Hobart Building, which had some of…
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We decided to drive over to San Francisco to see the Menorah lighting at Union Square to commemorate the first day of Hanukkah, then take a stroll to visit the various Let's Glow SF buildings, and finish with dinner at Little Shucker. . . . . . We are initially worried about the security and safety after the recent events in Australia:. . On December…
Read More: Menorah Lighting at Union Square