My uncle dropped me off at the Fremont BART station at 8:56. I didn't think I'd be able to catch the 9:00 train, but in the end, I did. I've never really observed until now how shady the BART can be, so I hung onto everything with both my hands, and kept the paper bag with 鳳梨酥 for my cousin on the seat next to me, to avoid anyone sitting next to me. A woman did, anyway, to which I had to snatch the bag out from under her at the very last minute!
My cousin met me at the station and took me out and onto the campus. We wandered around...
To start off, my cousin took me to the top of the Campanile (Camp-ah-neelee) or Sather clock tower for a view of all of Berkeley. You can see the Golden Gate from the top, which is amazing :)
And after an amazing view, onto the food. Of course there was lots of food to enjoy! Honestly, both Hanson and Elizabeth didn't really know where to take me, except to eat, so we didn't do much besides walk around and... well, eat! That day, I ...
1. had lunch at Zachary's with my cousin, a deep-dish pizza restaurant that's won over a hundred "best pizza" awards. We split a small pizza and each chose what went on one half of it: my cousin ordered a meat-lovers, and I ordered one with artichoke hearts (mmm, my favorite), mushrooms, onions, and pepperoni. Unfortunately I was a tad hungry at the time the pizza came, and didn't think to take out my bulky camera to take a shot of it :( It was very good, but to my surprise, I couldn't even finish three slices ... suppose my food intake has gone down since I've been living in Taiwan?? :O
2. had C.R.E.A.M! It's a bit like Diddy Riese in UCLA, where you order two cookies and ice cream, and they make it according to the flavors you want. I didn't get a picture of this either! It's a shame, because it was terribly good :(
3. Crepevine, as you will see...
After four, five hours with me, my cousin sent me to the East Asian Library where I met Elizabeth and started my three hours with her. She and I went to Crepevine for crepes! I was still full from C.R.E.A.M and Zachary's, so I watched her eat instead of getting one myself. The crepe contained strawberries, bananas, with a side of French vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. The ice cream, which I couldn't resist taking a bite of, was absolutely delicious.
To this day, I have still not tried Yogurtland. Every time my friends and I went near one, I was either too full, too cold, feeling guilty about spending money, or we didn't go in at all. And actually, this isn't Yogurtland at all... it's actually Yogurt Creations, which Elizabeth and I passed by while aimlessly wandering down Shattuck Avenue. I needed to use the bathroom, and was in the mood for froyo, so... went in, got some, and used the restroom when I was done. ahaha. This particular "creation" — strawberry tart yogurt with kiwi, strawberries, peaches, and sprinkles — turned out to be very good.
Cheeseboard Pizza Collective is one of the most famous pizza places in Berkeley, with a couple of catches: 1. you don't order your pizza; they have one kind a day, and bring it to you when it's finished, first come first serve; 2. pizzas contain no meat or sauce. It's a bit bizarre, but I didn't get the chance to try it. The pizza shop is located right next to their cheese shop, which (as you can see from the menu) contains hundreds of different cheeses for your perusal. Definitely a spot to check out if you're ever in Berkeley!
Chez Panisse is the restaurant to which Elizabeth introduced me. Two catches, as usual: 1. you have to make reservations two months in advance (!!), 2. the menu is organized in advance, by week, so you never know what you're going to eat when you go there. Each dish is an average of seventy dollars... for that kind of money, it must be pretty darn good. Maybe one day, when I'm actually making my own money, I'll take my parents here.
Open space. Open space! Organized traffic! And even better, an actual sunny day!! It's what I missed most about home, and about California :)
Reunited, at last! I've been waiting to see you for so long... thanks for the Berkeley shirt and the few hours we spent together, and for skipping your CS discussion to spend time with me :( now that you've shown me Berkeley, it's time for me to show you NTU ... when you come here, whenever that may be ;)
