Mount Davidson

Address: Multiple entrances. There is one near 275 Juanita Way, San Francisco.

This is a good hiking trail right inside the south side of the City. The hiking trail is not paved and could get quite muddy when wet. But we don't have this problem lately due to the drought. After winding though a few sloped rounds you will see a big field with gorgeous view of the city. And on the other side stands the 300 ft tall big white cross. It's just amazing. And yes, it's dog friendly.

Westfield Shopping Center SF

The beautiful dome at Westfield shopping center in downtown San Francisco has transformed to be the backdrop of the 3D light show called Illuminique Under the Dome show during the Christmas season.

Staircase at the Westin St. Francis Hotel

Address:335 Powell Street, San Francisco, California 94102

Staircase at the Westin St. Francis Hotel. So narrow and need to turn every 5 steps. Got sooooo dizzy after walking down the 12 flights of stairs

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Palace Hotel Ginger Bread House Contest 2011

Address: 2 New Montgomery Street San Francisco, California 94105

These are my 2 favorites of this year's Palace Hotel Ginger Bread House contest -- Golden Gate Bridge and the Painted Ladies. You can cast a vote and get a chance to win 2 nights stay at the Palace Hotel.

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SFO, Christmas 2011

Snowing inside Hyatt Regency & outdoor skate rink

Christmas in San Francisco City Hall

Address:1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco

The beautiful San Francisco City Hall is one of the biggest city halls in the States. Its dome is gilded with gold leaf and it's the fifth largest dome in the world. It has very grand staircase and ornate interior. The movies "Milk" and "Bicentennial Man" were filmed here. The City Hall Christmas tree is decorated with thousands of origami cranes for this Christmas. The tree is named the "Tree of Hope". Each crane contains a wish for the world and were made by people from all around the world. City Hall is open for public Monday to Friday 8am - 8pm. Free admission.

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California Academy of Sciences

Address: 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco

California Academy of Science is full of surprises...there are white alligators, Vietnamese moss frogs, dragon fish, ecological living roof top just to name a few. Free admission 3rd Wednesday of every month. That's a savings of $25.00 per admission. But you have to be there early. We were there at 10:00AM and it's so crowded already. Check out its site for more information: http://www.calacademy.org.

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The building is a sustainable architecture which utilizes natural light.

Mini frogs. How many do you see?

Living roof top -- using native plants as roofing material.

Giant cockroaches.

Vietnamese moss frogs - can you find them?

Seahorse decor.

White alligator. Look like it just finished lunch.

90-foot diameter rain forest dome.

San Francisco Public Library

Address:100 Larkin Street, San Francisco

This is a beautiful library. I love its interior design. There seems to be a nautilus theme going on - the ceiling, the staircase .... In celebration of the holiday, there is a also a toy train display outside the kids reading room on 2nd floor. Kids can light up the fairy wheel, activate the trains and gondola by pressing a few big buttons.

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Musee Mechanique

Address:Pier 45 Shed A at the end of Taylor Street,Fisherman's Wharf , San Francisco

A place where many tourists miss when they visit Fisherman's Wharf. Musee Mecanique is a place where you find rows and rows of antique arcade machines. A fun place to experience what kids did for fun in the past. Admission is free. Most machines cost 25 cents a game. It's free when someone else pay for the games and you just watch it :P. Really cool.

X'mas in Japan Town

Address: Webster x Post, San Francisco

Very nice Christmans decor throughout Japan Center. The Christmas tree was fully decorated with origami ornaments.

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Chrismas Lights in Hyatt Regency

Address: Hyatt Regency, 5 Embarcadero Center, San Francisco

Went to Hyatt Regency during lunch today. Totally amazed by the beautiful blue lights that shower down the 17-story high atrium - an atrium that is recorded in Guinness World Records as the largest hotel lobby in the world. There were also a few sets of mini town fully decorated with X'mas lights and motorized parts. The atrium is located two floors above the street level entrance of the hotel.

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St. Mary's Cathedral

Address: 111 Gough St, San Francisco

St. Mary's Cathedral has always been my favorite place to visit. Very modern and unusual for a cathedral both inside and out. They offer free concert on Sunday afternoons. It's a block away from Japan Town and Chinese Consulate. Check out http://www.stmarycathedralsf.org/ for more information.

Address: de Young, Golden Gate Park, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, San Francisco, CA 94118

The top floor of de Young museum is a free observation deck which offers a panoramic view of San Francisco. There is also a wall-size satellite photo of San Francisco. After entering the front entrance of the museum, turn right then turn left by the wall. Walk pass the artsy wire ornaments turn left and take the elevator to the top floor.

Moraga Mosaic Staircase and Grandview Park

Address:
Mosaic Stairs: 16th Ave x Moraga, San Francisco, CA
Grandview Park: 14th Ave, San Francisco, CA

Revisited Moraga mosaic stairway today. It's still foggy and windy but not as cold as last time we visited. Took a few close-up shots of the beautiful mosaic artwork. It gives me a feeling of stairway to heaven. We went all the way up to the top and found anther staircase. That one leads to Grandview park. It's super foggy and windy up there. The trees are huge. The soil is sandy and it's said to be one of the last habitat for two endangered plants -- Franciscan Wallflower and Dune Tansy.

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Plants along the staircase

A plague of honor for people who contributed to decorating the stairway

View from the top of the stairway. The end of the road lead to Pacific Ocean.
Further up the hill is the Grandview Park -- a typographical remnant of 140 million year old rock.

Another steep stairway which lead to the top of the park.

The trees are very huge. It's very windy and foggy up there.

View of Sunset district from Grandview Park.

Cable Car Museum

Address: 1201 Mason St , San Francisco, CA

Quite a noisy place but it's cool to see how cable car work, its history and the effort it takes to motorize them. You get to try ringing the cable car bell too! Admission to the museum is free. It's only 3 blocks away from China Town and Grace Cathedral.

Marin Headlands

Address: Conzelman Road, Sausalito

Situated north of Golden Gate Bridge is my all time favorite spot in San Francisco Bay Area -- Marin Headlands. You need to drive up the hill along winding Conzelman Road to get to the vista point which overlooks the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco. The view is spectacular and different every time depending on the weather. You'll find yourself situated in two totally different worlds separated by a hill -- a robust city on one side and a tranquil sanctuary on the other. At the top of the hill is a one-way narrow winding road that takes you towards a hiking trail to Point Bonita light house. Further north is the Rodeo Beach famous for surfing and its colorful pebble sand.

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Marin Headland on a foggy day.

Marin Headland on a sunny day.

Fog rolling in.

One-way winding road that take you downhill to Point Bonita hiking trail and other parts of the park.

Pacific Ocean banging on the headland cliff.

Point Bonita Light House. They only allow 5 people to cross the suspension bridge at a time.

Rodeo Lagoon.