Favorite Things

Hi. I guess I need to start off with a phrase you are all familiar with but REALLY I'm going to try and post more often... even if it means no pictures. Things have been crazy lately and in the midst of all the craziness I thought it would be a good idea to take a minute and think of my favorite things about the bay area. And maybe it'll entice some of you to come and visit! :)

10. Recycling. It is so easy to recycle out here. You can recycle almost anything. The teenie trash-cans for regular trash were kind of different at first, but now I think they're kind of cute.

9. Trees trees trees. There are so many trees everywhere. It's great too because your neighbor can be all of 10 feet away from your backyard and you'd never know... giving you a false sense of privacy, but a feeling of privacy nonetheless

8. Caltrain. Except for when it's late, the caltrain is amazing. It takes me 6 minutes to get somewhere on the train that would usually take 30 minutes in a car. Seriously, that's the way public transportation should be.

7. Bike lanes. These are everywhere! They even have a street called "biker's lane" where you can roll your bike onto a small square in front of the traffic lights and it will detect that you are there and turn green. There are also a bunch of intersections which cars can't go through on "biker's lane" encouraging cars to use a different street. It's great.

6. The beach. What else can I say?

5. The diversity. There are so many different things to do. It seems like it could take a lifetime to visit all the various places. I also love the diversity of people. Every new person I meet has such a different life experience.

4. Running anytime. I love that I can run at any given time, morning or night, and it's not soooo hot or cold.

3. Humidity. I like being able to take my first breath when I walk outside without choking.

2. Ramen. And not like the ramen noodles you get at the grocery store. There are a lot of real ramen places out here where you can get a large bowl of noodle soup and meat and veggies in a yummy broth. It's the perfect dinner after a long day when you don't have time to make dinner and you don't want greasy fast food.

And my number one most favorite thing about Palo Alto is...

1. The smell! Seriously, I love going for a walk or a run and smelling the fresh air. The trees aren't even blooming and it almost smells sweet outside.