Been There, Done That

This page is dedicated to documenting some of the things I’ve done in my life, in part to remember all I have to be grateful for and proud of, but mostly because I have a terrible memory and couldn’t get into scrapbooking.

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I’ve traveled domestically to: 16 different states

  1. Alaska
    • Dog sledding
    • Salmon fishing
    • Helicopter tour
    • Ate Baked Alaska
  2. Arizona (doesn’t really count)
    • Phoenix
  3. California
    • San Francisco/Bay Area
      • Visited Alcatraz, Pier 39, The California Academy of Science, The DeYoung, The Exploratorium, The San Francisco Zoo, Ghirardelli Square, Children’s Creativity Museum
      • Explored Chinatown, Haight-Ashbury, the Castro, Japantown, the Presidio, Sausalito, the Marina, Point Reyes, Angel Island
      • Shopped at the Ferry Building, in Union Square, on Fillmore, on Chestnut, on Santa Row, and at the Stanford Mall
      • Drove down Lombard Street
      • Hiked through Muir Woods
      • Hiked over Mount Tamalpais to Stinson Beach
      • Crossed over and under the Golden Gate Bridge
      • Had a picnic in Dolores Park
      • Watched a Giants Game and slid down the Coco-Cola bottle Slide
      • Visited San Quentin Prison
      • Stanford vs. Cal football game
      • Took Bart to Berkley/Oakland
      • Pumpkin festival at Half Moon Bay
      • Did a wine tasting in Sonoma County
      • Ate clam chowder from Boudin in Fisherman’s Wharf, and dim sum at Yank Sing
      • Ate at: Auberge du Soleil (Napa), Zuni Cafe, The Rotunda, Alexander’s Steak House, Benu, Restoration Hardware, Sushi Ran, Left Bank, Delfina, Tacolicious, Cafe de la Presse, Slanted Door, Foreign Cinema, Chez Panisse, Coi, Jardiniere, Farallon, Epic Roasthouse, Chez Jaqueline, Tonga Room
    • Santa Cruz/Monterey/Carmel
      • Stayed at the Alila Ventana Big Sur
      • Drove 17 mile drive in Pebble Beach
      • Visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium
      • Ate at the Post Ranch Inn, Casanova, Forge in the Forrest, Il Fornaio, and Bicyclette
    • Santa Barbara
      • Stayed at El Encanto, A Belmond Hotel, Santa Barbara
      • Visited the Seal Sanctuary
      • Surfed Rincon
      • Shopped on State Street and in Montecito
      • Ate at San Ysidro Ranch and Bouchon
    • LA
      • Griffith Observatory
      • Visited Getty Center, Getty Villa, LACMA, The Broad, La Brea Tar Pits, Natural History Museum, Petersen Automotive Museum
      • Saw a movie at the Chinese Theater
      • Visited the Santa Monica Pier
      • Dodgers, Kings, & Lakers game
      • Universal Studio Hollywood (and Halloween Horror Nights)
      • Hiked Runyon Canyon
      • Had a drink at Soho House and The Bungalow
      • Ate at Nobu Malibu, Sugarfish, Apollonia’s Pizzeria, Bay Cities Italian Deli, Bestia, Gjelina, Gjusta, HiHo Cheeseburger, Park’s BBQ, Republique, Elephante, Honey Kettle, Meat on Ocean, Benihana, Water Grill, Yamashiro, Barton G.
    • Orange County
      • Disneyland & California Adventures, Knott’s Berry Farm
      • Catalina island (by sailboat, motorboat, ferry, and helicopter)
      • Pageant of the Master’s in Laguna Beach
      • Got a milkshake from the shake shack in Crystal Cove
      • Shopped at South Coast Plaza, Fashion Island, Pacific City, the LAB Anti-Mall, and Irvine Spectrum
      • Visited the Fun Zone
      • Went on a Duffy ride
      • Explored Old Town Orange
      • Went to an Angels game
    • San Diego
      • Went wine tasting in Temecula
      • Visited Sea World (This was BEFORE Blackfish was released — don’t judge me) and Balboa Park
      • Visited the San Diego Zoo, and the Safari Park
      • Stayed at the Hotel Del Coronado
      • Visited the Cave Store in La Jolla, Torrey Pines Golf Course
      • Went out in Pacific Beach
      • Explored Little Italy, Gaslamp, and Hillcrest
      • Went to a drive in movie in Chula Vista
      • Ate at: The Melting Pot
    • Yosemite
      • Stayed at The Ahwahnee Hotel
  4. Colorado
    • Explored Boulder on road bikes
    • Hiked the Flat Irons
  5. Connecticut
    • Explored Greenwich
    • Spent New Years Eve at the Homestead Inn
  6. Hawaii
    • Maui
    • O‘ahu
      • Visited Waikiki
      • Stayed at the Royal Hawaiian
      • Tried the maze at the Dole Plantation
      • Sipped piña coladas poolside
  7. Illinois
    • Explored Chicago
    • Shopped on the Miracle Mile
  8. Maine
    • Ate lobster, and blueberry flavored everything
    • Took a picnic boat up to Canada to see the puffins
  9. Nevada
    • Las Vegas:
      • Celebrated my 21st birthday
      • Gambled on a slot machine
      • Saw a Cirque du Soleil show
      • Saw the Blue Man Group
      • Gondola ride at the Venetian
      • Watched the Bellagio fountain show
      • New York New York roller coaster
      • Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace
      • Stayed at The Bellagio, The Venetian, and The Paris Hotel
      • Ate at the Paris
    • Skiing in Lake Tahoe
  10. New Mexico
    • National Museum of Nuclear Science & History
    • Georgia O’Keeffe Museum
  11. New York
    • Saw a Broadway show (Phantom of the Opera)
    • Shopped at Barneys, Bergdorf Goodman and Saks on 5th Avenue
    • Took a taxi
    • Rode on the subway
    • Took a train from Grand Central Station
    • High tea at the Plaza
    • Visited The Met and The MoMA
    • Visited Time Square
    • Explored Central Park
    • Saw Rockefeller Center at Christmas time
    • Went to Dylan’s Candy Bar
    • Bought a book at The Strand
    • Taken a helicopter and a ferry tour
    • Ate at: River Grill, Balthazar, Tao, Dominque Ansel, Beauty & Essex, Tavern on the Green
  12. Oregon
    • Crater Lake
    • Visited Bend, and Portland (Lewis & Clark College)
  13. Texas (doesn’t really count)
    • Billy Bob’s Honky Tonk in Fort Worth
  14. Utah
    • Bryce Canyon National Park
    • Zion National Park
  15. Virginia (doesn’t really count)
    • George Washington’s Mount Vernon (on my 5th grade field trip with Ross School)
  16. Washington D.C. (doesn’t really count)
    • International Spy Museum

Note: I’m not counting New Jersey or Florida because I didn’t spend the night in either. I toured The Lawrenceville School (where some of my cousin’s went to boarding school) in New Jersey, and went to Carlo’s Bakery (from Cake Boss) in Hoboken, but that was it.

I’ve traveled internationally to: 18 different countries

  1. Australia
    • Uluru (Ayer’s Rock)
      • Ate grub and honey ants
    • Sydney
    • Whitsunday Islands – Lindeman Island
  2. Canada
    • Whistler
  3. Costa Rica (twice)
    • Tamarindo
    • San Juan
    • Zip lining through the rainforest
    • Visited a coffee plantation
    • Took a mud bath
  4. England
    • High Tea at Claridges in Mayfair
    • Explored London
    • Ate fish and chips
  5. France (numerous times)
    • Paris
      • Bateaux-Mouches on the Seine
      • Musee D’Orsay
      • Eiffel Tower (I would like to do this again)
      • Louvre (I would like to do this again)
    • Nice
    • Monaco & Monte-Carlo
    • Chamonix/Mont Blanc
    • Strasbourg
      • Imbibed vin chaud (hot mulled wine) at the Christmas markets
  6. Germany (doesn’t really count)
  7. Italy
    • Florence
    • Rome
    • Venice
  8. Japan
    • Osaka
      • Toured Osaka Castle
      • Explored Shinsaibashi
        • Bought Onitsuka Tigers
      • Visited the Namba Yasaka Shrine
      • Ate conveyor belt sushi (aka “kaiten sushi”)
      • Took a picture in front of the Glico Running Man
      • Survived the Mega Don Quijote in Dontonbori at night
      • Enjoyed the view from Umeda Sky Building after dark
    • Kyoto
      • Made a quick detour to Nara to see the bowing deer
      • Visited the bamboo forest in Arashiyama
        • Bought omiyage for friends and family and collected a goshuin stamp in my goshuincho (stamp book) from the Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Shrine
        • Walked the Saga Toriimoto preserved street
      • Laughed ourselves to tears at Macho Bar
      • Hiked through the tori gates of the Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine
      • Ate wagyu beef and pickle skewers (aka “kyo tsukemono”) in Nishiki Market
      • Attended a tea service ceremony and class
      • Got dressed up in full kimonos
      • Drank Starbucks on tatami mats in a traditional Japanese townhouse (aka a machiya)
      • Visited the Kiyomizu-dera Temple
      • Explored Ponto-chō and Gion
      • Feasted on gyoza
      • We rode in the green car on the bullet train (aka the shinkanesen) from Kyoto to Tokyo
    • Tokyo
      • Visited Tokyo Disneyland, DisneySea, and The Making of Harry Potter – Warner Bros. Studio Tour
        • Ate curry flavored and milk-chocolate flavored popcorn
      • Tried all the snacks, candies, drinks, and frozen treats we could stomach from various konbinis (711, Lawson, & Family Mart)
      • Ate at Rainforest Cafe for nostalgic reasons
      • Feasted on toro tuna nigiri at the Tsukuji Fish Market and also unagi
      • Treated ourselves to dessert at the LV cafe in Ginza
      • Tried a trendy matcha late spot (Cloud Club Matcha)
      • Explored Itoya (for stationary) and Beams, Loft, and Hands (for souvenirs)
      • Team Labs Planets
      • Was in Shinjuku at the turn of the hour to watch Godzilla breath fire and the cat from the 3D Cat Billboard, knock things over
      • Ate shabu-shabu
  9. Mexico
    • Cabo San Lucas
      • Partied on Squid Roe (Jello Shots)
      • San Jose Del Cabo
  10. Netherlands
    • Amsterdam
      • Took an edible
      • Ate bitterballen
  11. New Zealand (doesn’t really count)
    • Sheered sheep
  12. Peru
    • Machu Pichu
    • Lima
    • Cusco
    • Ate guinea pig and alpaca
  13. Phillippines
    • Ate balut, baby eels, fresh uni, and Jollibee
    • Drank fresh squeezed calamansi juice
    • Swam with whale sharks
    • Attended Sinulog Festival
  14. Spain
    • Barcelona
      • Visited Basílica de la Sagrada Família
      • Ate tapas and paella
  15. Switzerland
    • Geneva
    • Zermatt
    • Skied the Matterhorn
    • Ate raclette
  16. Tahiti
    • Swam with and fed sharks and rays
    • Bought Tahitian black pearls
    • Ate fresh poisson cru on the beach, papaya with lime on a motu, and pain coco
  17. Thailand
    • Explored: Bankok, Chang Mai, and Phuket (and their many wats)
    • Rode, bathe, and fed an elephant and its baby
    • Bottle fed a baby tiger and pet a full grown tiger
    • Fed monkeys from a boat
    • Rode in a tuk tuk
  18. Turkey
    • Istanbul
      • Visited the Hagia Sophia
    • Cappadocia
    • Antalya
    • Lycian tombs in Fethiye
    • Sailed on the Aegean coast for a week
    • Caught a fish
    • Ate baklava and Turkish delight
    • Visited the stalagmite/stalactite caves 

Things I’ve done:

  • Been the flower girl in a wedding
  • Got a major hair cut
  • Died my hair pink
  • Went to a USC vs UCLA football game
  • Went to a Stanford vs Berkley football game
  • Went to a frat party
  • Spoke in front of 300 people
  • Got straight A’s
  • Played varsity
  • Ran the equivalent of a half marathon
  • Attended to a movie premier
  • Did a photo shoot
  • Was on live TV (barely…)
  • Been in a parade
  • Been in an official music video
  • Acted in a play/musical
  • Traveled solo internationally and domestically

Concerts I’ve been to:

  1. Coachella (VIP)
    • Saw Disclosure and Major Lazer
  2. Stagecoach (VIP)
  3. Gwen Stefani (at the Oakland Arena)
  4. Muse (at the UFC Arena in Las Vegas)
  5. Coldplay
  6. Sublime
  7. U2 (Black Eyed Peas opened at the Rose Bowl)
  8. Duran Duran
  9. Kings of Leon
  10. José González