Greetings from San Francisco!

My parents decided to plan a last minute vacation in the Bay Area since Abbu has meetings here and Mommy had a long weekend anyway for her flex day and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

But before we get to the details of this trip, let me provide a recap of our activities since my last update.

Dadu, Russell Kaku, and Etaf Chachi spent the first couple of days of the new year with us.  After our day in the city on New Year's Day, we wound up chillin' at home the next day.  Went shopping a little, and a low key dinner (courtesy of Maam Maam) that Saturday.  Trina Mashi joined us since she was still home on her break.

The next morning, Dadu, Russell Kaku, and Etaf Chachi headed back to NoVa.  As luck would have it, it was also the day that Ihsan Bhaiyya, Inaya Apu, Sonji Chachi, and Sohail Kaku arrived back from Bangladesh.  Abbu went to pick them up from the airport, but Didibhai and I didn't get to see them since they came home late and left early the next morning.

The following weekend, I had my 6 month well baby visit with Anjali Dida.  I now weigh 16lbs 2oz and am 25.5 tall!  We had lunch in Edison afterwards and then I got dropped off with Maam Maam & Grandpa while the others went to see "The Princess and the Frog."

The next night, we met up with Sanjay, Sunil, Auntie Seetha, and Uncle Harish for dinner in Princeton.  It's always fun to see our dear friends from Cleveland.

That brings us to this weekend.  Abbu came back from Salt Lake City late Thursday night, and a few hours later, headed back to the airport with the three of us in tow.

My first flight was great!  I was very excited to be on a plane, and took turns sitting on Mommy's lap, Abbu's lap, and on the seat between them/my big sis.  I eventually fell asleep while Didibhai watched TV.  Then she fell asleep, too.  Later on, though, she woke up and threw up.  Not a fun flight for her.

After we landed and picked up our rental car, we stopped by a local market in San Bruno to pick up some food.  The produce is so fresh in San Francisco!  And according to my parents, so delicious!  They picked up some oranges, apples, and guava.  Yum!

We then proceeded to check into the JW Marriott in Union Square.  Didibhai *loved* the hotel.  It has these amazing glass elevators that rise up and down really fast.  We were on the 14th floor and had a blast.  Very luxurious.

After unpacking and freshing up a bit, we headed out for a drive to Ghirardelli Square/Fisherman's Wharf.  We stumbled upon a Spanish restaurant in Russian Hill called Zarzuela where we decided to have dinner.  Mommy swears they serve the best sangria she's ever tasted, and both Abbu and Mommy tremendously enjoyed their paella a la valenciana.  Didibhai had the sopa de crustaceo (crab bisque) and said it was heavenly.  For dessert, they shared the crema catalan, which was absolute perfection.

Yesterday, we started off the day by heading to the Embarcadero.  We parked and walked onto one of the many piers to take in the view of the Bay Bridge.  As luck would have it, we came across the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, a California certified farmers market that is held in front of the Ferry Building a couple of times a week.  Apparently on Saturdays, the market attracts 10,000 - 15,000 people!  We were definitely hooked, and spent a great deal of time visiting each stall and sampling the various fruits, bread, nuts, olive oils, chutneys, jams, etc, the different vendors had to offer.  Mommy & Abbu discovered the most delicious coffee at the Blue Bottle Coffee Co. cart, and Mommy loved the japapeno chutney from Sukhi's.  I happened to create a supremely stinky diaper while we were walking around, and Mommy had to perform a covert change in the middle of the outdoor market.  Since we were in the area, we headed to The Plant Organic Cafe where Didibhai stopped for a bite to eat.  She had a yummy grilled cheddar cheese sandwhich on sourdough bread with fruit salad and a cup of freshly squeezed orange juice.

From there, we headed to Lombard Street, the famous crooked block.  Before 1922, the block was so steep that it could not be traveled by carts or wagons, and the only way to get up and down it would be on foot.  After the car were invented, eight hairpin turns were added so that cars would be able to traverse the block as well.  Abbu & Didibhai went up and down the block by foot while Mommy & I waited at the top of the hill.  Afterwards, Abbu drive the car down the hill.

Speaking of hills, driving in San Francisco seems very scary!  Mommy refused to drive in the city, and even Abbu admitted some of the steep hills were slightly frightening.

After visiting Lombard Street, we stopped at the Golden Gate Bridge on the SF side.  Abbu & I stayed in the car while Mommy & Didibhai popped out for some photo ops on the south side of the bridge.  Then we all drove across the bridge and parked the car along Conzelman Road for awesome views from the north side of the bridge, with the city in the background.  There is a hilarious family picture of the four of us standing with the iconic bridge in the background, with my puke down the front of Abbu's coat.

Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel for a little bit of rest & relaxation.  Mommy brought in some Thai food from Chabaa in Union Square for a late lunch; then Abbu & I napped while she & Didibhai toured Union Square and walked up to the start of Chinatown.  For dinner, they got takeout from two different Japanese and Vietnamese (but oddly, not Chinese) restaurants in Chinatown.

We're here in the Bay Area through the end of the week ... so you can look forward to more tales from our adventures in my next update!

In terms of my culinary adventures, I've started eating fruits and vegetables - bananas, applesauce, peas, carrots.  Every few days, I try something different.  I appear to be enjoying my meals.

I'm successful in sitting up for more than a few seconds at a time now before I tip over to the side or front.

I absolutely adore Didibhai's bedtime ritual. If I'm awake, I join her when Mommy/Abbu reads her a bedtime story. I try to grab the book and scream in delight as they turn the pages.

On the flip side, I don't think Didibhai enjoys her morning ritual all that much on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  I usually wake up sometime between 5 - 6am.  Mommy changes my diaper, plays with me for a bit, and hands me off to Grandpa.  I watch him brush his teeth, shave, and have breakfast while Mommy showers.  Then I go back upstairs and watch her get ready.  At 6.45am, I wake my big sis up by sitting down next to her, smiling, laughing, tapping her head, and finally, by talking to her.

That's all for now.  You can check out my latest pics in the album titled "6.5 Months."