I travel to Northern California nearly every month to conduct business. I have many customers within the area, and my company's headquarters (Cisco) is located in San Jose.
Love this part of the good ol' U.S. of A.! Beautiful landscapes, scenery, people, and food!
Part One of our adventure into Northern California, we are going to take a look specifically at San Francisco and San Jose. We will leave Napa Valley for another time. As well as Berkeley, Oakland, and Sacramento.
Love this part of the good ol' U.S. of A.! Beautiful landscapes, scenery, people, and food!
Part One of our adventure into Northern California, we are going to take a look specifically at San Francisco and San Jose. We will leave Napa Valley for another time. As well as Berkeley, Oakland, and Sacramento.
I have been with Cisco for over 12 years and I am still drinking from the cool-aid. Great company mixed with a great culture...hard to beat. I started out as a Sales Account Manager before moving to the Collaboration Consultant position I am in now. Been in this role for about 7 years.
At HQ, we have a wonderful Customer Experience Center (CXC) where we showcase our solutions from L2/L3 Networking, Datacenter, Network Security, Software as a Service (Cloud), Internet of Everything (IOT), Wireless, (etc.) ...and the sexiest technology solutions of them all: Unified Communications, which pertains Voice, Video, Collaboration...from software applications residing on your phones and tablets to large immersive room based systems. Helping government agencies such as NASA communicate more effectively internally and externally. Truly exciting, rewarding, and impactful solutions. Nice when you believe in what it is you are selling!
Close to the Cisco campus you can find a plethora of eateries and places to drink. Only a few miles away is the new home of the San Francisco 49ers (American Football): Levi's Stadium. Even though my team is the Tennessee Titans, I was thrilled that I was able to go to the opening game here last season. Amazing stadium with state of the art facilities and, of course, technology. Inside this brand-new stadium sits a great restaurant and pub which is open year-round.
At HQ, we have a wonderful Customer Experience Center (CXC) where we showcase our solutions from L2/L3 Networking, Datacenter, Network Security, Software as a Service (Cloud), Internet of Everything (IOT), Wireless, (etc.) ...and the sexiest technology solutions of them all: Unified Communications, which pertains Voice, Video, Collaboration...from software applications residing on your phones and tablets to large immersive room based systems. Helping government agencies such as NASA communicate more effectively internally and externally. Truly exciting, rewarding, and impactful solutions. Nice when you believe in what it is you are selling!
Close to the Cisco campus you can find a plethora of eateries and places to drink. Only a few miles away is the new home of the San Francisco 49ers (American Football): Levi's Stadium. Even though my team is the Tennessee Titans, I was thrilled that I was able to go to the opening game here last season. Amazing stadium with state of the art facilities and, of course, technology. Inside this brand-new stadium sits a great restaurant and pub which is open year-round.
Bourbon Steak & Pub is a great place to take colleagues, clients, friends and family, or just yourself. Oftentimes when I am dining alone in San Jose I perch myself up on the bar and chow down on their Bison Nachos while sipping on one of their signature drinks. You actually have your choice of 2 different style restaurants...a classier dining style or a swanky sportsy pub.
The drink photographed above was very unique and very refreshing. A take on a Gin Sour mixed with matcha green tea...sounds odd but trust me on this one.
The drink photographed above was very unique and very refreshing. A take on a Gin Sour mixed with matcha green tea...sounds odd but trust me on this one.
Looking for a fine dining steakhouse? Alexander's Steakhouse is the place to go while in the San Jose or San Francisco area. The steak and seafood is divine! And so are their desserts...photo above shows their gluten-free chocolate soufflé accompanied with a succulent and satisfying mead (more on this later). | Another staple in the San Jose or San Francisco area: Original Joe's. A fantastic authentic Italian-style restaurant. If you are celiac like myself, they are able to do a great gluten-free chicken piccata. And they know how to make a good Negroni. |
Looking for something completely different? Rabbit's Foot Meadery is the ultimate place. Mead, Cider, and Beer...oh my! Please do yourself a favor and go here next time you are in the area!
Now, let's venture on to the books...
Now, let's venture on to the books...
This part of the country boasts some of the best used bookstores. My favorite in San Francisco is Green Apple Books. There are a couple of these stores, however I recommend the one in New Chinatown. In San Jose my favorite is Recycle Bookstore...the one in Campbell is nice as well. I always walk out of these stores with something great and something unique!
I have been to San Francisco and San Jose a total of 3 times this calendar year so far...and this is what I brought home from these 2 bookstores...
I have been to San Francisco and San Jose a total of 3 times this calendar year so far...and this is what I brought home from these 2 bookstores...
Green Apple Books:
Elias Canetti's Auto-da-Fe: Canetti is a Bulgarian born writer who won the Noble Prize for Fiction in 1981.
Richard Ford's Rock Springs (Signed!): Short Story collection from the Pulitzer Prize winner. Highly recommend his Frank Bascombe novels!
Salman Rushdie's The Jaguar Smile (Signed!): Absolutely love Rushdie, I collect all of his work!
Recycle Bookstore:
Donna Tartt's The Secret History: Another Pulitzer Prize winning novelist. This was her first book.
Edward P. Jones' All Aunt Hagar's Children (Signed!): Yet another Pulitzer Prize winner, for The Known World.
Ray Bradbury's The Halloween Tree: Was very fortunate to find this one! I collect all of his work. One of the first novels I fell in love with was Fahrenheit 451.
Below are more photos of the signed books...
Elias Canetti's Auto-da-Fe: Canetti is a Bulgarian born writer who won the Noble Prize for Fiction in 1981.
Richard Ford's Rock Springs (Signed!): Short Story collection from the Pulitzer Prize winner. Highly recommend his Frank Bascombe novels!
Salman Rushdie's The Jaguar Smile (Signed!): Absolutely love Rushdie, I collect all of his work!
Recycle Bookstore:
Donna Tartt's The Secret History: Another Pulitzer Prize winning novelist. This was her first book.
Edward P. Jones' All Aunt Hagar's Children (Signed!): Yet another Pulitzer Prize winner, for The Known World.
Ray Bradbury's The Halloween Tree: Was very fortunate to find this one! I collect all of his work. One of the first novels I fell in love with was Fahrenheit 451.
Below are more photos of the signed books...
Other recommendations in the area:
Hotels:
Hilton Santa Clara (San Jose area)
Parc 55 Hilton (San Francisco area)
Restaurants:
Tadu Ethiopian (San Francisco)
Gary Danko (San Francisco)
Pier 23 (San Francisco)
Cocktail Bars:
Haberdasher (San Jose)
Vesuvio - Jack Kerouac's old hangout! (San Francisco)
Tony Niks (San Francisco)
Bookstores:
City Lights Bookstore (San Francisco)
What have I missed?
What do you recommend?
Once again, thank you!
Hilton Santa Clara (San Jose area)
Parc 55 Hilton (San Francisco area)
Restaurants:
Tadu Ethiopian (San Francisco)
Gary Danko (San Francisco)
Pier 23 (San Francisco)
Cocktail Bars:
Haberdasher (San Jose)
Vesuvio - Jack Kerouac's old hangout! (San Francisco)
Tony Niks (San Francisco)
Bookstores:
City Lights Bookstore (San Francisco)
What have I missed?
What do you recommend?
Once again, thank you!