On the first day, we went to Capitol beach.
Apparently, it is less crowded and tourisy than Santa Cruz and have lots of nice little shop / cafe around the town
I have been told the cute little houses by the beachfront is actually a hostel!
I haven't been inside but I am totally sold by its location and cute design :p
For lunch, we went to Gayle's Bakery which was just a short drive away from the beach front.
http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/gayles-bakery-and-rosticceria-capitola
When you go in, make sure you get a ticket as soon as possible then stroll around to decide what exactly do you want. We had a roast chicken, quiche, salad, rancheros con huevos (Mexican tomatoy stew veg with a poached egg on top), fruit tarts and millefeuille.
I have been told their roast potatoes with cheese is good but they didn't have any available when we were there.
Generally, the food was above average, great range of variety but it wasn't cheap (given what it is) and it was very crowded.
Rancheros con huevos
We then went back to Capitola town centre, walked around and stopped by Village creamery.
There were tons of flaours to choose from. I was still full from lunch so just had a mini scoop of olallieberry and honey ice cream.
http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/village-grill-and-creamery-capitola-2
It was creamy and fresh
We then went Mystery spot.
Remember to buy the ticket online beforehand as they can only take in a limited number of people for each time slot.
The entrance was very hidden and the mobile reception was very bad.
We were relying on google map as sat nav and since there was no mobile reception in the area we were a little lost on the way back - went into narrow mountain roads :-S thankfully it wasn't too dark yet.
I am not going to write too much about the mystery spot as I don't want to spoil the experience of anyone who plans to go there.
but here's the sign at the entrance to explain a bit about the background
It was fun and remember to bring your camera :p
One great thing I loveeee about California is the amount of good Asian food available wherever you go. In London, you have to be in London to have decent Asian food.
My friend brought us to a complex at Saratoga - just a 10min from her home.
I felt like I was back in Hong Kong.
There is a Mitsuwa marketplace - a bit like a mini Jusco (aka Aeon now) in HK
With a Japanese supermarket inside, mochi ice cream, fine Japanese mochi/patisserie, matcha icecream
Next door, there is the 1.5 dollar shop Daiso, a cute little family owned Japanese bakery called Clover bakery that sells ramen sandwich/deep fried curry bun, a Korean bakery called Paris Baguette that sells cronut ...etc
We went back a number of time during our stay at our friends :p
I wish we have something similar within 10min drive from home too :(
Mitsuwa Marketplace : http://www.mitsuwa.com/locations/san-jose/
http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/mitsuwa-marketplace-san-jose
Daiso: http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/daiso-japan-san-jose-3
Clover bakery: http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/clover-bakery-and-caf%C3%A9-san-jose-2
Paris Baguette: http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/paris-baguette-san-jose-2
Santouka Japanese Ramen: http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/santouka-san-jose-2
Japanese Ramen from Santouka
Cronut from Paris Baguette
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