Panorama

Photos By Me.

Perfection.

[Taken 5/1/12 at Berkeley Marina]

thebexbox: COLDPLAY. One of the most memorable nights of my life!

thebexbox:

COLDPLAY. One of the most memorable nights of my life!

Campus Adventure #2: Wishing Pool

“Is the mind an escape from reality or is reality an escape from the mind?” 

[Taken 3/10/12 in Berkeley, CA]

La Note 
http://www.lanoterestaurant.com/  

Hands down, all time favorite brunch place. 

Recommendations: 
-Les Oeufs Lucas: Two eggs lightly scrambled with goat cheese and chives. Served with roasted tomatoes and a side of toast (have it with their delicious homemade raspberry jam). Perfect for if you’re craving something savory. 
-Brioche Pain Perdu: Cinnamon brioche bread soaked in orange-water batter and sprinkled with lavender honey. Absolutely AMAZING if you have a sweet tooth in the morning. 
-Mocha: They actually serve it in a bowl! I feel like that somehow makes any drink taste better haha…plus it’s more fun :)

[Taken 10/16/11 at La Note Restaurant in Berkeley, CA]

Birthday Cake [Taken 3/3/12 in San Ramon, CA]

Birthday Cake

[Taken 3/3/12 in San Ramon, CA]

Perfect birthday breakfast…fresh buttermilk pancakes and warm coffee [Taken 3/3/12 in San Ramon, CA]

Perfect birthday breakfast…fresh buttermilk pancakes and warm coffee

[Taken 3/3/12 in San Ramon, CA]

Spring is Here :) [Taken 3/3/12 in San Ramon, CA]

Spring is Here :)

[Taken 3/3/12 in San Ramon, CA]

Yellow Bell Flowers :)  [Taken 3/3/12 in San Ramon, CA] 

Yellow Bell Flowers :) 

[Taken 3/3/12 in San Ramon, CA] 

Thai Temple Brunch http://www.yelp.com/biz/wat-mongkolratanaram-berkeleyFinally crossed another thing off my bucket list this semester. I can’t believe it took me 4 years to finally make it out to the infamous Thai Temple Brunch, but it was well worth the wait. It’s located at the Thai Temple on MLK and Russell Ave and is held every Sunday morning from around 10 am. It was an odd experience having rich Thai food as my first meal of the day, but once I got over that hang-up it was great. You have to get there early in order to beat the lines…especially for the non-veg line (the vegetarian lines are relatively short). The way it works is that you first go to the “cashier” line and buy a certain number of tokens ($1 = 1 token). You then take the tokens and “pay” for whatever food items you want to order by standing in a separate line. I ended up getting the pad thai, spicy string beans, and yellow curry. Not going to lie, I wasn’t expecting the best food quality considering everything is being mass produced, but I was pleasantly surprised. The food was SO GOOD and they give you really good portions…I ended up having to take half of mine home. And the thai iced tea was to die for! Probably some of the best I’ve ever had. All in all a great experience that everyone should try at least once while visiting Berkeley! [Taken 2/26/12 in Berkeley, CA] 

Thai Temple Brunch 
http://www.yelp.com/biz/wat-mongkolratanaram-berkeley

Finally crossed another thing off my bucket list this semester. I can’t believe it took me 4 years to finally make it out to the infamous Thai Temple Brunch, but it was well worth the wait. It’s located at the Thai Temple on MLK and Russell Ave and is held every Sunday morning from around 10 am. It was an odd experience having rich Thai food as my first meal of the day, but once I got over that hang-up it was great. You have to get there early in order to beat the lines…especially for the non-veg line (the vegetarian lines are relatively short). The way it works is that you first go to the “cashier” line and buy a certain number of tokens ($1 = 1 token). You then take the tokens and “pay” for whatever food items you want to order by standing in a separate line. I ended up getting the pad thai, spicy string beans, and yellow curry. Not going to lie, I wasn’t expecting the best food quality considering everything is being mass produced, but I was pleasantly surprised. The food was SO GOOD and they give you really good portions…I ended up having to take half of mine home. And the thai iced tea was to die for! Probably some of the best I’ve ever had. All in all a great experience that everyone should try at least once while visiting Berkeley!

[Taken 2/26/12 in Berkeley, CA] 

Caffe Venezia 
http://www.caffevenezia.com/

This is one of those restaurants in Berkeley that you wonder why you didn’t discover earlier. It’s a bit farther than most places, located at University & Grant, but it’s well worth the trek. From the outside it doesn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary, but once you step through the doors it’s like you’ve been transported to the streets of Venice, Italy. The walls are painted to look like Italian buildings with a projector playing old black & white Italian movies. Little details like a clothesline and pigeons (fake, don’t worry) scattered around the restaurant add to the uniqueness of the decor. The food was also incredibly tasty, packed with flavor and the portion sizes were pretty decent too. If you’re looking for a quiet place away from the hustle and bustle of campus life you should check out Caffe Venezia. It’s a super cute date place and it’s also great for groups if you’re looking for a place to host a birthday dinner or banquet. All in all, definitely worth a visit :) 

[Taken 1/19/11 in Berkeley, CA]