85°C Bakery Cafe

In the United States, long lines in restaurants, cafes and bakeries are not an uncommon sight. It could be that Americans are food lovers or it’s just that their foods are indeed delectable.

I get disheartened whenever I get the munchies and head to my favorite restaurant but the thought of enduring the long lines just makes me even hungrier. But if the establishment is known for serving only scrumptious foods, it really is worth the wait. 85°C Bakery Café at Irvine, for example.

85°C is a cafe and bakery known for its espresso coffee, flavored beverages, decorative cakes, and freshly baked breads. They use premium Guatemalan coffee beans and serve the freshest gourmet baked goods. The bomb here is that despite the high quality of the baked goods and coffee drinks, they are very affordable!

Wonder why they’re that cheap? According to the urban legend, err they’re website, the Taiwanese founder Wu Cheng-Hsueh was once at the café of five-star hotel with his friends to celebrate their success. When he opened the menu, he was amazed that the prices were set so high for ordinary persons to enjoy. From there, he envisioned a café that would cater to same quality of pastries but affordable. Then the very first 85°C Bakery Café was born in Taiwan.

We still managed to sit on a concrete outdoor bench in front of the bakery
while waiting in line outside. 

I have to warn you though that once you survive the long lines that go way out of the door and finally come inside and smell the aroma of the goodies being baked, you might be tempted to go a little overboard. And that won't be cheap.  

We endured the lone line, we made it inside! Selfie was our reward.  

I have tried most of their breads and cakes and it is hard to choose which one is my favorite. I am not a fan of baked goods or pastries because I have a seasonal sweet tooth. There are days I like sweets but most of the time I don’t crave for them.  However, the ones they serve at 85C are different, the 'sweetness' is just enough- not overwhelming. 

In my two visits, I picked up almond half moon, garlic bread, egg tarts, brioches and a few buns. If you order buns and get a little lucky, you get them warm which is the best way to eat them.They are soft and tasty.  These are all nice treats I must say. 

Plenty of Asians, black and white people coming and going out of the bakery with boxes of these mouth-watering baked goods, so this really is legit.

Goodness overload! Apparently, I have to come back.

There might be an 85C store near your place. So when you feel like craving baked goodies and hot coffee check them out at one of their 700 stores. They have branches in Taiwan, China, Australia, Hong Kong, and the U.S.A.

Check out the complete list of the branches with their addresses and contact numbers here.

Pope Francis' Ten Secrets to Happiness

1. Live and let live. 
Everyone should be guided by this principle which has a similar expression in Rome with the saying, Move forward and let others do the same.

2. Be giving of yourself to others. 
People need to be open and generous toward others because if you withdraw into yourself, you run the risk of becoming egocentric. And stagnant water becomes putrid.

3. Proceed calmly in life. 
The pope, who used to teach high school literature, used an image from an Argentine novel by Ricardo Guiraldes, in which the protagonist -- Gaucho Don Segundo Sombra -- looks back on how he lived his life.

He said that in his youth he was a stream full of rocks that he carried with him; as an adult, a rushing river; and in old age, he was still moving, but slowly, like a pool of water. He said he likes this latter image of a pool of water -- to have "THE ABILITY TO MOVE WITH KINDNESS AND HUMILITY, A CALMNESS IN LIFE."

4. A healthy sense of leisure
The pleasures of art, literature and playing together with children have been lost. Consumerism has brought us anxiety and stress, causing people to lose a healthy culture of leisure. Their time is 'swallowed up' so people can't share it with anyone.

Even though many parents work long hours, they must set aside time to play with their children; work schedules make it complicated, but you must do it.

Families must also turn off the TV when they sit down to eat because, even though television is useful for keeping up with the news, having it on during mealtime doesn't let you communicate with each other.

5. Sundays should be holidays.
Workers should have Sundays off because Sunday is for family.

6. Find innovative ways to create dignified jobs for young people.
We need to be creative with young people. If they have no opportunities they will get into drugs and be more vulnerable to suicide.

It's not enough to give them food. Dignity is given to you when you can bring food home from one's own labor.

7. Respect and take care of nature. 
Environmental degradation is one of the biggest challenges we have. I think a question that we're not asking ourselves is: 'Isn't humanity committing suicide with this indiscriminate and tyrannical use of nature?'

8. Stop being negative. 
Needing to talk badly about others indicates low self-esteem. That means, 'I feel so low that instead of picking myself up I have to cut others down'. Letting go of negative things quickly is healthy.

9. Don't proselytize; respect others' beliefs. 
We can inspire others through witness so that one grows together in communicating. But the worst thing of all is religious proselytism, which paralyzes: 'I am talking with you in order to persuade you,' No. Each person dialogues, starting with his and her own identity. The church grows by attraction, not proselytizing.

10. Work for peace. 

We are living in a time of many wars the call for peace must be shouted. Peace sometimes gives the impression of being quiet, but it is never quiet, peace is always proactive and dynamic.

Pope Francis also talked about the importance of helping immigrants, praising Sweden's generosity in opening its doors to so many people, while noting anti-immigration policies show the rest of Europe 'is afraid'.

He also fondly recalled the woman who helped his mother with the housework when he was growing up in Buenos Aires.

Concepcion Maria Minuto was a Sicilian immigrant, a widow and mother of two boys, who went three times a week to help the pope's mother do laundry, since in those days it was all done by hand.

He said this hard-working, dignified woman made a big impression on the 10-year-old future pope, as she would talk to him about World War II in Italy and how they farmed in Sicily.

"She was as clever as a fox, she had every penny accounted for, she wouldn't be cheated. She had many great qualities," he said.

Even though his family lost touch with her when they moved, the then-Jesuit Father Jorge Bergoglio later sought her out and visited her for the last 10 years of her life.

"A few days before she died, she took this small medal out of her pocket, gave it to me and said: 'I want you to have it!' So every night, when I take it off and kiss it, and every morning when I put it back on, this woman comes to my mind."

"She died happy, with a smile on her face and with the dignity of someone who worked. For that reason I am very sympathetic toward housecleaners and domestic workers, whose rights, all of them, should be recognized" and protected, he said. "They must never be exploited or mistreated."

Source: http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1403144.htm

Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica (Things to do in Los Angeles)

Though I stayed in Los Angeles for over a month, my LA stop was one of my most disorganized itineraries. It might be because there are tons of things to do in the Los Angeles region, not to mention it is huge.

Four days before I flew to San Francisco, I made sure that I would visit Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive and SantaMonica Beach.

From downtown LA, I took the metro bus going to Beverly Hills. I got off at the posh neighborhood of the rich and famous and spent tow hours there walking and looking around. After taking a few photos, I took the bus again heading to Santa Monica Beach.

It was a bit long of a bus ride plus the traffic jam was horrible. I didn't know where I was. I just waited for the driver to yell, “Santa Monica Beach!”

After a few more stops, the scenery outside the bus got more and more festive and the road got narrower. I assumed it was Santa Monica Beach already or close to it until I saw a signage that said – Third Street Promenade.   

Third Street Promenade or Downtown & Third Street Promenade, as L.A. tourism calls it, is a swank shopping, dining and entertainment plaza in the downtown area of Santa Monica. There are stores that sell high-end brands. It draws crowds from all over the Greater Los Angeles Area. Due to its proximity to the Pacific Ocean coupled with Los Angeles's mild climate, it is also a popular tourist destination.

You can stay here virtually for a day whether in the plaza or the pier. So when you feel that there is too much going on at the complex, you can head down to the famous Santa Monica Beachwhich is just a few blocks away.

The heart of the complex is filled with street performers and entertainers especially during weekends. Singers, classical guitar players, magicians, clowns, hip-hop dancers, lounge singers, session drummers, and other artists line up approximately 15 meters apart from each other all along Third Street during weekends in the summer.

So when you’re in Santa Monica, head out to the Third Street Promenade before or after the beach, whether to sightsee, shop or watch budding artists perform. It is all good vibes here.

HOW TO GET THERE (DIRECTION)

From Downtown Los Angeles

Take the 10 Freeway (Santa Monica Freeway) west. Exit at 4th Street/5th Street. Stay right at fork and follow signs to 5th Street. For Third Street Promenade, turn left on Arizona Avenue and go 3 blocks.

From LA International Airport, the South Bay and Orange County

Head north on the 405 Freeway, then take the 10 Freeway (aka Santa Monica Freeway) west. Exit at 4th Street/5th Street. Stay right at fork and follow signs to 5th Street. For Third Street Promenade, turn left on Arizona Avenue and go 3 blocks.

From Woodland Hills and the West San Fernando Valley

Head east on the 101 Freeway. Take the 405 Freeway south, then the 10 Freeway (aka Santa Monica Freeway) west. Exit at 4th Street/5th Street. Stay right at fork and follow signs to 5th Street. For Third Street Promenade, turn left on Arizona Avenue and go 3 blocks. 

ENTRANCE FEE: NONE

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