Laura J.

Westfield Valley Fair Mall

Ok wouldve givin it 5 stars but hey gotta save that for some mall I have not seen yet!. By far the best mall in the area, very upscale, hip, clean, and BUSY. It has all the major big box stores, department stores, food places, movies. There is 2 floors, packed with stores. Huge mall and a little confusing set up, have to backtrack and stuff to cross to the other side so takes awhile to ship. Oh and of course Santanna Row is right across the street, even more upscale shopping over there, less busy. Shop till you drop! Only bad is its insane around holidays, parking and traffic.

Performance Bicycle Shop

bought some pedals here for my boyfriends bike, they helped me out, very knowledgable staff, they bike themselves which is always good. Right off Hwy 17. They had good prices, mostly lower than REI which is the only other place I had gone looking. Mostly recommend cause of the customer service A+ job guys! Will continue to shop here, its a local shop, try and support em. In a small strip mall lot.

Burrito Factory

burrito factory wins local awards all the time for best burrito- and I agree! I also like this location best. Why burrito factory?
Fast
Cheap
Great menu

been going here for years...still great

Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum

Oddly located in a residential neighborhood near downtown San Jose, this Egyptian Museum is smallish but packed with real Egyptian artifacts. If you are into this sort of thing you will love it, if not avoid as the other people have said. There is a guided tour also you can go yourself. Great for all ages though, especially school age kids. There are often school kids here on fieldtrips. Even the exterior grounds and building is Egyptian style. Gift shop is actually reasonably priced too, some unique gifts. Like I said, in a neighborhood so hard to get parking spot, weekdays would be best.

PROS: unique
CONS: lack of parking

Tech Museum Store

Very educational, of course San Jose of all places needs a tech museum! Its pretty big and well packed with things to do, its not just looking at tvs. You can interact and do a lot of things, bring the kids they will love it. A lot of school groups come here. I came in on a free pass I got somewhere, so I cant comment on how much it cost. I think its around $20 per person, but its worth it at least once. Standard in-city- so not a lot of parking available. Not too busy, so its not crazy in there. I like that they change up some of the exhibits and movies, so its has some replay value

Cambrian Bowl Inc

For some reason this is like the cheapest bowling around! Big place with a huge lot, in a strip mall type setting. Its a little older and dirtier, but great value. Great if you are on a budget. No problems with quality of shoe and ball rentals either. Mostly serious bowling here, its a good crowd. Good location, can grab a bite from a lot of the fast-food places down on Camden Ave.

San Francisco Zoo

I really like this zoo, its up near the water in north San Francisco, its really an old zoo, built around 1920's I think. Even though some of the exhibits are new and remodeled, there are lots of original architecture which makes it interesting. especially the old monkey house and cat house, they are the old concrete cell type cages. Pretty big zoo, and lots of trees so cant see the whole thing which adds to the feeling. I think it was about $10 to get in. Not a lot of parking though

Monterey Bay Aquarium

located in historic Cannery Row down in Monterey. This huge and modern zoo is amazing. Im not a huge aquarium fan, but this had a nice mixture of plants, fish and education. Parking is a hassel, have to park a ways away and walk. Its in a tourist area, so have to pay. Not that cheap to get in either. The kelp forest and jellyfish exhibits are amazing. Its all well done. Most of the exhibits are geared towards local life, which may disappoint some who are looking for tropical things and such. Big enough to make it worth while for the drive down here.

Oakland Zoo

Nice sized zoo in Oakland, its not the most modern or well kept up but they had some surprisingly good exhibits. Really kid friendly as there is a playground area with rides, including a sky car thingy, like at Disneyland. I think only costs $1 to ride. Only negative is somewhat hard to find, up in the hills, not a lot of signs. Plenty of parking. The zoo store was in a trailer and small, but had all the standard items. I would highly recommend.

Pasatiempo Golf Club

ok I have not golfed here, but went to a wedding at the Hollins House, which is located at the golf course, on top of a hill. Amazing view of the valley and down to Santa Cruz, with the sunset it was very spectacular. Staff working there was helpful and friendly, had a great time there. Not a lot of parking though. Greens were lush and thick looking.