Located at Edith Morley Park in Campbell, near the percolation ponds, this wall sculpture is…read morecomprised of symbols of nature as portrayed by the artist, Glen Rogers. Her works focus on elements representative of feminism, spirituality, and living earth. This particular piece presents shapes and images that support this theme. And the setting features lovely trees along the wall that complement the steel sculpture beautifully. It's worth checking out if you're in the area.

As small business month is quickly approaching I was thinking how wonderful and vibrant a community…read moreJapantown San Jose is. There so many seasoned and new diverse small business owners here in the heart of Japantown. Classic Loot, Zonkey, Roy's, Santo Market, Taqueria Corona, Minato, Hukilau, Kazoo are among my families favorites. We have also enjoyed and welcomed new businesses too like Banne (yummy sourdough) and Furbaby Fancy petgrooming (the most posh and elite pet grooming experience) into our rotation as well! I should have just listed all the businesses here! So proud of the businesses that contribute to our community!

There's definitely a lot of history, community love, and shops and restaurants here. It's smaller…read morethan the other Little Tokyo in LA and Japan Town in SF (I think), but because we came around midday lunch time on a Tuesday after Fanime, not many stores or restaurants were surprisingly open? Maybe it's due to being after Memorial Day or because most of them were night time dinner service only restaurants. Either way it's much cleaner than Little Tokyo in LA and with less jump scares and trash everywhere. Easier to find parking and more affordable, in a sense, than Japan Town SF. Stopped by the Japanese grocery store and Santo Market while we were here. Fun to kill a couple of hours, I suppose. I just gotta come back here again when more things are open !

This stretch of highway is beautiful. I have done this hundreds of time but it still feels magical…read moreevery time I traverse it. There are beautiful redwoods on both sides with little towns along the way. On the one side is quaint Los Gatos and on the other side is stunning Santa Cruz. Just know that it backs up frequently since it is pretty windy and frequent crashes, which shuts down the highway. Drive safe please!

Amazing views, and an excellent scenic drive. The viewpoints at sunset especially are beautiful if…read moreyou want to take photos.

The City of Campbell boasts a lot of businesses, shops, and eateries. It's always nice to dine here…read morein downtown and leisurely enjoy good company, good food, and an entertaining time. Support your local businesses!

Ella's have incredible flowers always fresh and beautiful and the chocolate strawberries are…read moredelicious.

What would your dream trip to Paris include? I had a dream trip, told Celine Glon of Et Voila Paris…read moreabout it, and she made it happen. I had very specific ideas. I'm a writer and have just finished the first draft of a mystery novel that involves the life of Georges Bizet, composer of the opera, Carmen. I wanted to go to Paris and various places there to see where Bizet lived and worked so I could add such settings to my book. Celine made an itinerary for me, got me wonderful guides to drive me to these places and to tell me about their histories and even explore with me. NOT ONLY THAT, Celine got me introduced to people knowledgeable about Bizet, and she got me into places where people normally can't go. For example, there is a house in the town of Bougival near Paris where Bizet lived when he wrote Carmen. Celine got me a private tour of this privately owned house (not open to the public) AND an introduction to a board member of a society that promotes art and artists as part of the memory of Georges Bizet. She also got me introduced to a gentleman who speaks excellent English and who is extremely knowledgeable about classical music and opera so he could go with me to meet with the board member and see the home. There are many other things I could mention about the Bizet part of the trip, like my private tour of the Opera Comique (where Carmen opened in 1875) and lunch with the Comique's dramaturge. Again, the Opera Comique is not open to the public for such tours, but Celine arranged it all. Celine also booked me private guides to take me other places just for fun, such as Chantilly, which has the biggest collection of French paintings after the Louvre, and Malmaison, the home of Josephine and Napoleon Bonaparte. I could go on and on, but that would make this review too long. I'll close by saying that I would recommend Celine to anyone, including my closest family and friends. I trust her totally to come up with customized trips that will fit any needs. I highly recommend her. She has a million connections and I can see she is an expert in the art of making people's dreams come true in Paris and all over France.

We had a great tour of Versailles , its park , and the " Petit Trianon , of Marie Antoinette" with…read moreEt voilà Paris in June 2017. We highly recommend Celine and her guides for anyone wishing an amazing journey in France and through time!!

I came in expecting some decent pizza, but everything ended up being really good. The pizza was…read moreloaded with toppings, the crust had a nice bite to it, and the pasta was way better than I expected. The portions are solid too, so you'll probably have leftovers if you don't come in starving. The staff were friendly and the food came out pretty fast, even though it was busy when I went.

I came here with my husband and baby on Valentine's Day 2026, and we had such a wonderful…read moreexperience. The staff were incredibly kind and accommodating, which made dining with a baby so much easier and more enjoyable. The food was absolutely AMAZING -- everything we tried was delicious. We're so glad we changed our plans last minute and decided to come here, because this restaurant has quickly risen to the top of our favorites list. See you all on Thursday for my birthday!

This is a temporary art exhibition at Plaza de Cesar Chavez, featuring oaxacan animal sculptures…read moremade of fiberglass and metal construction and painted with colorful and imaginative designs. My faves were the lionbull, the happy alien, and of course, the rabbit (by artist María Jiménez). A couple of the artworks are located across the street, near the SJ Museum of Art and in front of Bijan Bakery, but the rest are scattered throughout the park, a lovely sight to see among the beautiful trees and decorative lights in the plaza. Supposedly the statues themselves light up after dark. But perhaps they were broken during my recent visit, or maybe these creatures partied too hard over the weekend during the Pride festivities, cuz only one was illuminated with color-changing lights at nightfall. It was still enjoyable to explore these creative pieces during the day, especially on a Monday afternoon without the distraction of annoying crowds. Plus it's free to view, unless there's a special event happening which charges an admission fee. San Jose Jazz and its partners are hosting various community gatherings and activities in the plaza through the end of September as part of this exhibition, including cultural festivals and movie & music nights. These are great opportunities to check out this fun and unique art display and celebration of Mexican tradition and heritage. And just maybe, if you're lucky, you'll get to see all of the sculptures lit at night during these events.

The three stars is for the Coco movie shown last night, next to the Art Museum. The problem was…read morethat the view of the movie screen was faded, because of a city sidewalk spotlight which was aimed directly at the movie screen. This made the movie harder to see. Because one of the palm trees cast a shadow over the right-third of the screen, the right side of the screen was easier to see than the left side of the screen, which suboptimized the experience, because our eyes keep reminding us that one side of the screen is faded, while the other side is not, which forces the mind to continually have to adjust for the whole hour and a half. But the black statue at the other end of the park lit up well in the dark:

"As my artist's statement explains, my work is utterly incomprehensible and is therefore full of…read moredeep significance."―Calvin San José has a long line of, shall we say, questionable Public Art (PA) projects; everybody knows about the giant dog turd statue Quetzalcoatl―or as I like to call him Quetzacaca ( goo.gl/lvswBr )―in the Plaza de César Chávez. Let's also not forget the Fallon Statue debacle ( goo.gl/wKEv0g )―and don't get me started on the mangled shopping carts (goo.gl/vbB6NE) passing for a statue on the corner of Alma Ave and Almaden Rd. Need I go on?! So, whenever CSJ does something right I love to point it out. I first read about Ursa Mater (aka Mama Penny Bear) in the Merc from my buddy Sal Pizarro's column. Ursa Mater is a gigantic piece of coin art that was put together by Hayward-based artists Mr & Mrs Ferguson. She first made an appearance at last year's Burning Man festival and is now prominently displayed in Paseo de San Antonio―just east of Plaza de César Chávez, right by Bijan Bakery. The statue of Mama Bear and her two cubs sits at least 10-12' tall and is completely covered in 200,000 pennies ($2,000 worth) to make up the bears fur. It's pretty cool to look at from afar, and even cooler up close. I suggest getting here quickly to check her out, as she will only be on display until the end of May. And then we'll be back to staring at Quetzacaca forever. FOL...

I like to think that these represent the bear on the California flag. The name Ursa Mater…read more Is an excellent play on words by the artist. Ursa Major is Latin for "greater she bear" So Ursa Mater translates roughly to "She bear of matter" ( I only understand a very small amount of Latin so this may or may not be the exact translation). The bear and her cub are made of pennies so it seems the artist's intention was to make a realistic mother bear out of " matter" , hence the name. Also behind the pennies is a concrete core. It's as if these bears have a real fur made out of metal. As the previous reviewer said, there are are a lot of bad San Jose art pieces, but this one is fantastic. Just an edit: it seems to be gone now. Very sad.

Both times I've had this place I was crazy stressed out and having a wild day but from the moment…read moreyou enter this establishment you feel like you're home. The smells magically heal you and the food is a comforting hug! Things move quick, but grab your number and be ready to order. I recommend getting the lunch special (usually under $20) but also they're always willing to do mini scoops for you. For example I like the potato salad and will get a bit of that and a stuffed mushroom on the side. So yummy! Also love the seating outside is great! Will be back time and time again!

I now see what all the hype is about. It is all that plus more! It's such a cute spot nestled…read morequietly in the heart of Willow Glen. Small parking lot but there is plenty street parking in the vicinity. There is seating right outside the place so if you want to sit and eat you can. You walk in and it feels and smells like you've stepped into someone's home. Even if this is your first time here the aroma is nostalgic for some reason. I think it's muscle memory. When you've had delicious comfort food your soul senses it regardless of whether or not you've been there. I ordered Doordash pick up because I was ordered on a Thursday for lunch and didn't know what the line would look like. So I walked right in and gave my name and was handed my bag-o-goodies. They have shelves of dry goods to purchase. Refrigerated items to purchase. Their deli counter is towards the back and wraps around the front. I ordered: 1. 2 meatballs: hearty and delicious. 2. Beef raviolis: small but packed with meat and in their meat sauce. Flavorfull! 3. Arancini: I've never tried one. It's a rice ball filled with veggies, cheese and ground meat. Then rolled in breadcrumbs and deep fried. Then served with their sauce. Holy Moly!!! Why have I never had this heavenly piece of Italy?!?!?! Seasoned well and fried well. It's a meal in it of itself! 4. Garlic bread: hot, buttery, garlicky toasted goodness! The only thing I finished was the arancini. I took a bite of each of the rest just so I could write this review and will save for my sons for when I get home because it's all too good not to be shared. Will be back!

So lucky to have Mary V leading our NorthBay group... just back from another amazing event!…read more Special shout out to her intern Ruby... better hire or quickly or one of us will! Many thanks, Alan

Ordering: smooth process-after checking in for the event, we went ahead and scanned the QR code for…read morethe menu. For this you can directly order and no worries on the charge- so long as it's the one hotpot & one drink. Service: very attentive and kind throughout- when seated brought our water. All staff are wearing masks appropriately! (Not something I consistently see when out now) Hotpot: - I've always loved Tasty pot and happy to support their 7 year anniversary, this is a locale I haven't been to but have been to the one in Berkeley - flavor- for Taiwan stinky tofu and spicy pot the flavor is spot on. Feel to add extra add ons as needed to support the business - bathroom- the womens bathroom has a broken faucet but it was working just loose. - portions- the $20 pots tend to be larger but al come with water and it's great :) Now I'll be frequenting this spot when the craving hits for hotpot :) glad to have come around for this event