No need to go far riding the Caltrain

By Amanda Vasquez

Most Santa Clara students only know the Caltrain as the best way to get to Lovefest and Bay to Breakers in San Francisco, but few have discovered the unknown hot spots that lie along the tracks heading north.

I set out to find three must see Caltrain stops that are sure to liven up your weekend.

Sunnyvale for Food

Sunnyvale is just two stops from Santa Clara and is a great place to spend a lazy Saturday morning. While Santa Clara does have a small farmers market on Jackson Street, Sunnyvale offers a larger one every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p. m.

Here you will find a wide selection of products including organic produce and fresh seafood brought in from Santa Cruz.

Local stores set up small booths as well so you can also enjoy treats from unique spots such as Esther's German Bakery and Teagre Tea all while local musicians serenade you with jazz music and supply an enchanting atmosphere.

For more great food, walk one more block to Murphy Street, where a variety of restaurants await you.

The dynamic of flavors span from Vietnamese, Thai, Indian, and Italian to a couple great cafes.

The most popular was The Bean Scene, where I had a very enjoyable breakfast. My order was called an Affogato, which is an espresso and gelato float; any dish that will allow me to eat ice cream in the morning is fine by me.

The Bean Scene also had some great breakfast specials, including some delicious blueberry pancakes.

If you're more in the mood for lunch, however, there is an Italian restaurant called Gumba's a few doors down that is a favored pizza spot among locals.

Teagre Tea is a shop that specializes in organic free trade teas; they will be opening their first shop in San Jose sometime in the very near future.

California Avenue for Art

If you're feeling a little more creative, then head down to California Avenue. Murals cover the walls of local businesses and sculptures occupy the center divide between streets.

I am a photography lover at heart so the first stop I was inclined to make was at Keeble & Shuchat. Not only do they have all the photo supplies you could ever need, but they also house a photo gallery upstairs that is always open for free to the public.

A little farther down the street is Printer's Cafe, which also doubles as the Gallery House, where once again you can enjoy an art show anytime without cost. At Printer's, art is not placed at some unattainably high price; there are unframed paintings and prints in the back that would be perfect for adorning a blank dorm wall without breaking the bank.

If you are in the mood for creating your own art, then look no further than Create It, a ceramics studio that is sure to captivate your artistic side. Here you can paint your own ceramics, create glass fusion pieces and mosaics and even purchase a pottery kit to go. If that is not enough, there are still more art supply stores and studios lining the street waiting to be explored.

Redwood City for Events

With the recent remodeling of Redwood City's downtown area, the city is already proclaiming itself as the new entertainment hub of the entire peninsula.

I was lucky enough to stumble upon the 2nd Annual Salsa Festival, which was absolutely amazing. They closed off approximately six city blocks to make room for live music, street performers, vendors, tequila tasting, salsa competitions, art and more.

Redwood City always seems to have something going these days. There are free concerts played in the Courthouse Square every Friday night, and in October they are showing free movies outside.

They also hold art walks every second Saturday of the month, not to mention the occasional festival or activities such as a family circus, which is coming up.

If you are interested in the various types of entertainment offered, simply check online at RedwoodCityEvents.com to see the schedule of events calendar.

If there are no planned events going on, there is always the Fox Theater, which holds a number of concerts, comedians and rare movie showings.

Many classic rock tribute bands frequent the theater and seem to be a big hit.

The most anticipated events in the near future are the comedic acts of John Clesse, Lewis Black and Lisa Lampanelli, which will all be held at the Fox Theater in November.

Next time you buy a Caltrain ticket, consider stopping in one of the zones between Santa Clara and San Francisco and finding out what else the bay area has to offer.

Contact Amanda Vasquez at avasquez@scu.edu.