London: 5 best February values

Even storm clouds and crying babies can't dim the glow of a getaway if you follow sometimes-counterintuitive strategies—all part of the growing field of positive psychology. Gretchen Rubin has attempted to put into practice the insights of positive psychology, and she recounts the story in her new book, The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun. We spoke with her recently to find out a few things she's learned from traveling with her husband and two young daughters. Trip Rx: Pack almonds or another healthy snack. For example, Rubin was recently away with her family and in-laws on an annual vacation. Despite the fact that this place is lovely, she ended up feeling a bit crabby. It wasn't the company that got her down. It was because her vacation schedule had thrown off her diet, and the change in her blood sugar levels affected her mood. Says Rubin: "Being on this vacation means I'm often starving before we eat. I can't eat as often as I would like. The food is richer than the food I usually eat, but somehow it doesn't seem as filling." So now Rubin brings a couple of packages of almonds, and other snacks, to help even out her diet—and moods. Pack early. "I make the odious task easier by starting a week in advance (my husband packs at 10 p.m. the night before we leave). I bring the big suitcase into my bedroom, and whenever I think of something (sunscreen, passports, adapter) I put it in." Trip Rx: "Your PDA is a great tool but a poor master," says Rubin. Use it for what it does best: Make reservations, check the weather forecast, get directions. Then power it down, and focus on savoring your surroundings. Or just on chilling out. Return a day early. "It's no fun to go away for a relaxing week, but then find yourself stressed out again a few hours after you're back at home. Give yourself a day to sleep late, do errands, catch up on mail and email, re-stock the fridge, etc. The re-entry day makes the trip shorter, but it makes the overall vacation experience more enjoyable." Unpack right away. "My husband is adamant about this. The last thing I feel like doing when we arrive home from a week away is to tackle the unpacking, but he's right, we both feel much better when we've put that task behind us. It makes it a lot easier to unwind and enjoy being home." MORE TIPS! Writer Robert Firpo-Cappiello interviewed a dozen scientists and researchers to find out other tips on how to have a happier vacation. Check out his article: Get Psyched. The Happiness Project blog has more details on Rubin's fascinating experiment and her easy-to-read, inspiring book. Feel free to chime in with your own tips!

We're seeing a trend of nighttime museum parties here in San Francisco—think of them more as chic cocktail parties than those Ben Stiller mega-movies. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and the SF MOMA are famous for occasional opening-night parties, which draw a who's-who crowd of local artists, musicians, and philanthropists (with its 75th Anniversary, the SF MOMA's parties are getting particularly scene-y). But other museums are jumping on the after-hours bandwagon, hoping to attract new visitors with cash bars, dance floors, club music, live performances, and special exhibits. Every Thursday night, the California Academy of Sciences rolls out internationally renowned DJs like Jeff Stallings, plus appetizers, a cash bar, and a dance floor, creating a party zone in the academy's four-story rainforest, hands-on insect lab, and aquarium (reader dcaliendo recommends it as a must-see anytime). This month's eclectic mix of events include a pre-party for music festival NoisePop (Feb. 18), featuring live performances by local experimental groups the Frail and Brookhaven. 21 and over. 6-10 p.m. $12. 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park, 415/ 379-8000. Kids get to stay up late too during Friday Nights at the de Young. Music, poetry, films, dancing, interactive art projects, cocktails (for adults only, of course) and a special dinner are all on the docket. This month's calendar features a Mission-style Carnivale party with projected images of murals and street art, headdress-making, and Latin music. Feb. 5, 5-8:45 p.m., $10 adults, $6 youth and students, free for children under 13. Dinner and drinks not included. 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive in Golden Gate Park, 415/ 750-3600. The "After Dark" parties at the Exploratorium, a hands-on science museum located next to the Palace of Fine Arts on the Presidio, happen the first Thursday of every month. Each event explores a different theme through film screenings, exhibits, performances, and talks. Appropriately, this month's theme is sex. The wild night will feature bull testicle dissections (you'll definitely want a cocktail before that), a Condom Couture Fashion Show, and take-apart sex toys. March's "Distortion" night will have visual music and psychedelic animation. February 4, 6–10 p.m. $15. 3601 Lyon Street, 415/ 561-0360.

Tour Chinatown's bakeries Start the Chinese New Year (Feb. 14 this year) out right by visiting two Chinatown bakeries that still make fortune cookies the old-fashioned way: by hand. Stop by Mee Mee Bakery or the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory, located in Chinatown's oldest alley, to watch a free demo. While you're there, pick up a bag of fortune cookies—a perfect souvenir to share (or not). Reservations not needed. Mee Mee Bakery, 1328 Stockton Street, 415/362-3204. $3 for a bag of cookies, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory, 56 Ross Alley, 415/781-3956, $1 for a bag of cookies, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. everyday. l See Kermit Lynch at Omnivore Books On Feb. 20, the famed Berkeley wine importer Kermit Lynch, whose wine business earned him France's highest national decoration—the Legion d'honneur—will be hosting a free wine tasting and reading. Sample the latest vino discoveries while Lynch reads from two of his books, Adventures on the Wine Route and Inspiring Thirst. The event is being held at Omnivore, Noe Valley's book store dedicated to all things food, where the collection of vintage cookbooks (including the first-edition signed copy of Chez Paniesse Desserts) is worth a browse in itself. The hour-long event begins at 5 p.m., 3885 Cesar Chavez Street, omnivorebooks.com, 415/282-4712 San Francisco IndieFest's Big Lebowski Party at CellSpace The annual film festival launches Feb. 4 and features award-winning independent films like Wah Do Dem (with Norah Jones) and Harmony and Me. Each film is $10. Be sure to buy tickets in advance, since this festival, which has premiered big films in the past from indie favorites like David Lynch and Gus Van Sant, draws crowds. Additionally, The Big Lebowski Party on Feb. 12 is always a highlight, complete with white Russians, mini-bowling, a trampoline, and a costume contest (expect plenty of bathrobe-clad Dudes) held at the arts co-operative CellSpace. Save 5 bucks if you show up in costume. Film Festival February 4th-18th, at a variety of locations. $10 tickets. Big Lebowski Party starts at 9 p.m., 2050 Bryant Street, 415/648-7562, $10 ($5 in costume); free with Indie Film fest ticket stub. $3 Moonlight Martinis at the Cliff House Sutro's bar at the Cliff House has floor-to-ceiling windows directly overlooking the Pacific ocean, the famous Seal Rocks, and the Sutro Bath ruins, making it a perennial favorite among visitors and locals alike. It's the perfect spot to end up after an afternoon hiking the rocky shoreline at the Presidio's Land's End or visiting the Camera Obscura. Try visiting on a weeknight (Sunday through Thursday) to get the most bang for your buck—$3 Skyy and Tanquery martinis (usually $8) mean you can still afford a cab ride back. 1090 Point Lobos, 415/386-3330, 6- 10 p.m. $5 stand-up at the Clubhouse Clubhouse, a downtown underground Comedy Club, features some of the best up-and-coming local stars, like Ali Mafi and Nico Santos. Normally, these comedians perform at high-priced clubs like Cobb's or the Punch Line—but at Clubhouse, see them for a fraction of the price. The BYOB policy creates a no-holds-barred atmosphere where comics can test new material and crack jokes too off-color for the mainstream. 414 Mason St., 415-921-2051, Tuesdays through Sundays, tickets start at $5. Just back from San Francisco? Going there soon? Leave your recommendations, comments, and questions on our city page.

The top traditional places downtown for afternoon tea are Browns (brownshotel.com) which won the Tea Guild's award for the best tea in the capital in 2009 and the Dorchester (thedorchester.com). Both are expensive at around $50, and whilst you don't have to dress up to the nines, they are conservative establishments where people talk in hushed tones. Personally, I'd opt for somewhere cheaper, younger and less stuffy. Go to Bloomsbury (a neighborhood near the British Museum, made famous by the Virginia Woolf and her literary set) and drop into Bea's (beasofbloomsbury.com), which offer sumptuous cakes and tea in a little café for around $12. And whilst it's a 40-minute subway trip from the city center near the Canary Wharf financial district, the Mudchute Kitchen (mudchutekitchen.org) has generous farmhouse teas with a strong brew and cream cakes, on a 32-acre urban farm, also for around $12. It's cozy spot, and kids are welcome as well. EARLIER Pinkies In! London Teatime Etiquette Budget Travel's London City Page