It's where cable cars climb halfway to the stars. It's where you meet gentle people in the street...and often you leave your heart there....San Francisco. I recently visited that enchanting city on the west coast and think it about it almost every day. Rarely has a place just mesmorized me like San Francisco. It's such a unique city with it's Painted Lady-style homes, steep hills and unbeatable view of the water.
S and I took an early morning flight and slept soundly for the six hours until we landed. I had never been to the west coast before, so I was incredibly excited. We turned out to be quite the resourceful pair and managed our way on BART and headed to our hotel. S has been to San Fran before, so she was a very useful guide. We strolled down some frightening and smelly streets and realized our hotel was in a bit of a ghetto. Okay. Then we realized we arrived hours before check-in, so we left our bags with the desk and set off on our adventure. We headed straight for Fisherman's Wharf and when my eyes gazed upon Attica in the distance, I couldn't believe it. For such a gruesome history, it is a breathtaking sight. To an unknowing observer it's just an island with a massive building sitting peacefully in the bay, with sailboats gliding by - it's quite picturesque. We strolled through the adorable shops along the bordwalk and ate at a tasty Italian restaurant. As I was about to eat a forkful of salad I squeeled with glee at the sight of the sea lions lounging below. There were so many of them!! Lolling about on the docks by the boats, diving in and out of the water. They looked like fat, tan ladies lounging beside a pool in the Riviera. Mahvelous!
We then proceeded to get sunscreen for my skin and shampoo for her hair, then off to get dessert in Ghiradelli Square. Can I just tell you - their ice cream was delicious. Delicious I say! We split a sundae drizzled in chocolate and I died. Well obviously not, but you get the point. It's a good thing they have so many hills to work off those calories because next we trudged up one of the steepest hills I have ever seen and walked up. Literally at one point we stopped and turned around to see what progress we had made and just started laughing from hysteria and exhaustion. We still had so far to go. It was like going up the beginning of a roller coaster. Finally we reached the top (of that hill at least) and I couldn't believe how gorgeous the bay looked in virtually every direction. The Golden Gate bridge was so awe-inspiring from where I stood. It was peaceful. But the rest lasted only for a moment.
We weren't too far from Lombard Street...that incredibly curvy and famous street....so we trucked in that direction, all the while muttering "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can." Lombard Street is so pretty! It's covered in magenta hydrangeas and the houses are so unique. One in particular was a lovely shade of blue, with the hot pink flowers and bright green leaves sprouting all around it and climbing up its side.
At the bottom a newly married couple was taking wedding photos with the wacky street as their backdrop. S and I decided to make our way over to SF's version of Union Square to see how it compared to our beloved one in NYC. On the way I dragged her into a gorgeous church to check out their stained glass and architecture. It's tradition to make a wish inside a new church...and I got mine, but I'll never tell what it was.
We strolled through a park and after what seemed like hours, we finally arrived in Union Square. It was a fun, hip little area so we went into Saks to look at clothes I can't afford. And it was great because after all that flying and walking I felt disgusting, which wasn't all exagerrated by the fact that I was surrounded by models and perfect-looking salespeople. After trying on some adorable dresses, we checked out the artwork in the park and almost went into a Food Network wine and food tasting event. Turns out you needed to be on a list and pay more money than I was willing.
We had plans to meet my friend for dinner in Chinatown so we made the exhausting trek home to our hotel. That's when we discovered our air conditioning didn't work and our shower required a nuclear engineer to turn on. But eventually it all worked out.
We thought it'd be a good idea to walk to the restaurant but it took a ridiculously long time, so we made my friend wait a ridiculously long time. He must not have been too mad because he invited us to party at his place later that evening. First we joined up with more friends and then had a night on the town meeting locals and playing pool. One for the books. Quite possibly in my top five thanks to a surprisingly successful game, surfer boys, rooftops, and balconies.
Next day we checked out the Painted Ladies and had way too much singing the theme song from "Full House" and posing for goofy pictures. Then we made our way to Haight-Ashbury and encountered many many dirty hippes. I thought hippies were supposed to be nice, but the ones we encountered were absolutely not. In fact they were incredibly unnerving. One hippie chick had an adorable pig and threatened to charge S for petting it. But all in all it was a very cool area. Our friend E suggested we go for Dim Sum in Chinatown which sounded fun, but wasn't at all. I have no idea what I ate, but the experience made up for the because Chinese dragons paraded through and did flips and crazy stunts and it was just really exciting. That night we attended a soccer game...Mexico vs. Portugal - it was CRAZY! but so much fun. Those fans are nuts!
On our final day we headed up to Napa Valley on this prepaid tour. We drove over the Golden Gate and then reached our first winery. Deliciousness ensued. S chatted up the barkeep so we received quite a few extra tastings, and after we purchased a really delicious lunch and ate on picnic tables. Then we hit the Chandon winery for some sparkling wine - which was basically my heaven. The next three were also delightful and beautiful. At the end of the trip we all dozed on the bus ride home, and then relaxed on a ferry trip back to 'Frisco. That night we said goodbye to E, then headed to a really kitsch and cute restaurant in their Italian District. Courtesy S' mom's kindness, we enjoyed an elaborate meal with some of the best mashed potatoes/champ I've ever consumed. Oh and don't get me started on the bruschetta and gellato!!
Early the next morning we cabbed it back to SFO and I bid my west coast adventure adieu.
But I'll be back, that's a promise.
S and I took an early morning flight and slept soundly for the six hours until we landed. I had never been to the west coast before, so I was incredibly excited. We turned out to be quite the resourceful pair and managed our way on BART and headed to our hotel. S has been to San Fran before, so she was a very useful guide. We strolled down some frightening and smelly streets and realized our hotel was in a bit of a ghetto. Okay. Then we realized we arrived hours before check-in, so we left our bags with the desk and set off on our adventure. We headed straight for Fisherman's Wharf and when my eyes gazed upon Attica in the distance, I couldn't believe it. For such a gruesome history, it is a breathtaking sight. To an unknowing observer it's just an island with a massive building sitting peacefully in the bay, with sailboats gliding by - it's quite picturesque. We strolled through the adorable shops along the bordwalk and ate at a tasty Italian restaurant. As I was about to eat a forkful of salad I squeeled with glee at the sight of the sea lions lounging below. There were so many of them!! Lolling about on the docks by the boats, diving in and out of the water. They looked like fat, tan ladies lounging beside a pool in the Riviera. Mahvelous!
We then proceeded to get sunscreen for my skin and shampoo for her hair, then off to get dessert in Ghiradelli Square. Can I just tell you - their ice cream was delicious. Delicious I say! We split a sundae drizzled in chocolate and I died. Well obviously not, but you get the point. It's a good thing they have so many hills to work off those calories because next we trudged up one of the steepest hills I have ever seen and walked up. Literally at one point we stopped and turned around to see what progress we had made and just started laughing from hysteria and exhaustion. We still had so far to go. It was like going up the beginning of a roller coaster. Finally we reached the top (of that hill at least) and I couldn't believe how gorgeous the bay looked in virtually every direction. The Golden Gate bridge was so awe-inspiring from where I stood. It was peaceful. But the rest lasted only for a moment.
We weren't too far from Lombard Street...that incredibly curvy and famous street....so we trucked in that direction, all the while muttering "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can." Lombard Street is so pretty! It's covered in magenta hydrangeas and the houses are so unique. One in particular was a lovely shade of blue, with the hot pink flowers and bright green leaves sprouting all around it and climbing up its side.
At the bottom a newly married couple was taking wedding photos with the wacky street as their backdrop. S and I decided to make our way over to SF's version of Union Square to see how it compared to our beloved one in NYC. On the way I dragged her into a gorgeous church to check out their stained glass and architecture. It's tradition to make a wish inside a new church...and I got mine, but I'll never tell what it was.
We strolled through a park and after what seemed like hours, we finally arrived in Union Square. It was a fun, hip little area so we went into Saks to look at clothes I can't afford. And it was great because after all that flying and walking I felt disgusting, which wasn't all exagerrated by the fact that I was surrounded by models and perfect-looking salespeople. After trying on some adorable dresses, we checked out the artwork in the park and almost went into a Food Network wine and food tasting event. Turns out you needed to be on a list and pay more money than I was willing.
We had plans to meet my friend for dinner in Chinatown so we made the exhausting trek home to our hotel. That's when we discovered our air conditioning didn't work and our shower required a nuclear engineer to turn on. But eventually it all worked out.
We thought it'd be a good idea to walk to the restaurant but it took a ridiculously long time, so we made my friend wait a ridiculously long time. He must not have been too mad because he invited us to party at his place later that evening. First we joined up with more friends and then had a night on the town meeting locals and playing pool. One for the books. Quite possibly in my top five thanks to a surprisingly successful game, surfer boys, rooftops, and balconies.
Next day we checked out the Painted Ladies and had way too much singing the theme song from "Full House" and posing for goofy pictures. Then we made our way to Haight-Ashbury and encountered many many dirty hippes. I thought hippies were supposed to be nice, but the ones we encountered were absolutely not. In fact they were incredibly unnerving. One hippie chick had an adorable pig and threatened to charge S for petting it. But all in all it was a very cool area. Our friend E suggested we go for Dim Sum in Chinatown which sounded fun, but wasn't at all. I have no idea what I ate, but the experience made up for the because Chinese dragons paraded through and did flips and crazy stunts and it was just really exciting. That night we attended a soccer game...Mexico vs. Portugal - it was CRAZY! but so much fun. Those fans are nuts!
On our final day we headed up to Napa Valley on this prepaid tour. We drove over the Golden Gate and then reached our first winery. Deliciousness ensued. S chatted up the barkeep so we received quite a few extra tastings, and after we purchased a really delicious lunch and ate on picnic tables. Then we hit the Chandon winery for some sparkling wine - which was basically my heaven. The next three were also delightful and beautiful. At the end of the trip we all dozed on the bus ride home, and then relaxed on a ferry trip back to 'Frisco. That night we said goodbye to E, then headed to a really kitsch and cute restaurant in their Italian District. Courtesy S' mom's kindness, we enjoyed an elaborate meal with some of the best mashed potatoes/champ I've ever consumed. Oh and don't get me started on the bruschetta and gellato!!
Early the next morning we cabbed it back to SFO and I bid my west coast adventure adieu.
But I'll be back, that's a promise.
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