San Francisco 2011

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"If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair."

-Scott McKenzie

It all started when Adam was 84% sure he would be going to San Francisco on a business trip April 20-21.  I quickly did some magic, okay, I begged and pleaded for anyone to work for me, so that we can turn a 2 day business trip into a fun filled long weekend.  I got the days off and Adam was still only 84% sure he got the trip.  So then Adam begged and pleaded to be the one to do this business trip.  And then all of a sudden abracadabra we were in the most beautiful, fun filled city.

I flew in Wednesday morning and my trip started out in normal Erica fashion.  Adam had warned me that my cab ride to the hotel would be about 45 dollars.  I looked into other options as I rather spend my 45 dollars in Napa sipping on some Merlot.  And so I found a shuttle service that would take me and a couple other passengers to our hotels.  17 dollars.  Score 1 point for Erica.

We were staying at the Hilton in the Financial District and I was the first stop.  The man stopped the van, dropped my luggage and I off, and in I went to the Hilton.  I go to the front desk, ask for the key that my husband left for me, and smile politely.  The man at the front desk proceeded to tell me that there is no such husband staying at this hotel.  I told him he must be wrong, and that we are staying in room 607.  He then tells me there is no room 607!  Ummm... ok.  I walk away embarrassed.  I am at the wrong hotel AND not by my doing.  WONDERFUL.  Deduct 1 point from Erica, THANK YOU airport shuttle driver.  I hail a cab and luckily it was only a 6 dollar ride.  I still made it to the hotel for less than 45 dollars. 

I'll take that point back!

Jennah arrived shortly after my arrival to Hilton #2.  Jennah is my roommate from Disney.  She is originally from Oregon, born a small town girl, now loving life in the city.  She lives in SF with her husband Gabe.  And the 2 of them together are basically the best tour guides EVER!

So Jennah takes me to her apartment and nearly kills me.   I just had my first taste of "the hills!"

I survived.

I saw her tiny, little, super cute apartment, and her 2 kittens, then off we went...

we walked to Union Square, and then to the Wharf, Pier 39, and the Ferry Building.  We had clam chowder in the famous sour dough bread bowels at Boudin, we walked in some old ships and saw this cute little group of kids on one ship who kept saying "aye ye sir!"  and we also went to Ghirardelli Square where we had hot fudge sundaes.  We then rode the trolley which was A MUST on my to-do list.   I made sure to hang off of it like a typical tourist.  After that, we went back to the hotel.   Adam was off of work by this time eager to see SF and there we waited for Gabe to be off of work too!  Once everyone was ready we all headed to Sotto Mare, where we had bibs placed and we dined on cioppino.  This dish was really pushing the limits of my pickiness in food.  But alas it was absolutely fabulous.

"I can eat here every day!" -Adam

Let me let Wikipedia describe this dish to you:

Cioppino is a fish stew originating in San Francisco. Despite being considered an Italian dish, it is unknown in Italy, and it is only slightly comparable with various regional fish soups and stews of Italian cuisine. Cioppino is traditionally made from the catch of the day, which in the dish's place of origin is typically a combination of dungeness crab, clams, shrimp, scallops, squid, mussels and fish. The seafood is then combined with fresh tomatoes in a wine sauce, and served with toasted bread, either sourdough or baguette.

We then went to a cutesy little bar down the block a bit for another drink (or 2) before calling it a night!!!  

.Day 2.

Jennah walked to the hotel and off we went walking through Chinatown.  We went into a restaurant where the entire menu is in Cantonese.  Jennah pointed to the dim sum and said she wanted two.  Basically, it is a small roll with meat inside.  We had it with BBQ pork.  The best part, it was 90 cents.  You can not get a lot of things these days for 90 cents!!!  And it filled me up till lunch.

We continued on our way through Chinatown, complete with watching this guy dump live fish into a garbage can and then another guy pushing the garbage can down the street, with fish flipping out of it.  Eww.

On our way out of Chinatown, we stopped at Starbucks.  Nothing like dim sum and Starbucks.  We then walked thru the Financial District, I saw where Jennah worked.  We waved to the the suckers inside and then took a cab to the city side of the Golden Gate Bridge.  We then proceeded to walk across on the most beautiful day.  After a rest, we walked all the way back, and kept on walking, and walking, and walking some more, around the bay and back into town.  We were tired, but it was such a great time.  Our reward, In N' Out Burger!!  So good!  

We walked a little more, and then ended up taking the cable car to the restaurant Palio, where Adam was entertaining his clients.  It was happy hour and we deserved some drinks, "to lubricate the joints!"  Quotation from J.  Gabe met us there and we continued on with happy hour, before this Gabe was at his own companies Happy Hour, which is why I like Gabe so much!  After Palio we then went to a wine bar called... The Wine Bar (go figure!) in which you drink wine straight out of the barrel.  It was a great place to go too at the end of a long, eventful, and fun day!!!  I would go back there in a heart beat!  But as you have been reading, I was drinking adult beverages, and with that and the sunburn I got from walking on such a beautiful day, I was just done.  It was a good "done" though, I couldn't stop laughing!


.Day 3.

This was the day Adam and I were to share.  Now, that Jennah, was able to show me around, I was able to show Adam a lot of the same things.  We had tickets to Alcatraz for 1100, so that was the only thing we needed to be on time for.   The tour was amazing and I thought they did an exceptional job with the audio part of the tour.  They really put things in a prisoners perspective and I felt like I took a step back in time. 
"Break the rules, and you go to prison, break the prison rules, and you go to Alcatraz."
After showing Adam some of the stops I had already made, we made our way to North Beach, and explored some local parks.  We found Golden Boy Pizza which was a recommendation from Andrea and Dave.  However, we were stuffed from lunch, so I mosyed over a few doors down to a tattoo parlor.  I had been wanting to get my cartilage pierced.  I do not know why?  But I had been, so Adam gave me a quick dare, and I walked in and a nice lady with tattoos took a needle to my ear.  Just a small stud, hurt for a minute.  Or 2 or 8.  
"Am I supposed to tip her?" -I say with a whisper...
"I dunno, let me google it!" -Adam with a whisper back
So that was my "on a whim" moment, and now I have a fabulous souvenir.
For dinner we met with Gabe and Jennah and they took us to Off the Grid at Fort Mason.  It's a place where all the food trucks from the city congregate in one place for a big feast.  It was packed with people, and they had a live band which made it so much more fun.  This was one of our favorite things that we did.  There was just something about it that was so fun and carefree.
After this we had crepes.
Delicious.


.Day 4.  
Gabe and Adam went golfing first thing in the morning and then we all met up for breakfast.
Then we were on our way to Napa Valley.  Talk about a scenic drive.  So incredibly beautiful.
  We ended up visiting 3 wineries that day.
#1.  Frank Family Vineyards- eh... 
#2. Sterling- You ride this cool gondola up to the top of the hill where the wine tasting rooms are located.
#3. Castello di Amoroa "The Castle of Love," -our favorite
After we had enough of drinking wine, we headed to Muir Woods.  We made it there with only 1/2 hour before park close, and I have to say, the sight and the smell was breathtaking.  It seriously made me sick getting there, up and down, and round and round, and up and down driving.  By the time we got there Jennah said...
"Ok, get out of the car and look at some trees!"
We definitely need to go back next time.  We had no time to walk the trail and we couldn't see a whole lot as the fog rolled in and it was next to dark.  So next time it is!!!
For dinner we went to J and G's old neighborhood to a restaurant they like a lot.  We were all so hungry after our alcohol intake that day.  Our day ended with a trip past the Full House "houses."  They didn't look anything like they do on TV, but still worth the drive to say I had been there.   We also took a drive down Lombard Street!  The twistiest, turviest street ever!  Since it was dark I didn't get great pictures of these things, but alas, next time it is!
  
.Day 5.
Happy Easter!!!  We went to a jazz bar type of restaurant, called OZ, for breakfast.  It was a nice place and J and G joined us for one last meal!  The main feature of this restaurant.  BOTTOMLESS MIMOSAS.  The boys took advantage.
After breakfast, we said good-bye and headed to the airport. 
So sad. 


It was an amazing trip.  Both of us can not wait to return one day!  It was fun to hang out with Jennah, and get to know Gabe better.  They are a fun couple, and they went totally out of their way to show us around.  We would not have had as much fun with out them, and are totally grateful to have such great friends!


Miles walked... 28.13
Pictures taken.... 301
Trip to San Francisco....PRICELESS