SUNNY SAN FRANCISCO

We’re back from San Francisco and finally recovered! We had amazing weather, and it’s safe to say the trip was pretty perfect. The first night we ate messy delicious crab, rode a cable car and had drinks at Whiskey Thieves.

1. Painted Ladies   2. I loved these scenic drive signs   3. Shoe garden in Alamo Square  4. Miette   5. Painted wall in lower haight   6. Our GoCar

Friday morning we took the first ferry out to Alcatraz. The prison and island were impressive with stunning views of the city, and lush plant life. That afternoon we checked out the
Ferry Building on the Embarcadaro. We browsed the stalls of the Ferry Building, had crispy egg rolls and pork buns from Out the Door, downed a few oysters, and a salumi cup from Boccalone.

1. View from Alcatraz ferry   2. View from Alcatraz   3. Aloe garden   4. Aloe trees
5. Succulents   6. View from Alcatraz

We then headed over to the Haight which was full of hippies (gutter punks) and hipsters. We did a little shopping, but I was ready to scoot pretty quickly after we stood at Haight and Ashbury, saw the former Grateful Dead house, and picked up a few records at Amoeba.
Next stop was beautiful Golden Gate Park where we saw buffalo roam, and I snapped tons of photos at the dahlia garden outside the Conservatory of Flowers.

1. Strawberry Hill   2. Strawberry Hill Pond   3. Windmill at Golden Gate Park    4. Swans on the lawn of the Exploratorium    5. Palace of Fine Arts   6. Strawberry Hill, Golden Gate Park

We finished the night with dinner at Firenzie by Night in North Beach. A no frills Italian restaurant where the meal was moderately priced, and the service and food were great. We started with bresaola, had the famous gnocchi, and veal parmesan with eggplant.
On Saturday we rented a GoCar for the day, and while I’m sure we looked hilarious, it was totally worth it. We cruised all over town (at a top speed of 30 miles an hour) with a guided GPS built into the car.

1. Baker Beach   2. View from Twin Peaks   3. View from GoCar   4. Twin Peaks
5. View at Crissy Field   6. Crissy Field

That night we took it easy and hit up a burrito spot our friends recommend, El Farolito in the Mission.  It was super delicious and ridiculously cheap for the portions. Next door I picked up a few things from an indie store called Artillery Apparel Gallery, and then we turned in early for the trip to Muir Woods and Napa.

1. View from golf course   2. Crossing Golden Gate Bridge   3. Rainbow tunnel
4. View from lookout point  5. View from beach   6. View from our GoCar

Sunday’s first stop was Muir Woods, and we arrived right when they opened at 9am so the woods were quiet and beautiful. Tour buses and loud mouths were pouring in as we were leaving making me thankful we’d arrived early. They had a great gift shop where we picked up some goodies for friends and family, and had a berry scone and coffee from the little cafe.

1. tree   2. tree   3. tree   4. us!   5. banana slug   6. more trees!

We were starved when we pulled into Napa and had a quick bite at Gotts (big tasty burgers and garlic fries) before hitting the wine tastings. Our friend Adam recently started working at a winery in Napa, and was nice enough to set up a few wine tastings for us. Corison, Frank Family, and Quixote were all excellent, but Quixote was especially fun. It was off the beaten path, and the buildings were designed by quirky Viennese artist, Hundertwasser. The wineries were crushing grapes and the air smelled of berries. I always imagined going to Napa someday, but never thought of how the air would smell. The trip ended on Sunday night with an unforgettable dinner at Ad Hoc.

1. Grapes on the Vine   2. Quixote Winery   3. Quixote Winery  4. Frank Family Winery
5. Corison Winery   6. Grapes!  7. Quixote Winery   8. Reynolds Family Winery
9. Quixote Winery colorful barrels

View the complete photo album from the trip here!