We ventured North from LA to San Francisco, arriving in
one of the poshest airports we’ve ever seen, and travelling to one of the
poshest hotels we’ve ever stayed in.
Where we stayed: The Donatello Hotel, in a huge room with
a bed, a pull out couch, a kitchenette, desk, tv, and walk-in closet. It was the
kind of place where they expect you have money and they try to get you to buy a
time share… It was located right near Union Square, in San Francisco’s shopping
and theatre district, and a short walk or cable car ride to the pier. The
fridge served it’s purpose (holding beer and pizza), as did the bathroom
(providing a quiet and private space for Ashley to practice her presentation).
What we ate and drank: We had a San Francisco culinary
experience, starting with Hops & Hominy for salad, mac and cheese, black
bean fritters, a local craft beer, and most importantly – cousin Greg! We
checked out a downtown watering hole called Rick House… dark, yet light enough
to see the illegal activity taking place in the back room. We ate at the pier,
at several piers, actually, looking out at the surrounding bridges during both
day and night. We put on our dressy clothes and tried a 5 star restaurant
called Slanted Door and got the best table in the house for lunch at one of the
most highly rated vegetarian restaurants in the city. How, you ask? When Ash
called to move the reservation for David Boudreau (a name JD uses sometimes as
it’s easier to spell than Jean-David), the woman emphatically responded that that
was fine and she had saved him a great table. When we arrived she peered behind
JD asking where David was, only to find out he was not the David Boudreau she
expected – who is apparently a tech mogul. Suffice it to say she was likely
underwhelmed by her tip, and we were overwhelmed by the amazing view of the Golden
Gate Bridge that we had from our table.
We took in the food truck frenzy that San Francisco is known for,
attending Off the Grid, a monthly food truck festival with every type of food
you could ask for, all the drinks you could buy, and live music. We loved the
food truck experience so much that we later made a special trip down to Cod
Mother for fish tacos and followed it up with custom ice cream sandwiches from
baked Bear. We had some drinks with Greg at his place then ours, and then he
went home like a responsible adult while we met up with many non-responsible
vacationing adults to go out drinking and dancing in the Castro district (gay
village)!
What we did: When we weren’t eating, which was, quite
frankly, most of the time, Ash managed to get to her conference to present to a
bustling crowd of three. We checked out all the piers, including Pier 39 with
the sea lions – cuddling, fighting, and relaxing on the dock. We went down to
Fisherman’s Wharf, walked up and down many a hill, through little Italy,
Chinatown, to see the Painted Ladies, and through Haight & Ashbury. We took
a tour to Alcatraz, and each plotted our own private escape. Luckily we made it
to the ferry to head back so all our plotting wasn’t necessary. We left the
city to check out Muir Woods, the big, beautiful trees not far from the city.
Ironically, our tour guide didn’t believe in climate change. Exactly what you
want to hear about as you’re heading to a nature conservation. On the way back
into town we stopped at Sausalito, popped into fancy art galleries and dollar
stores. We did another excursion – a wine tour to Napa Valley – with yet
another interesting tour driver who had a personal vendetta against Robert
Mondavi and yelled at people on the bus for chatting instead of listening to
him. We stopped at Nicholas Ranch and tried a $50 bottle of red wine, Madonna’s
Estate where California girls served us many drinks and taught us how to
pronounce Gewürztraminer (Girls Are
Meaner), had lunch in Yountown where we tried more wine and then went to
Bouchon bakery for an éclair, and then went to one more vineyard – the worst
for last – we can’t remember the name. What we didn’t do… ride the cable
car or go into the Japanese Garden – SO
EXPENSIVE! Or see the Golden Gate Bridge – it was SO FOGGY! Oh well, we guess
we’ll have to go back another time. We weren’t lured quite yet to quit our jobs
and apply to Facebook, although one more vineyard or food truck and we might
have been.
Lessons learned: Being day drunk is awesome, and if you
sleep on the way back you don’t have to listen to your awkward tour guide!
That’s all for now! Turns out we are off to South Africa
next for yet another conference for Ash and her conference groupies!
Stay tuned!
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