SAN FRANCISCO

None of us had ever been to Lake Tahoe. We were expecting warm sunny weather with lots of poolside fun. not so. Lake Tahoe was cold. and wet. there was still snow on the ground in fact.  We spent the first day driving around Carson City. It rained all day. The next day was just as stormy. We weren’t really sure what to do or how we were going to spend the rest of the week in Tahoe, the weather forecast wasn’t looking good. so what did we do? We took a little three day trip down to San Francisco! we were pretty worried about how Henry would do, we were already a week into vacationing and he was starting to get worn out. but it was either go, or stay cooped up in the condo for a week. and we are so glad we went! Henry did great! We packed a lot into the few days we were there and we had such a fun time! I had never been to San Francisco so everything was new to me, so of course…pictures, pictures, pictures!

We got to San Francisco late Monday morning and headed straight to the waterfront (along with the other tourists) where we walked along the piers. We of course had to see the sea lions at Pier 39.

they were the funniest. and oh so smelly. next we headed over to Fisherman’s Wharf where we enjoyed some fish and chips and clam chowder at the Chowder Hut.

We kept walking until we found ourselves at Ghiradelli Square where we promptly spent $40 on chocolate. that’s okay right? only on vacation. this is also where we enjoyed a delicious ice cream sundae (cable car) and salted caramel hot chocolate. I was too busy throwing all my anxieties aside and finally nursing in public (I was discreet) to get any pictures of this stop. but are you noticing a trend? our trip revolved around food…

We drove around the city, saw beautiful houses and parks. took a windy drive down Lombard street and ended the day at Coit Tower where we enjoyed amazing views of the city:

alcatraz

Lombard Street

on Day 2 we took advantage of the nicer weather to do some sightseeing. after a delicious breakfast (more on that later) we made our way across the Golden Gate Bridge.

we took a beautiful drive along the coastline.

We drove through Sausalito, the cutest little town and then through the Muir Woods. We didn’t get out of the car, so no pictures. We were trying to keep Henry asleep because that night we had tickets for the Giants game! hooray! we knew Henry wouldn’t make it through the whole game so we got cheap tickets ($3 each!) and enjoyed the beautiful view from way up high.

We only made it to the 5th inning but we still had a great time. We ended the night with a little drive through Berkeley.

Day 3- we were lucky to have sunny weather again! after another amazing breakfast we drove around Presidio and took a little peak at Lucas Film (their grounds are beautiful) at least what we saw of it. and we just couldn’t stay away from the bridge. this time from a different viewpoint.

Chris’ face…..

we couldn’t leave San Francisco before eating one more time. Tony’s Pizza. and that ended our spontaneous trip to San Fran. We loved it even more than we thought we would.

{WHERE WE ATE} -because this deserves to be mentioned.

Mama’s- a cute little café right across the street a park and a beautiful church. we enjoyed warm apple crumb cake, various types of eggs benedict, and yummy French toast. Vegetarian Eggs Benedict- avacado, tomato, mushrooms, delish.

Smokehouse- on Telegraph in Berkeley. we were trying to find somewhere open, it was late, and this was one of our only options. we lucked out. they have great burgers, hot dogs, fries, shakes, etc. perfect for a 1030 pm dinner….

Brenda’s-probably my favorite. oh my goodness. we were told to go there for their Beignets but those weren’t even the best part. everyone ordered something different and everything was good. Shrimp and grits, Maple Pecan French Toast, Croque Monsier. I had a little love affair with my salad: brie en croute on top, dark greens, dijon vinaigrette, red onions, candied walnuts, grilled chicken. we. must. go. back.

Tony’s Pizza- definitely worth the last minute stop. we tried the:

*Margherita (which one the world pizza cup in 2007,hooray)   

*Cal Italia-(asiago, mozzarella, italian gorgonzola, sweet fig preserve, prosciutto de parma, parmigiano, balsamic) this won the gold medal at Food Networks Pizza Challenge

*The New Yorker- my personal favorite (mozzarella, pepperoni, italian fennel sausage, ricotta, chopped garlic and oregano) I usually don’t like meat pizza’s but this was amazing, especially with the Ricotta

Tartine: we were told to go here for the best sour dough bread in the city and it did not disappoint. They also have amazing desserts and pastries.

We weren’t hungry for days after this trip. We had one day left in Tahoe before our wonderful vacation was over. We were happy to have good weather. which (sorry to be obnoxious) means one last vacation post….