SF

This Christmas Adam and I wanted to get out! It kills me every year that San Francisco is SO CLOSE and Adam has NEVER been. So, we went. We did it right too, no pier 49 for us. Bleck. I wanted to get in and mingle!

We woke up early and drove to Walnut Creek and let BART deliver us into the city. We hopped off and the first thing we noticed were BYU fans. EVERYWERE. It was so weird! Here we were doing something awesome and new and FAR AWAY but then our Alma-matter trolling around the city made it feel familiar in an incredibly odd way.

We walked a few blocks to the Ferry Building and procured a public transportation pass and some breakfast. (A yummy apple and cheese grilled goodness.)

Above: Adam in front of the building.
Below: The Ferry Building found on www.perkinswill.com

Below: The Ferry Building is something of a tourist trap but is also totally worth it. It ended up being a big player in the start of our day and in the end. There's some really great food to be found here and unique shops as well—like an all mushroom shop or an all "pig parts food" shop. Photo by www.travelandleisure.com

Our first "to do" item was none other than this amazing giant, The Golden Gate bridge. But not to drive it, to walk it!

We took different buses to get there and saw a lot of the city. I love all the architecture. Our last connection took 45 minutes to arrive and pick us up though (arg! Something must have happened). It's tough to be in such a cool city and be standing STILL and going nowhere. But while we were en route to the bridge here's what we noticed:

1. If you live in San Francisco you have to drive a Prius.
2. The locals are totally friendly and helpful, willing to point you toward the right bus station as soon as they see you looking at your map upside down.
3. Nobody understands the bus route map. Seriously San Fran, you need to get on that. I could help.
4. The city is completely international and they intermingle with one another unlike other cities where it "matters" who you are, what you do and where you live.
5. No one in the bus line will judge you if you must use the porta-potty across the street.

Just by sheer size the Golden Gate is an AMAZING piece of art deco. I thouroughly enjoyed our very cold and windy jaunt. This is also the most popular suicide destination in the world. (There's even a documentary about it.) Call boxes are located along the bridge, so if you're having a crisis you can call for help.

After walking the Gate, we went back into the city for lunch at the Tartine Bakery.  I've read about them online, their cookbook was on my Amazon wishlist for several years. So when Darlene, a family friend suggested this for lunch I was all in (thank you!). Tartine is NOT a local secret. Though the building has no identifying signs we knew we'd arrived when we saw this line of humans going out the door and down the sidewalk. Yes, you saw two tourists flying off the bus and scrambling across the street to find our place in it.

It was about 3 before we ate and we did so in the windowsill outside. So yummy! We shared a hot Shitaki mushroom croque and right-out-of-the-oven cranberry bread pudding—seriously, so yummy and like no other bread pudding I've ever had (I need to buy the recipe book), and a chocolate torte. We were completely satisfied as only starving tourists can be.

(I have never had a shitaki mushroom before...they are so chewy, like rubber, totally wasn't expecting that. Not complaining, just noting.)

If you ever get a chance to, make sure you use the restroom at Tartine, especially if there's a line. That's what I said, make sure there's a line. You will pass by their gigantic oven and if you are lucky while you are waiting you will get to watch as they do their baking. The dough is proofed in fabric lined baskets and then dumped onto a conveyor belt table.

The bakers slice or clip the breads in the middle (depending on the type of bread.) and the table gets lifted up like a gurney and the breads go into a radiant stone hearth for baking. I enjoyed watching them at work. You can buy fresh bread from the bakery after 4:30pm daily. Bread photos here: http://www.gogobot.com/tartine-bakery-san-francisco-restaurant and here:http://www.delish.com/food-fun/tartine-americas-best-bread-bakeries#slide-6

After eating we caught the bus to Union Square—this time an old electric one that had no steering wheel...and again we met some friendlies who gave us tips for our next trip to the city. I LOVE SAN FRANCISCO! By this time it was getting dark but the Square was quite busy with the influx of holiday visitors. We walked up the streets and down (literally) looked at Christmas decor, went into the Westin hotel for a whiff of grandure, and then found Britex Fabrics with FOUR FLOORS of awesomeness from tile to ceiling. If you don't sew, this place will make you want to.
Storefront found here: http://www.unionsquareshop.com/pages/britexfabrics.html

Hungry again but unable to get into a restaurant recommended by my friend Amanda (it was a 3 hour wait) we decided to go back down to the Ferry Building and try another place on my list, Vietnamese at The Slanted Door. We were lucky to get in as they too were booked, however, "if we could eat fast they could slip us in." Again, AWESOME!

There was a lovely view of the bay bridge from inside, and the food was fantastic. Fresh sea food, and great flavor, wonderful service too. I mean it. San Francisco has world class food you guys. When my mom asked what we were going to do in the city, honestly all I wanted was go there and eat!!!

Tip: Make reservations when in the city wherever possible. Another tip: It is impossible to eat at ALL the good places on your list so don't even try. But if you do try, make sure these places are at least close to each other. Unless you want to spend a lot of time on the bus. Which is totally acceptable—lot's of nice people can be found on buses and you get to see a lot of the city this way. Images from The Slanted Door Website.

Miette has been on my list of places I want to visit for years. Alas, we couldn't make it to the original store front. But the Ferry Building had a little version of it. So on our way back to BART we made a small purchase.

Photos here: pinkpatisserie.blogspot.com and here: boudoirpieces.blogspot.com

It was this little chocolate Scharffen Berger which we snuck up to my bedroom. The next morning when we woke up, wishing we were still in San Francisco—we ate our last little treat from the city, sipped our milk and talked about what a wonderful trip we'd had. We'd fallen in love with San Francisco and of course decided to move there permanently.