Damn yesterday was good!  And after two days in Napa, Ryan and Kelly were ready to take on the City by the Bay. On our drive down from Napa, we decided to start the day with a detour up to the Marin Headlands to check-out the Golden Gate. (This is also where I proposed to Lea). It was a beautiful day, and starting to warm up.

Warning: I figured out how to create a picture collage, so now I can go really picture crazy!

Because it was Saturday morning and we were in the city, we knew we had to take these guys to the Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market.  But between the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges lay a few easy landmarks to check off on our city driving tour.  Our next stop: Palace of Fine Arts.

 

Always picture perfect, the Palace is a beauty to behold.  It’s actually had a bit of scaffolding up the past few times we’ve been here, but nothing in our way this morning!  There’s really not much to do here but marvel, and that’s always been more than enough.

OK, still en route to the Ferry Building, we can knock one more stop off the list on our way: Lombard Street (the crookedest street in the world).  While Lombard Street is quite long, this portion is only one block and consists of 8 hairpin switchbacks down the side of Russian Hill. The picture below is courtesy of the World Wide Web.  We didn’t have any of our own pictures because we learned long ago that it’s really quite difficult to get a good shot of the street without doing so from the top of a local building. In fact, this one was taken from Coit Tower, located on Telegraph Hill.

OK, Doh-K.  From here, it’s a weaving path through North Beach (Little Italy), along China Town, across the Financial District, and we have arrived at the Embarcadero.  What’s here?  Only one of the very best farmer’s markets in the country: Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market.  Held year-round on Saturdays, Tuesdays and now Thursdays, Saturdays are when the most vendors come.  And the most patrons – today, especially.

 

The sky is clear, the Sun is hot, and the fruit is ripe.  While some San Franciscans don’t know what to do with themselves in this inclement weather (we overheard one person complaining about two warm sunny days in a row, and they missed the cold fog), everyone else was reveling in it!  Join the party folks, it’s like this all the time just a short drive out of the city if you’d try it.

We didn’t exactly have any plans to make dinner, so we didn’t have much to shop for outside.  Inside, on the other hand, is an air-conditioned, foodie paradise.

We paid a visit to a couple of our favorite stops for an impromptu picnic:

• ACME Bread Co. – Sweet French baguette
• Boccalone Salumeria – Prosciutto
• Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant – 4 cold bottles of Pilsner Urquell
• Cowgirl Creamery Artisan Cheese Shop – I should’ve written it down, because I never remember the names of cheeses.  It was a lite sheep’s milk cheese, and the sample literally melted in my mouth.  We normally belly-up for half an hour sampling various cheeses, but this time it only took one.

Say, “Cheese!”

Boccola sausages

Busted! Beer in the park. Naughty, naughty…

Once we had the sights seen, we checked-in to Ryan and Kelly’s hotel on Union Square.  We laid down for a minute to recharge our batteries, then stepped out to share the love of our Gap discount.  With deals this good, it’s really hard not to join the fun…  Yeah, I got some jeans.  And some shoes.  And a sweater.  🙂

 

OK, ok, ok.  Enough shopping talk.  Let’s transition from day to night.  Starting with…Cocktails!   After a short shower and shave, we headed to The Mission District to meet-up with Ryan and Kelly’s friends, Dan and Brig, at a place called Range.  Dan and Brig live in the city, and Dan’s a fellow-ISU Alum.  Go Cyclones!

 

They suggested we meet at Range, which is just brilliant.  I can’t wait to go back.  The bartenders take the art of mixology very seriously, and the fresh ingredients and creative combinations position this establishment in an elite category.  The drinks are so good, in fact, that I almost didn’t notice that this wasn’t just a bar, it’s a restaurant, too!  The food must be wonderful…

Instead, we had dinner at Osha Thai.  There are a few locations around the city.  Each is unique in its own personalized contemporary design, but one thing they all have in common?  The food.  Yummy.  Honestly, that’s the best word for it.  Take a look…

Dinner was great, but the night wasn’t over.  Our next stop was the rooftop bar at Medjool.  This is a view from the rooftop – you can see the fog rolling-in over the city to the North.

Cougars and Clubbers and Catfights, oh my!  Maybe Medjool isn’t our scene.  Just down the street they’re serving excellent beers at bargain prices at Phoenix Irish Pub.  Aesthetically, it’s about what you would expect.  But the vibe was fun so we stayed until they politely signaled that it was time for us to leave.

 

Someone’s showing off her ruffles.

So ends the story of a wonderful weekend with out-of-town friends.  Future mister and misses Lampe, we’ll see you in April at the wedding!  Until then, be good.

 

Choc-tee! (“Cheers” in Thai)