We were lucky to get to stay with Steve and Rene in their apartment in the Tenderloin, quite close to the city centre. For those of you who are familiar with the city, we could walk down to Union Square in like ten minutes.
Amanda relaxing in the living room, Rene lounging in the background.
The first night we had delicious Southern-style food at Farmer Brown, a restaurant dedicated to using meats and produce from local farms. Joining us for dinner was a friend from UIC, Ali, who graduated last year and now lives in Denver, also in town for the wedding.
Thursday morning we decided to tour the city from the bike saddle. We rented bikes at a local place and took off towards Golden Gate Park, a green oasis larger than Central Park in New York. We biked all the way through the park and out to Ocean Beach. We didn't stop there, but continued (uphill) to the Golden Gate bridge.
Uphill from Ocean Beach.
It was actually f r e e z i n g up on the bridge, so we only stopped by the west-most tower long enough to take some photos. The wind caught Steve's bandanna and we watched it slowly fall down into the water...
Amanda and Steve not enjoying the cold temperature - Steve's bandanna blew off a second after this photo was taken.
A tad too steep to bike...
The bike trip wasn't all without issues. Two hours into the trip we discovered why Amanda's wheels weren't really rolling all that well - both the front and rear brakes were constantly applied! At least she got a "free" workout out of it... We traded bikes for the last part of the bike ride. Later at night we went for pizza with some of Steve's friends in the Mission - the Wicker Park of San Francisco? Ended the night at Casanova across the street. Very cool bar.
Me, Ali, Mark, Mark
Steve, Amanda, me, Ali
Though it was still a bit foggy, Friday morning was pretty nice and warm, Steve and Rene took us on a walking tour of different neighborhoods. We bought whole bean coffee at Blue Bottle Coffee Co., an independent coffee shop operating out of a garage store front in Lower Haight before stopping in the park where the Full House opening credits were shot. It was very entertaining to watch all the tour buses stop and let hundreds of people out to take photos in front of the fun-colored houses.
Blue Bottle Coffee Company.
Full House houses!
After ice cream (strawberry balsamic and salted caramel!), Amanda and I headed out on our own to visit the California Academy of Sciences (she works at the Chicago version). This one resides in a brand new, green (LEED Platinum) rated building in Golden Gate Park. We only had about 90 minutes before closing, but we enjoyed the 4-story rainforest and the other exhibits. We were just a bit too late to get into the Planetarium. On our way back we stopped at Arizmendi Bakery, the co-op where Steve works. The trains in San Fran run both on and below ground and was a good way to get around.
We went back to the apartment to shower and nap. We went to Spork for dinner. Apparently Kentucky Fried Chicken invented the "spork" in the 70's as a cross between a spoon and a fork, and when the owners turned an old KFC joint into a restaurant, they thought the name was fitting as they used a bunch of the old equipment for the interior - the deep fryer was made into the main light fixture!
We woke up to a beautiful Saturday morning, clear blue sky and warm temperatures. Steve and Rene led us down Market all the way to the harbor and the farmers market. We had delicious eggs and hash, french toast, and Blue Bottle Coffee! It was a tad hard to leave the sun to get into the rental car...
Enjoying the sun with the Bay Bridge in the background.
Off we went though, through beautiful California hills towards Highway 1 and Corralitos, our final destination. All our camera batteries died somewhere along the way, but as soon as Ali has sent me hers, you'll get to see more of the wedding (and the dance party that followed). Congratulations Chirag and Barbie!
The ceremony - very pretty!
Me, Ali, Frank (another student from UIC)
After spending the night in the resort's only yurt, we left right after brunch to have enough time to tour the coastline on our way back to the airport. The Pacific is pretty - and very cold. We stopped at a few beaches along the way before having lunch in Half Moon Bay. We got to the airport right in time to check in and board our flight back to Chicago. We had a very good time in San Francisco and around - can't wait to get back!
