On a random Wednesday night, I sighed and announced to my husband at the dinner table that I simply needed a little vacation… The travel bug has bit me, latched on, and has no intention of leaving any time soon.
When life gets crazy, I like me a quick weekend getaway …to anywhere really…or better yet, a real vacation that involves a plane. These little (or big) jaunts really help me to decompress and escape reality for a just a little bit. It’s also a time where P and I can truly relax and have fun.
With Europe planned for June (hooray!), it made sense to just do a quick trip to somewhere within driving distance. In California, there are so many road trip opportunities. A little weekend break was just what we needed, and San Francisco was the perfect remedy.
Sure, the city was only half an hour north of home, and sure, we could have made it a day trip. But, we really wanted to spend the entire weekend basking in the city life and pretending, just for a little while, that we were the same city folks we were just a year ago in Boston. A little staycation…
We opted to stay at the Hyatt Regency near the Embarcadero. The room was spacious, the beds were plush and the views were amazing. It was awesome.
We started our day at the Ferry Center just across the street, my favorite place to wander on a Saturday morning. The farmer’s market. The donuts. The view of the Bay Bridge. I just love it here. My parents joined us for a brunch at the Waterbar with the puppy in tow and we relaxed and enjoyed springtime in the city.
When my parents headed back home, P and I decided to explore the city a bit more and did an urban hike up the Greenwich Steps to the Coit Tower in the Telegraph Hill district. The area was so charming! The steps were lined with colorful flower gardens and Bohemian houses. Can you say house goals? I was obsessed! Half way up, we saw the famous wild parrots of Telegraph Hill, squawking about and flying from tree to tree. It’s pretty incredible that these tropical birds can thrive in an urban environment.
Staying for a night in the city also meant that we could stay out all evening and not worry about driving back home. We met our friends, Debby and Earl for dinner at La Ciccia and enjoyed Sicillian wine and fresh homemade pasta. Despite the steep prices, the food was delicious and totally worth it. My favorites were the octopus in a tomato sauce and the fresh spaghetti in spicy garlic oil topped with salt cured fish roe. The restaurant has a no phone / camera policy at the table (which I can totally appreciate), so I don’t have any food pics to share.
After debating how we were going to end the night, drinking v. clubbing v. dessert, we all opted for dessert, clearly showing our age! We spent the rest of our evening chatting and noshing on amazing desserts at Monsieur Benjamin. Try the crepe… trust me, it’s mind blowing!
We ubered back to our hotel around midnight, bellies full of food and laughter.
The next morning, we slept in and had brunch at Foreign Cinema in the Mission district, which has always been on my SF food bucket list. The ambience was fun and modern and the food was amazing. We loved the sea bass tartare and the pâté!
Unfortunately, we had parked on the streets and while we were enjoying our brunch, one of our car tires was punctured. While things like this rarely happen in the city, we had to replace the tire entirely and it was a bit of a nuisance with half of our Sunday calling auto body shops.
Despite the mishap, our weekend in SF was still pretty amazing! Til’ next time!
oliveoloveblog 