Hej Hej,
Ok, so I know that I went to San Francisco in January but I have been asked why I haven't posted anything about the trip, so I thought that on this early Saturday morning, with my cats contentedly fed and B. sleeping soundly, I should finally make the effort and tell you about my trip. I say my trip because since B. was there for 3 weeks and I was only there for a weekend, he'd have to give you all the details about his trip.
I arrived in San Fran on a glorious sunny day. B. met me at the airport and then I got to experience the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) for the long ride to his hotel. He was staying in Pleasant Hill, which is about half an hour outside of downtown San Francisco by this train. We got to his hotel and then immediately walked across the street to a steak house, which was packed with people. We had to stand in the bar waiting for a table for about an hour but at least there was a band :)
The next day we borrowed Janet's daughter's car and headed out to the Napa Valley. It was another beautiful day, think 20 degrees Celsius, and the valley looked amazing. I have to say that if you are ever driving in unfamiliar territory that a GIS machine really helps (although it may not give you the most efficient route). We visited the Robert Mondavi winery where we went on the tour. It was one of the best wine tours I have ever been on and I've been on a few. I learned a lot about grape production,
brix and soil properties in the Napa Valley. We ended the tour with a tasting (of course) and then we were back on the road.
We were feeling a bit hungry at this point so we looked into our guide book and chose a restaurant up on the hill - it was called Auberge aux Soleil and it was one of the most memorable meals of my life. We knew it was going to be expensive based on the guidebook but we thought we'd splurge. You know a place is expensive when they have free valet parking when you arrive. We managed to score the last table on the deck that looks out over the Napa Valley (the Inn and restaurant are nestled on the hillside). And for my foodie friends: I had a crab and pear salad to start and then a version of a nicoise salad: seared ahi tuna, a bed of spinach, an egg boiled and then deepfried in panko crumbs. It was so good, and the sun was definitely adding to the great atmosphere.
We hit one other winery on our way back to the city. It was a beautiful building but the wine wasn't that memorable.
On Sunday, we went to San Francisco. First stop was a trip to Alcatraz where we toured the cell block and then walked around the island. Once we escaped...:p we started our tour of the city at Pier 31 (?) Fisherman's Wharf, witness the sea lions, had some sour dough sandwiches at this huge bread factory/restaurant/kitchen store and then caught the expensive tourist tram to Union Square where lo and behold they had an ice skating rink. People were ice skating in tank tops mind you. I can't imagine what it must have cost - money and energy wise - to keep that rink cool enough to skate on. But I guess they weren't expecting it to be 20 degrees in January. From the square we trekked through China Town and then made it up to the Coit Tower where we looked down over the city. We investigated Lombard Street the "crookedest street in the world" and finally made it back down to the Embarcadero (where all the piers are), where we found a great Thai restaurant to eat at. We were pretty pooped by this time as we had been on the go since about 7:30 and it was now 6pm. I'm pretty sure we walked around 15 km. That pretty much concludes my trip to San Francisco, so now you're in the know.
Here is a link to all our photos of San Fran. Click
here!Our beautiful sunshine is now gone in Vancouver, but we had it good for a long time so no complaints. We were able to go on several walks down to the beach. We're headed out to Abbotsford, about an hour away from our house (due east) tonight to have dinner with friends we haven't seen since New Year's. Other than that the weekend is unplanned. B. attended a keg party last night with his colleagues from work, not sure what time he'll be getting out of bed. I avoided the party as I didn't really feel like hanging around with a bunch of beer-drunk people (I guess I was in an anti-social mood), but I did go have dinner with some good friends and ventured over to North Vancouver (across the Burrard Inlet).
B.'s so proud of this photo from his ski trip to Big White so I thought I'd throw it in.
Ok, this is getting to be quite long, so I'll sign off!
Hope everyone is doing well! Vi saknar er!
E.
P.S. How cute is this photo of Taz who likes to climb into small spaces, even if the small space is a washing machine full of damp clothes.
