We closed out our trip with a whirlwind day of touring San Fransisco. We started where all tourists should: the cable car turn around. It was a gorgeous, sunny Saturday in San Francisco so the line was LONG. Just long enough that Graham had time to run and grab a couple of lattes and some croissants that made up our "breakfast."
We ended up getting separated in the mad dash to board the cable car (people don't understand how lines work apparently) and so ended up on opposite sides from one another. Dumb tourists. Way to ruin our romantic ride. But, we did our best to enjoy the views all the same.
We got off at Lombard Street and had fun watching all the cars and motorcycles come down the crooked road. A good number of them had video cameras attached to their hoods or helmets - maybe it's the new hip thing to record the ride?
We walked down Lombard and then back up the steep hill opposite to the Coit Tower which ended up being rather anticlimactic. It might have been more cool had we paid to go up the tower but we're too cheap.
We decided to continue back toward our hotel on foot rather than taking the bus as planned. We went through Little Italy and then ended up in China Town. It just so happened they were having some Harvest Moon festival and the streets were PACKED with people.
We stayed just long enough to buy a fun scarf for me (Graham insisted) before the crowds and the pangs of hunger became too much for me. Once back at our hotel, we did a quick change of clothes and grabbed two of the complimentary bikes that were included in the amenities. We biked through the busy streets of downtown to the Ferry Building Market which I would liken to a more upscale version of Pike Place.
Can I just say that I LOVED biking in the city? San Francisco is so well designed for public transportation and biking! We purchased some fresh bread and a couple of juicy tomatoes and ate them on one of the piers with the cheese and salami we had leftover from picnics prior.
We had a gorgeous view of the Bay Bridge from our picnic perch! We biked all along the piers down to 39 where we had a good view of Alcatraz and the famous sea lions.
Our final destination was Ghirardelli's where I enjoyed an ice cream cone in the square.
Biking through traffic, buses and all!
We got back to our hotel just in time to turn the bikes in, change and make a beeline for the bus back to State Bird Provisions. This time we arrived 25 minutes before opening and there was already a long line so it didn't look promising. But, we were pleasantly surprised when we were told they could get us in at 7 PM. We came prepared this time, armed with books to keep us occupied while we waited. We ended up in the sandwich shop/sports bar next door where Graham had a beer and watching a football game while I read. When we got the text that our table was ready, we walked into the restaurant and all the staff did a double take. Stuart immediately approached us to welcome us back and tell us how flattered he was that we would spend our 2 dining opportunities in SF in his restaurant. We had numerous conversations with him throughout the night as well as with Joey, who we'd befriended the night before. His comment when we walked in was "Soooo. I guess you liked it then?"
We were excited to be able to try some of the dishes we ran out of room for the night prior:
-ciccioli with chanterelle & cocoa nib cracker
-garlic bread with burrata
-whole sardine with lemon and onion (marinated for 72 hours)
-CA state bird with provisions (quail)
-cumin lamb with scallions, grapes & zucchini
We were stuffed at the end of the night but made space for the double chocolate pudding, pistachio crunch, passionfruit dessert. And, much to my delight, our dessert arrived with two more glasses of peanut milk (on the house again!) I still can not get over how cool of a place this was. I loved their food, their decor, their concept, the owner's approach to running a restaurant, the cheerful atmosphere of the place. I would hands down recommend everyone dine there if given the opportunity!
We left one beautiful city bright and early the next morning...
The End. (Thanks for reading.)
I was in SF last weekend. It beats LA any day. We were shooting the Nike Women's Marathon. I got to go around with the B-Roll crew so I basically saw everything that you saw, but in a more businesslike fashion.
ReplyDelete