Technically, this trip was not baby thompson’s first, as (s)he has already been to Orlando, Houston, Baltimore, Washington DC, Miami/South Beach (loved the party scene down there), Providence and Chapel Hill, so (s)he is a rather well traveled 14 week old. However, this was his/her first trip with both mom and dad, so it is officially our first of hopefully a few babymoons.
Ben and I hadn't been on a vacation together since our trip to Hawaii last November, so I decided to tag along on his work trip to San Francisco last weekend. I honestly thought I would see San Fran on my first trip to Napa, but since baby thompson was opposed to a winery tour, we spent the whole weekend in the city.
We stayed at the St. Regis and it was everything I had hoped for (a butler came included apparently, but we never met him/her). It had an enormous tub in the middle of the room, so I could take a bath and watch TV with Ben at the same time (basically heaven). Also, we were able to walk almost everywhere, which was really nice despite the 50 degree weather.
After finishing work on Friday, we kicked off the weekend by having cocktails (ok, I had the Asian version of cocktail nuts, but Ben had a Manhattan) at the Top of the Mark and toasting to my grandma Mary (my mother's mother), who insisted she saw her lover off here before he went to war (strangely, this 'lover' was not my grandfather, so no one really knows what the story is). Mary loved martinis, and luckily Ben's Manhattan came in a martini glass.
After that, we walked by Grace Cathedral (Episcopalian, mom!) and then had dinner at Tadich Grill, which is one of the oldest restaurants in the city. Ben got to wear a bib and we loved the food, so I highly suggest trying this place!
On Saturday morning, we were up by around 6am thanks to the time change, so we took a long walk to brunch at Brenda's. We were certainly glad we made the walk because Ben's sweet potato pancakes were the best pancakes I've ever had (imagine a pancake that tastes like a warm cinnamon roll and birthday cake at the same time). The walk also gave us the opportunity to see a shadier part of the city, so if you want to try Brenda's (also famous for their beignets), then a cab or driving wouldn't be the worst idea. After carb loading, we rented bikes at Fisherman's Wharf and rode 9 miles across the Golden Gate Bridge and over to Sausalito. I consider myself to be in pretty good shape, but I haven't ridden a bike in about 12 years, so I found the whole experience to be much more challenging than anticipated (when the shop owner said the ride was ‘mostly flat’, he were LYING). That said, it was totally worth it because it was a clear, sunny day and the views were breathtaking.
As a bonus, when we rode the ferry back from Sausalito, we got to see Alcatraz and a handful of dolphins.
After the bike ride, we also bought baby thompson his/her first of many souveniers (and of course tried it on the Nibby for size).
Saturday afternoon and evening we caught up with one of Ben's oldest friends, Leigh, and had dinner with her and her partner at Lot 7 in the Mission. The food here was excellent too, so it's another place to try if you are in the neighborhood.
On Sunday we once again got up extremely early and decided to head out of town because it happened to be PRIDE weekend and a parade was coming right by our hotel. We had brunch in San Jose, where we flew in/out of (thanks to delta for the 'convenient' flights, when using our companion ticket) and spent the next 8 hours getting back to warm weather, George and Nibby.
There are so many more things I want to see in San Fran, so I hope we can go back soon. If not, then I've at least already started planning my 30th birthday trip to Napa, so I figure it will include at least one night in San Fran.
PS – a big thanks to Jake and his friend Jocelin for suggesting great activities and restaurants!
