note: this trip occurred in conjunction with this Yosemite trip, August 2016.
First orders of business upon arrival in San Francisco: Laura (pictured, going in for the hug), Pizzeria Delfina (also pictured, and that burrata and arancini are making me wonder why I don't just move next-door), and Bi-Rite Creamery (those Hogwarts sundaes!! The employee who scooped my ice cream told me she got bored one day and created those to pass the time—she's brilliant, tbh) (in that order) (and had it been a morning or midday arrival, Tartine would have most positively definitely absolutely been in that lineup) (can you keep track of all of these parenthetical statements and to which items they correspond? no? me neither).
left to right: my cousin Wade, Audrey, Laura, and me—blissfully happy, clearly, because we're eating the best ice cream of all the ice cream.
Dolores Park, watching the fog roll in.
Dusk might be the very best time to visit Muir Woods—the paths were practically empty and the forest was so still. On our drive back into the city, we watched the fog roll in over the headlands, backed by rosy, fading sunset hues.
Pretty roadside vistas in Central Valley, CA, en route to San Francisco from Yosemite.
I love that city by the bay—California dreaming.
Another installment of Blog Travelogue Backlog.
In February, we went to
Yosemite by way of San Francisco. We got back into the city last Saturday night, and on Sunday morning before church, Laura took us on a drive to some of her favorite city spots. It was dismal weather—rainy and incredibly windy—so we stayed in the car and ventured out only for a few seconds at most at a couple spots, getting drenched in the process.
On Monday, while Laura was at work, Audrey and I explored more of a city we both love. We stopped at the Golden Gate Bridge to walk around and read about the engineering and construction of the bridge. We also stopped at the Palace of Fine Arts, built for the World's Fair, and then took a meandering route through neighborhoods with beautiful row homes and backyard gardens and tried to guess the figures of their astronomical rent. We rode a trolley because both of us were sure we had done so as children, but couldn't remember for sure; when in Rome, right? (although locals probably take the bus more often than the trolley, so maybe that adage isn't sound in this case).
Bi-Rite Creamery forever: crème brûlée, Valencia orange and cardamom, and mint chip. MMM. I went back in for round two and the boy at the counter said, "Back already?" Yes. Always.
I love return visits to places I love; those kinds of trips always have a great balance of new and exciting versus tried and true. We left our hearts in San Francisco, but it's okay; we'll be back again soon.
I love this beautiful art deco, iconic, red bridge.
This weekend I went to San Francisco with Emily and Caroline and we had such a great time. Most of the photos below are of food that I ate but it was the best way to celebrate a birthday weekend in my opinion.
Dandelion Chocolate. We walked past and obviously had to go in. I love the way they tell their story with chalk drawings on a long chalkboard wall, and with the chocolate-making machinery visible for all to see. And this Nutella-stuffed cookie was something else (imagine the taste of Nutella but with darker, richer, silkier chocolate—this cookie was stuffed with that and a tiny bit of fleur de sel on top).
A gougère from
Tartine—oh my. (not pictured: hazelnut chocolate tart.)
Ranunculus at Bi-Rite Market. so so pretty
BI-RITE CREAMERY. Their Meyer Lemon ice cream (top scoop) is out of this world. (the other flavors here are mint chip and
TCHO chocolate. and on our other visit I had the mint again and Hazelnut with
Askinosie cocoa nibs)
Diner girls
caught in the act of taking this candid...
I love love loved that this playground in Alamo Square mimicked the Painted Ladies just across the street (behind Emily in the other photo above).
I heart weekend trips and good food and bay air and city adventures.
