Trip Report September 14-18

We had a wonderful first anniversary trip to San Francisco.

We arrived at SFO and hopped on the BART to Powell Street then climbed up the hill to the Orchard Hotel. We checked in, got cleaned up and headed out to wander around Fisherman%26#39;s Wharf. We purchased our Muni Passes (best investment ever!) and rode the cable cars. We had dinner at Scoma%26#39;s and my Cioppino was enough to feed three HUNGRY adults.

Monday morning we were up early since we%26#39;re from the East Coast. We wandered about Union Square grabbed some breakfast to eat in the square then headed back down to the Wharf to catch our Mr. Toad%26#39;s Tour. Ron was our driver and we had so much fun riding the toad up and down the hills! It may be touristy as can be, but it gave a great overview of the city and we had a lot of fun. We came back and grabbed some lunch at Boudin bakery then wandered over to Ghiradelli Square for a bit of shopping. We decided to trek back to our hotel on foot up the hills of Powell Street. We headed to North Beach for an early dinner then trekked over to Pier 33 for our night tour of Alcatraz. The tour of Alcatraz was great, but oh my was it spooky!

Tuesday we headed up to Napa Valley for the day. We rented a car from Hertz and pick up was at the Westin just down the hill. We headed over the Golden Gate and drove through Mt. Tampalais and Muir Woods a bit before heading up. We toured Sterling, Mondavi and Domaine Chandon. Mondavi had the most in depth tour. We grabbed a snack at Bouchon bakery in Yountville and had a nice outdoor lunch at the Rutherford Grill.

We headed back to the city and dropped off the rental car then headed back to our hotel to collapse. We were so tired we didn%26#39;t even eat dinner!

Wednesday morning we had a yummy breakfast at Sears then headed off to the deYounge to catch the Chihuly exhibit, which was amazing! We headed back to the hotel to drop off some purchases then walked down to the Ferry Building to head over to Sausalito for the afternoon. We had a tasty lunch at picolo teatro on the main street along the water. The food was good, but service was very very slow. Turns out it was only they%26#39;re second day open. We took the ferry back to the city and wandered around the Ferry Building, talk about a foodie%26#39;s paradise! Reminded me a lot of a smaller, less crowded Reading Terminal Market. We took the California line cable car up to Chinatown and wandered through the trinket shops then walked back up Bush street to our hotel. Neither of us were particularly hungry for dinner, so we headed to the Top of the Mark for drinks and split a cheese and seafood plate. Great views of the city and there was a wonderful sunset. We headed back down to the Wharf and said good bye to the city.

Thursday morning we walked around union square headed back to Sears for a filling breakfast and hopped back on the BART to head to SFO then home.

Overall, we had a fantastic time. It was a little chillier than I had expected, but I pack lots of long sleeve shirts and we always wore layers.

The Muni pass is a MUST. The cable cars were so much fun to ride and the buses and rail cars were a great way to get around the city when we were too tired to walk.

I was surprised by the amount of homeless people begging on the streets, far more that I%26#39;ve seen elsewhwere. A few were a little in your face, which is a bit bothersome.

The city was so clean. We were both very impressed with how green and ecologically aware the city was.

We%26#39;ll definitely be back!

Trip Report September 14-18

Sounds like a really fun time, the Ferry Building Marketplace is such a cool place! :)

Trip Report September 14-18

Thanks for the report. You packed a lot in, and it will be helpful for others to read as they plan for a visit to my favorite city in the world.

I enjoyed reading your report. It sounds like you both had a wonderful time.