Tak and I have been putting in a lot of hard days at our perspective jobs, so we figured a quick weekend get-away to one of our favorite cities was in order. On Friday night, we took the 8:30 pm flight out to San Francisco on Virgin America airlines. We arrived at our diggs for Friday night, the Bay Bridge Inn. This hotel is definitely not the Four Seasons, but the location was walking-distance to plenty of attractions in East SF (not to mention, we scored a very cheap deal). The owner / inn-keeper was a very friendly and gracious fellow, asking us questions and thanking us for staying at his humble establishment. We settled in and freshened up. Even though it was almost midnight we were not relaxed enough to drift to sleep, so we took a stroll down Harrison to grab a donut and coffee. There are few things as relaxing as drinking coffee and eating a donut while browsing a newspaper.
Saturday morning we slept in a couple of hours, which was heaven for me, I'll admit. We got a late check-out pass from the Inn owner so we took our time and grabbed coffee and breakfast at JT's Cafe on Harrison Street. This place is about a year old and everything has that "new look" feel to it. The manager was another really friendly and chatty fellow that gabbed it up with us while we waited for our lattes and breakfast bagels. I ordered the swiss cheese and egg bagel sandwich and fresh fruit. They were tasty and provided the energy in carbs to burn for all the walking we would be doing during the day. Our lattes were very good.
Later that afternoon, we grabbed a taxi to our next hotel, the Hilton in the Financial District. We picked this hotel because of its location: it bordered Chinatown and was a short bus ride to all parts of the city. This place has a modern feel and super comfy bed. This was no Bay Bridge Inn! We lounged around watching TV in our room for a bit. The hunger pangs kicked in so we walked a couple of blocks through Chinatown. We came across an original Banksy in Chinatown, and then spotted an appealing tiny Thai restaurant. We indulged in Spring Rolls, Coconut Soup and Massaman Curry. Mmm, it really hit the spot! All the dishes had a great taste. We did a bit more window-shopping through Chinatown and made our way back to hotel.
Spring Rolls
Tak in Chinatown
Hilarious Poster we saw up in the Thai Restaurant: "Stalking is justifiable and natural"
Banksey in Chinatown
We met up with Tak's buddy later Saturday night at the Ferry Building Marketplace. We underestimated the long wait for a taxi so we arrived 10 minutes late at the Wine Bar to find him sitting at a table with cold drinks ready for us. Jason is a riot and had us laughing all night. We joked around and engaged in conversation for about an hour until they closed, then walked over to the Pier 23 Cafe for some live jazz and more beer. We sat at a table in the back patio overlooking the bay and conversed and laughed some more until we realized Jason had only a few minutes to catch the last train out of the city.
We chugged our beers as the jazz band played a great rendition of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit". We were jolly with beer-filled tummies as we clapped when the song ended and made a speedy exit to grab the last train. It was quite the adventure power-walking our way down Embarcadero with a grand beer buzz to the train station. Jason made the train with 4 minutes to spare and we said our goodbyes through the ticketing gates. Tak & I figured the hotel was less than a mile away so we walked the 10 or 12 blocks to the Hilton and passed out cold from the day's activity.
Sunday arrives . It is our last day in San Francisco and Tak lets me sleep in again. We take a taxi to Fisherman's Wharf and we indulge in Fish and Chips and beer at Wipeout Bar and Grill on Pier 39. I have to be honest and say that Wipeout's version of Fish n Chips was not as tasty as Yorkshire Fish n Chips in Denver, CO. I will say that the service was good and it's a nice looking and clean establishment. We proceeded to check out the sea lions at the very end of Pier 39. I love how they just lay on each other and aren't afraid to vocally (and loudly) showcase their displeasure with another sea lion if it imposes on its sleeping space. It cracks me up. Or maybe they are just appealing to my lazy nature. Whatever the case, the sea lions OWN Pier 39.
Fish n Chips at Wipeout Cafe
Sea Lions at Pier 39
It's almost check-out time at the hotel so we grab a bus back to Market and walk a couple of blocks to arrive at the Hilton. The hotel is cool with us storing our bags for the afternoon. The staff at the Hilton were really nice and accommodating, I have to say. I would definitely consider staying there again. We grab a bus to Haight-Ashbury and hung out there for the remainder of our stay.
We strolled around the neighborhood and did a little shopping at Amoeba Records and a book/art store. I came across Reid Speed's house/fidget mix in the Dubstep section, which was awesome, and Tak picked up a vinyl of a Dubstep remix by The Specials. Tak surprised me with the flip books by Dita Von Teese, "StripTeese". It was ooo la la, tres sexy!
Very sexy book by Dita Von Teese
We barely made a dent in Golden Gate Park and walked around the Children's area and past 'hippy hill". We definitely came across plenty of colorful characters. I loved it and was sad that we couldn't see more of the park due to time constraints. We made a stop at Asqkew Grill for some "healthy fast food". I really enjoyed the Portabello Vegeterian skewer on a bed of Citrus Cous Cous. The grilled veggies were crisp but the char was just right. Tak enjoyed his beef burger and boldly declared it was one of the best burgers he'd ever tasted. We made one last stop at Buena Vista Park where we strolled and enjoyed the views of the city below. We trekked it to the bus stop and made the sleepy trip back to the hotel in the Financial District to grab our bags and ride to the airport.
I came across Reid Speed's Mix at Amoeba Records
Mac N Cheese at Askqew in Haight-Ashbury
Portabello and Veggie Skewer on Citrus Cous Cous
Tak's Beef Burger at Askqew
Sadly, our San Francisco get-away was coming to an end but we enjoyed every aspect of our trip and spent a fair amount of it eating. We had good times over drinks, did plenty of walking all over town and most importantly, spent some valuable time recouping from the grind of every-day life. Hopefully we'll find ourselves in San Francisco again soon...
See you in L.A.
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