San Fran-tastic!


Can you believe it took Lauren this long to "discover" San Francisco?


While Marc was enjoying time with the Clynes (Tim, Laura and the adorable Sadie and Jesse were visiting from Chicago) and Mazzy's first birthday party, I went a day early to a business conference to FINALLY experience San Francisco.
 
Mike and Stephanie Kruse were the best tour guides ever! But don't let that fool you -- see their true roots below (they moved out there from Austin less than a year ago):


The Kruses hosted me at their incredible Pacific Heights apartment.  Now I know I've never seen anyone else's San Francisco home, but I'm pretty sure this one wins.  It's open and beautiful with lots of old-world charm like funny pull-top toilet flushes, giant windows and Davis-sized ceilings, but still homey and comfortable for the Kruses and their yellow lab, Georgia (or mini-Ella).
 
Over the course of about 24 hours, I had the perfect first trip to San Fran.  We grabbed a bite to eat and then walked through the neighborhood and the Palace of Fine Arts to the beach and Crissy Field, where the Golden Gate Bridge looked like a postcard (one showing, as Mike enjoyed pointed out, the "standard fog roll-in"):


We watched all sorts of extreme kite sports and got to walk all along the Marina and up through some adorable neighborhoods with great boutique stores.  Then we had a healthy snack of garlic fries and beer as we watched the sun set (well, the fog get darker) on the beach, filling up just enough to last us till dinner. Dinner was awesome Peruvian food at Fresca, followed by drinks at the Grove (sad to see saying "the Grove" to the Kruses no longer conjures up visions of Austin's own Shady Grove).  The best part about all of this is we walked EVERYWHERE... which was just the excuse I needed to gorge myself throughout the weekend. 
 
We went to bed early to prepare for a hike through the Presidio Sunday morning with Georgia, followed by a great over-the-top touristy excursion that started with a cable car ride and ended at the Fisherman's Wharf:



In between, Stephanie and I braved the hills through neighborhoods in Nob Hill, Russian Hill and Chinatown:



My favorite part was the pile of sea lions at Pier 39 of the Fisherman's Wharf, which bore an uncanny resemblance to labrador retrievers:

 
We finished the afternoon with some serious Chinese food (in a place where our order consisted of the waiter asking, "Are you hungry?" and us nodding and smiling) before I had to pack up and head to the conference.
 
It was a wonderful trip and left me with just enough San Francisco insight to want to come back for more... hopefully next time with Marc and for longer than a day, considering how many great friends and family we now have out there!!

Posted:
Sun - March 21, 2004 at 02:08 PM      

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