Day Around the Bay #1: North Beach and Coit Tower

I've decided the best way to see the city is to force myself to run a path and then putter around a neighborhood! Its kind of how I explored D.C. when I first moved there, and now that I'm by myself for the next 5 months...I have nothing better to do hahahaha.

My first stop up is running down to Pier 39 and then exploring North Beach. It was a hot and sweaty (and tourist filled) 2 mile run down the Embarcadero and then I hiked up a hill to see Coit Tower. Let's explore the pictures....

Pier 39 is a tourist attraction area where the Sea Lions can be seen and other kitschy items can be purchased. Its really gorgeous and nice during the week when there aren't as many tourists around.

Pretty harbor with loads of boats.

From here, I walked the windy roads up, through Lombard Street, up to the top to view Coit Tower.  Just look at these views of the Bay!

First sight of Coit Tower!

The reviews said that it wasn't worth paying the $7 to reach the top and that the views were just as good as where you're at on the parking lot. I'd have to agree the views are AMAZING. Maybe if I have someone in town, we'll pay to go to the top.

 But for now I'll just enjoy the views for free!

The tower's back side :)

From here, I looked down one of the MANY up and down hills and was thankful I wasn't going to be climbing all of those!

Oh hey, look there, its the Transamerica Pyramid.

From here, I walked around the adorable North Beach neighborhood. If you're in the area and like live jazz, take a stop at The Savoy Tovoli. They have live music Saturday nights.

And then I turned the corner and saw this monstrosity of a car.....Purple with HOT PINK rims. Whoa.

And then kept on strolling to Washington Square...



So many people out on the square enjoying the warm weather! (Hey, its like 72 here..that's hot). Apparently it was one of the first squares in the city and was founded in 1847. Around the square is Saints Peter and Paul Church.

 Its pretty famous, too.  It was featured in the Clint Eastwood film Dirty Harry and Marilyn Monroe and Joe Demagio took pictures on the steps after their civil ceremony at City Hall. Apparently he was married to his first wife there but could't marry Marilyn there because the Catholic Church doesn't believe in divorce. Oh the drama...

 Its quite beautiful. And from there I walked to XOX Truffles. Apparently its been selected Top 10 Best Artisan Chocolatier in the USA.

I went basic and got the Carmel and the Milk. I would say the carmel was MUCH better.

 My last stop was to check out the Columbus Building. This gorgeous copper-green flat iron building was built in 1907.  By the 1970s the building was falling into despair, but film director Francis Ford Coppola purchased the building and restored it to its beauty today. Its #33 on the San Francisco designated landmarks!

North Beach is known sort of as Little Italy. There are so many great places to eat, but I'd recommend my favorite, Cafe Macaroni. You get a nice view of the Transamerica Pyramid while you eat real authentic Italian and listen to Italian banter! Its tiny, so make sure to make a reservation! Its 59 Columbus Ave., on the corner of Columbus and Kearney.

Jamber Wine Pub

After saying Goodbye to Hannah, I said welcome to Jamie the next day! Jamie is a Phi Mu who attended American University while I was an advisor there. She was in town for work and we met up.  It was another beautiful day in California and we wanted to go to a place with outdoor seating. Well, we found success at Jamber Wine Pub. They have wine on tap here!!!! So of course we both went with a flight of 4 wines. They even put coasters with the names of the wine on it so you know which one you're drinking! Phi Mus, wine flights and warm weather...what else could you ask for?

Have I mentioned how much I love San Francisco?

Jaunting around the city

For Saturday, we decided to explore the city a bit!  We started off walking past the Mozilla HQ, that has perfect quatrefoils! So of course, we had to stop and throw a quat. Ok gross, I hate that word. *Shudder*. But anyways, we looked adorable while doing it! That door...its just BEAUTIFUL!!

From there, we walked a bit of the Embarcadero and saw the Bay Bridge.

And along the way, we spotted this car.....wow. Just WOW. This person COVERED their car with sparkly colored tape!  There was a website on the window, so we had to check it out and of course, take a picture! Pretty awesome cause.

We walked the city a bit, enjoying dinner at Flour + Water. This restaurant books WEEKS in advance! Like, seriously, weeks!  So we decided to get there right before it opened at 5:30 and we STILL stood in line! Thankfully it wasn't too bad and we were able to score a seat at the bar. We had a delightful yummy dinner!  From there, we went across the street to their sister bar, Trick Dog. Holy moly, so many good cocktails! All of their cocktails are named after famous SF landmarks around the city. 

I should also mention that while Hannah was in town, we walked across the Golden Gate Bridge....

As well as visited Muir Woods....

These pictures were too great to not include somewhere!

But back to our story... while walking home that night, we saw a new art project being build right down the street from me! Black Rock Arts Foundation partnered with Flaming Lotus Girls to build this art work called Soma (aptly named because the area is called SOMA.) I'm not sure why the built the bulk of the work at night.

From the website:

About the Project

Originally displayed at Burning Man in 2009, Soma is an interactive sculptural installation depicting two communicating neurons connected by an axon bridge.  A soma is the cell body of a neuron, with branching dendrites projecting away at different angles, and an axon which conducts the nerve signal electrochemically to its neighboring cell.

Soma translates the anatomy of neurons into metal, fire and light, magnifying the microscopic world to an epic scale. In this urban installation, Soma features interactive LEDs to create a spectacular daytime and nighttime experience.

California's Oldest Restaurant: Tadich Grill

Hannah and I visited not only San Francisco's oldest, but California's oldest restaurant for a cocktail!  Tadich Grill has been around for 160 years!! If you want to see its whole history from Day 1, click here.

First opened as a coffee stand during California's famed Gold Rush, Tadich Grill has established a tradition of San Francisco's top restaurants. We just stopped in for a cocktail, so we each had a Pimms. It was fitting that the two of us were drinking Pimms together again :)

Our Pimms.....

I Host my first San Francisco Guest!

I finally got to host my first San Francisco guest!! I was so excited!!! My bf left on a 5 month deployment and how perfect that Hannah planned her birthday week with me the next week! We both work from home, so it was perfect for her to come!

Thursday night, our friend Meghan was in town so we met her and her work friends for drinks at Velvet Cantina (hello margaritas!) and then we walked to Beretta for an AMAZING dinner!  Love when people are in town :)

Friday, we decided to make a trip out to Napa! This is my 2nd trip and I knew I needed to stop at Domaine Carneros AGAIN! I mean, who doesn't start their day off at 10:30am with champagne? That's how I want to start every day! We started with the champagne flight on the terrace of their beautiful chateau. The day started off a bit overcast, but the good ole sun decided to shine down bright on us!

Me with my flight

4 glasses of champagne

This should be done every day....

Our ridiculous haul...

So long, farewell....until next time.

Next up, we went to Homewood Winery. It was starting to warm up and be beautiful outside!

After our tasting, we took a glass outside to enjoy. After copious amounts of sun screen, we sipped our wine and caught up on all the good gossip!

After our glasses, we walked out back to a beautiful view!

And then of course we had to play in the vines....

Hahahaha...typical Hannah fashion...

Hello beautiful......

We're really in Napa!!! (well, Sonoma here...)

From here, we walked across the street (no, literally across the street). To Carneros Brewing Company, a Latino family owned brewery. Hannah asked for a beer but they only handed her a taste.

We rectified that pretty quickly with another look at the menu and ordered our drinks.

And then we went outside and found the most amazing discovery! Their grounds were BEAUTIFUL!!!

See, I don't lie.....

And then we found the weeping willows!!!!

Goofballs...as usual!

After a good 20 minutes playing in the trees, we headed to our last and final stop at Gloria Ferrer vineyards.

There were these odd weird tall statues, so of course we had to pose with them!

I mean, look how gorgeous this place is!

My lovely companion for the day...

And me...

What an amazing and epic day!!!!