Northern California
- Only A Plane Away
- Jan 25, 2019
- 6 min read
We arrived in California early on a Saturday morning and caught a Lyft to our hotel. We stayed at the Club Quarters in the Financial District. It was late morning when we got there so we were not sure if we would be able to check in or have to store our luggage and come back later. They said they normally charge an early check-in fee which I had not heard of before, but they would waive it for us. So we checked in and dropped off our bags in our room before heading down to the restaurant in our hotel for some brunch.
Once we had full stomachs we decided to head out and explore. Our first stop was Lombard Street. Unfortunately the location on Google Maps was a little off so we had to walk up a huge hill to get to the famous part of Lombard Street. For those of you that aren't familiar, Lombard Street is supposed to be the world's most crooked street.
From Lombard Street we headed down to Ghiradelli Square and walked around a bit more. We stumbled upon a little wine shop for a winery called Wattle Creek and decided to do a wine tasting. We liked the wines a lot and ordered some wine to be shipped back to our home. After walking around a bit more we stopped again for a little snack at a cheese shop (accompanied by some wine as well).
We walked back toward our hotel along the water and then down Pier 39 to a Tiki Bar along the water. We hopped in an Uber to the Fairmont hotel where we planned to have dinner but the wait was too long. We ended up at a little spot called Ailment and had a delicious meal paired with some great wines. Then it was time to call it a night and we headed back to our room.
The next morning we got up early and headed to a small shop called Brioche for some breakfast and coffee before heading to Alcatraz. We lined up thirty minutes ahead like the ticket said so we could try to get a good spot on the ferry. We went up to the top level to get some good photos looking back at the city and porting into Alcatraz island.
Alcatraz is really cool to see. The price includes an audio tour that gives lots of information about the time the island was used as a prison.
After our Alcatraz tour we headed to a bar called Buzzworks that we had heard was a Kansas City Chiefs bar to watch the Chiefs play the Raiders. It was a fun environment, and they even had lots of Boulevard beer on tap. The best part was that the Chiefs won the game though.
Next we headed to the famous "painted ladies" Victorian homes. It ended up being perfect timing as it was sunset. After spending some time in the park, we headed back to our hotel to take advantage of the free wine tasting they offer every day from 5-6.
While we sipped on some great California wines, we decided on our dinner plans and made a reservation at Cafe Claude. The place was very cute and the food was absolutely delicious but way more than we could eat. We left completely stuffed and used the walk back to our hotel to burn off a few calories.
On our third day, we decided to get out of the city a bit and booked a tour combining the famous Muir Woods with wine tasting in Sonoma and Napa. Leaving the city, we crossed over the Golden Gate Bridge and stopped at a lookout point for some photos. Then we headed straight to Muir Woods, which is surprisingly close to the city. We got there right as they were opening, so there was almost no one else there. It was very peaceful and serene.
Next we stopped at our first vineyard, Mayo Winery, and got a little tour of some of the wine-making facilities before sampling a few of their wines. Our next stop was lunch in the town of Sonoma. We had a delicious salmon sandwich at a little spot called The Plaza Bistro before walking around the town square a bit.
Next we headed into Napa to Kieu Hoang Winery which had absolutely stunning views. We drank wine on their back deck overlooking the beautiful fall colors.
Our last stop was Trek Winery which is an urban winery. They don't have their own vineyards, but instead purchase grapes from other growers in the area. We got to try the most wines here, and they basically poured us anything that they had in stock.
Heading back into San Francisco, we stopped off at another lookout for some night views of the Golden Gate Bridge. After ending the tour, we headed to Tadich Grill for some delicious seafood.
The next day Josh had to start a training so I was on my own exploring. To start the day, I had some amazing cranberry orange french toast at a place called Mama's. It gave me some energy for the hike up the hill to Coit Tower. From there I decided to hop in an Lyft to the Haight Ashbury neighborhood. I walked around there a bit before heading to Golden Gate Park which despite it's name, is not near the Golden Gate Bridge.
Within Golden Gate Park there is an amazing Japanese Garden. You do have to pay admission, but it is totally worth it.
Next I headed to the Presidio which is the park near the Golden Gate Bridge. I hiked around more than I intended and was pretty tired by the time I reached the Palace of Fine Arts.
The Palace of Fine Arts is absolutely massive and is really cool to walk through. I honestly had not heard much about it but I'm really glad I checked it out.
For dinner we headed to the Mission District for some Mexican food and settled at a place called Nopalito. We had some mole and probably the best quesadilla we've ever had. After dinner we decided to head back closer to our hotel and stopped in for drinks a couple of bars that Anthony Bourdain had visited on Parts Unknown. One was called Comstock Saloon and the other called Mr. Bings.
The next morning we got up early to go see the sea lions at Pier 39 before Lisa had to head back to KC. You can hear them barking from quite a distance and they are quite amusing to watch. It was nice that we were there so early because there were not any large crowds, in fact we pretty much had the place to ourselves.
I (Josh) spent most of the day in training for work, but decided to spend the evening checking out a couple of San Francisco's famous Tiki Bars. The first stop was the Tonga Room which is in the basement of the very ritzy Fairmont Hotel. The Tonga Room used to be the hotel pool. The pool is still there and is now surrounded by a Tiki Bar. There is a floating stage in the middle of the pool that often has a live band playing on it. Every 30 minutes, it also thunders, lightnings, and rains in the pool. The drinks are fruity and strong, and the tiki bar is executed really well. It's a kitschy and definitely caters to tourists.
The second stop was a much smaller tiki bar called Smuggler's Cove. The outside of the bar is unmarked and is only identified by a green light above the door. The inside of the bar is made up of three stories (basically rooms). I decided to sit at the bar with some locals and chat with the bartender. This is a great way to get drink recommendations when you're overwhelmed by the drink menu. This tiki bar is known for its creative, strong drinks made with high quality ingredients. The coziness of the bar combined with the great decor and delicious drinks made this place more enjoyable than the Tonga Room for me. I decided to take home one of their Tiki mugs as a souvenir.
The next day was my final day in San Francisco. After training, I decided to walk down to the the San Francisco Ferry Building. Inside the building feels a bit like a mall filled with restaurants and interesting shops. I decided to stop at a wine and cheese shop to enjoy a couple of glasses of wine along with some bread and burrata cheese. It was a nice way to end my last evening in San Francisco before heading to the airport in the morning.
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