San Francisco

In February, Matt was invited to give a talk at a private industry conference in San Francisco. Although I really wanted to, I wasn't planning to join him because we had another trip already planned for the spring.  But then we received a free flight from American Airlines as an apology from a recent travel disaster during a friend's wedding, so we used that voucher and booked my flight!  

Later we found out that Matt's brother, Mike, and his girlfriend, Maggie, would also be in San Francisco the same weekend while Mike interviewed for medical fellowships.  Mike let us in on a little secret - he was planning to propose to Maggie on Friday night!  We were so excited that we could be there to celebrate with them.

Matt gave his talk on Thursday, and I arrived late that night.  That gave us all day Friday and Saturday to enjoy the city before we had to head home on Sunday.  We stayed at the Palace Hotel on Market Street.  This hotel was beautiful and full of character.  It was also in a great location near Union Square and right next to the Muni.  And surprisingly, it wasn't that expensive.

On Friday, we walked all over the city, stopping to see most of the major sights.  As much as I love Nashville, it was so refreshing to be in a city that was walkable and diverse!  There were so many different kinds of people on the sidewalks and so many different languages being spoken around us.  While it was a fast-paced city, it didn't seem quite as frenetic as New York or even Chicago.  I would move there in a heartbeat if ever given the opportunity. 

Coit Tower:

We walked along Fisherman's Wharf and stopped to see the sea lions.  I was not a fan of Fisherman's Wharf.  It reminded me of Navy Pier in Chicago - way too touristy and not that exciting.  But it was fun seeing the sea lions!

We had heard rave reviews about the night tour of Alcatraz Island, so we booked tickets ahead of time.  We were not disappointed.  The views alone were worth the price of admission!  The actual tour was very interesting and the ferry ride there and back was fun.

The next day, we decided to rent bikes to tour Golden Gate Park and cross the bridge into Sausalito.  The bikes were worth every penny - there is no way we could have seen as much on foot.  We started out after breakfast around 10:00 AM and stopped at the Palace of Fine Arts before heading toward the Golden Gate Park.  The road to the park was hilly and windy, but once we arrived in the park it was flat and easy.  

By this time we were getting hungry, but aside from the museum restaurant (which we assumed would be over-priced and not very good), there weren't any restaurants in the park.  We kept riding, hoping to find a little sandwich shop along the way, but there was nothing.  Fortunately, we brought granola bars with us, otherwise we never would have made it!  

The maps the bike company provided were not very detailed, so we ended up on the wrong path for a while.  This little detour caused us to extend the ride longer than we anticipated.  By the time we got to the Golden Gate Bridge, we were famished.  But still, there was no food in sight. 

We decided to go ahead and ride into Sausalito and get food there.  There was some construction just after the bridge so we had yet another detour.  By the time we got to Sausalito, it was after 4:00PM and all we'd had to eat since breakfast was a couple of granola bars.  We stopped at the first restaurant we came to and literally stuffed our faces with sandwiches.  By this point, we had about an hour to wander the town before we had to get back on the ferry and head back to our hotel.  So, unfortunately, we really didn't get to enjoy Sausalito as much as we hoped, but we definitely got to see a lot of the city!

After we got back to our hotels and had an hour or so to rest, we met up with Mike and Maggie to celebrate their brand-new engagement!  We went to a tiny little restaurant in Noe Valley and then out to an Irish pub for drinks.  It was a great way to end the weekend.