Enough with the Serious Stuff

There has been a lot of "serious" things I have posted recently, so in an attempt to lighten it up, I wanted to share some of the fun things that Danny and I have discovered/done in the city since we moved here.

Weekend in Carmel

We needed a getaway after Danny was finishing up with Revolution Prep and working for CB2, the general contractor where he currently is a Project Engineer. Carmel was just the place. We went wine tasting and the wine culture is very similar to SLO so it felt "known" in the midst of all the unknown in our city life. On Sunday we went to the "downtown" area that is full of cutesy little shops and we had the best pizza! It was a smoked salmon with some sort of cream sauce. The restaurant had a real Italian vibe which we both throughly enjoyed. It was just the relaxing and literally quite weekend we needed.

Mr. Toad's Tours

Danny set this up around Christmas time when all the Christmas lights were out. We went for the night tour. It was so fun! The car has no windows, so it made for a chilly ride, but we could see everything clearly. We snuggled in the back as the guide explained about each neighborhood and shared his favorite place to eat in said neighborhood. That was our first exposure to how much San Franciscans love food. He said that San Franciscans talk about where they ate earlier, where they are going to eat later, and where they will eat in the future. We laughed at the time, but the reality is folks that we now do exactly that! With so much good food, who could resist? The ride was so romantic and a great night out on the town!

Biking to Golden Gate Park

We are blessed to live twenty minutes away, via bike, from Golden Gate Park. We ride down our hill to the beach and then ride along the Great Highway. We love just getting lost through all the meandering bike lanes and paths at Golden Gate Park. Coming home is a bit more of an uphill climb, but we have found the least steep route. 

Conservatory of Flowers

Spontaneously one Sunday we decided to visit the conservatory. There was a simple exhibit of found items creating the scenery of San Francisco for a toy train set. It was pretty interesting to see how artists had created famous landmarks with all recycled material.  For pictures check out my Facebook album "mobile uploads".

SF Vintars Market

Danny is a groupon fiend. He found this awesome deal to the SF Vintars Market. We paid a flat rate for an afternoon of tasting Napa and Sonoma's finest wines. It was a lot of fun for us to get better acquainted with the wine up here, since it is a bit different than SLO's wine country. However, it must be said that other than a one really good Sauvignon Blanc and a Pinot that rivaled a favorite from a vineyard in Edna Valley, the wine was really comparable to the Paso/SLO wine that we enjoyed while living there. It is true...Napa is hype, pricey, and no better than the central coast. Still it was fun to talk with some wine makers, taste some amazing olive oils, and drink wine all afternoon!

SFMOMA Membership

My favorite part of living in the city is all the art. The "formal" art, the street art, the performing art, that is available. Since October we have had a dual membership to the SF MOMA and I love it! Because of our membership, we have free admission and special preview times and events just members. This means that I can go downtown any day, breeze through a gallery or two, and head home. I have taken my school work and studied at the roof top cafe. Danny and I have gone late on Thursday night for a date night. And the best part is that we have been able to get friends and family in for free as well...two guest passes come with our membership!

On that note, I will invite you all to come visit this amazing city and come do some of these fun things with us!