Tuesday, June 30, 2009

San Francisco - Day One

San Francisco was absolutely incredible, I had such a great time. I only wish I didn't have to be home already. There are so many stories to share that I'm going to have to split it up by day so that I don't overwhelm you with one ridiculous long post. Instead I'll give you several ridiculously long posts. ;) I also took TONS of pictures. I'll have quite a few up in posts and many more will be up on Flickr! as soon as I finish sorting and editing. (they'll go up in waves) I'll hopefully get some new ones up later tonight. (Flickr! button on the right)
Friday was a whirl getting my little brothers to their camps, getting all of our stuff into the car, handing them and their things off to my parents and working all at the same time. It was fun though...really great to see my parents and to have gotten such an amazing week with my little brothers. Everything got done and the bf, his co-worker and I jetted our way up to San Francisco. It was a pretty pleasant flight, I got to sit next the the bf which was fabulous after barely seeing him the whole week. There was a little bit of turbulence at the end that I wasn't fond of, but I got to cuddle up to the bf so it wasn't quite so scary. It's been several years since I've been on a plane. I like the shorter hops where you don't sit for hours.
We had a nice trip through the city on the way to our hotel on Union Square. It was so neat to see all of the architecture. As we got closer to the hotel and deeper into the city, the buildings gave way to the stereotypical look and feel that you expect from San Francisco. It was absolutely beautiful to see. We got some great cityscape photos on the drive to the hotel and saw some incredibly clever architecture that the bf and I both really liked.
We got settled into the hotel and then headed out to explore and get some dinner. We headed into China town which was only a few blocks away from the hotel. There were a lot of really neat shops with lots of shiny things to look at. They had these cute little hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil monkeys sitting out on benches in various places along the sidewalk. It was a beautiful evening for a walk. We ended up walking all the way into Little Italy. We went as far as the St Peter and Paul Catholic Church. Isn't it beautiful? We were actually within probably 5 blocks of the harbor...we walked a REALLY long way. We might not have gone quite this far, but I saw the church towers and had to go see them. I have a thing for cathedrals, particularly gothic architecture. This isn't quite gothic, but it was still absolutely beautiful. I was enthralled. It sits across the street from a nice little park. The bf finally managed to get me to put my camera away so we could head back into China town to get dinner. There were so many people out and about and so many delicious looking places to eat. I kept thinking that I needed a month there just to try out all the delicious food venues!
We went back into China town to a restaurant that our doorman recommended. It was absolutely delicious, we all loved it. Their prices were reasonable and they gave you a ton of food. We did a family dinner that came with won ton soup (my favorite!), rip tips, beef and broccoli, house fried rice, sweet and sour pork and some other kind of chicken with veggies. That beef was so good it literally melted in your mouth. The fried rice had tiny little shrimp in it, which I surprisingly liked. And of course the standard hot tea they served was perfect.
The restaurant had a really great view of China town, we sat right by the window overlooking Grant Street. Our doorman was definitely spot on with this recommendation and we were sure to tell him so when we returned to the hotel.
Being up North, San Francisco definitely stays lighter way later than down in SoCal. We didn't get back to the hotel until nearly 10 pm and it wasn't quite all the way dark. It was such a fun filled first day there, I absolutely loved it. Our hotel was fabulous and boy were those beds comfy! I slept so well at the hotel. The room I shared with the bf's co-worker was lovely and had a great view of the street in front of the hotel. It was so wonderful. The feel of the hotel was just so unique, definitely not a cookie cutter hotel. The staff was wonderful as well. I would definitely stay there again.


3 comments:

Gigi Ann said...

It sounds like you all had a great time. I enjoyed your pictures, and the food sounded Oh, so good. I love Chinese food, but it doesn't always love me. I have to be careful what I eat when I eat Chinese food. But I eat it anyway. After two or three hours I begin to feel better. Oh, what I don't do for food. ;)

Renie Burghardt said...

Your trip to SF sounds fabulous, Jaina. Love the photo of that beautiful church! I have a thing for beautiful churches as well. And your Chinese food sounds yummy. I love Chinese food, and ate some today. My favorite soup is the hot and sour soup. Yummo.

I look forward to more posts and pictures about your SF experience. Never been there, but would love to visit it one day.

Huggies,

Renie

Jaina said...

Gramma Ann-Thanks! It really was delicious. It was seriously the trip of incredible food. My taste buds and my stomach were delighted. :)

Renie Burghardt-Thanks, it really was! I don't think I've had the hot and sour soup...wonton is my favorite and my second favorite is the egg drop soup. I'll have more pictures and posts up soon! I'll get more written tonight so I can post them over the next few days. I hope you get the chance to visit someday, it really is a beautiful city. :)