San Francisco Treat - Finale!

And so begins the end...

Our last day was one of our favorite days. Surprisingly, we weren't really visiting the "typical" San Francisco monuments.

Our morning started out with a quick breakfast at Starbucks. I tried their English muffin with turkey bacon sandwich. It wasn't too bad, but for a quick breakfast it was certainly better than Jack In The Box (that Rusty wanted). We hopped on another double decker bus and headed towards....Golden Gate State Park!!! We had another great tour guide that showed us the old Victorian homes...

Yes, that is where they filmed the intro to "Full House!"

We also drove past a park that was hosting a free concert. The line was soooooooo long. I think Sara Bareilles was playing?

We ended this tour at the GGSP. We hopped off the bus (after buying discount tickets!) and headed in to The Academy of Sciences Museum. It was AWESOME! We checked out the planetarium first..sorry no pics allowed. It is not for people who get motion sickness easily!

We watched a film about the lifespan of stars. Very interesting but I could have done without the narration by Whoopi Goldberg.

We then checked out the penguins...

Then the swamp to meet Claude...

Then to the (2 acre) living roof...

Through a really cool aquarium where the pictures stunk...

And last, through the rain forest, where we met this guy...

After our fact packed museum experience we crossed the beautiful courtyard? over to the Japanese Tea Garden.

I must say this was one of the places I was most excited to see. It was a modest sized garden of impeccably kept grounds. This is when I really hate not having an awesome camera. At least we still ended up with some neat photos:

Luckily we made it back to the AoSM in time to catch the last tour bus back to town. We jumped off at Union Square and made our way to our last experience, Chinatown! Their are two important facts you should know about Chinatown. 1) Don't buy any souvenirs until you go to Chinatown. 2) Don't buy something when you see it the first time. The further you walk down the street the trinkets get cheaper! I must say Rusty was a little frustrated every time we bought something because we would walk next door and find it cheaper!!! Not a happy camper! Sadly, our camera died before we got to Chinatown. This is a pic of the gate at the entrance that we saw on one of our tours:

After our crazy shopping experience we tried to find a sushi joint for dinner. Using our iPhones we found a place not too far away. I was thrilled that it was close because my feet were killing me, and so were Rusty's. Well, we walked all the way down one hill to get to the restaurant, and wouldn't you know it, it was closed!!! Insert frustration here! Luckily we found another spot and confirmed that it was open.

When we walked into Sushi Toni's we were a little concerned. It wasn't a very nice place, a little rundown, but all of the reviews on Yelp were great so Rusty and I stayed. We started off with some wine, seaweed salad and edamame and then ordered dinner. The waitress didn't know much, but what she did know made our night incredible. She happened to say "the tuna is VERY fresh today." So what did we do? We ordered a bunch of tuna. IT WAS INCREDIBLE! Ahh, I am salivating just thinking about it. I had a roll with crab and avocado, topped with tuna (yes, I ordered a second one it was so good). Rusty has Nigiri with White Tuna, Yellow Tail, Salmon and Tuna and some other sub par rolls. Holy Cow! If you are in Chinatown and want yummy and reasonable sushi ($65 including apps and drinks) go to Sushi Toni!!!

After our most filling meal of the trip, we headed back to the hotel to survey our treasures and pass out!

We headed back to Houston around 12 on Monday and went straight to pick up our boys.

We were happy to be home, but so thankful for an amazing vacation. I hope y'all have enjoyed my recap of my trip, I know I have!

San Francisco Treat - Part 3!

This morning I continue sharing my recent trip to San Francisco with you guys!

On the third day, Saturday, Rusty and I did several VERY fun things. We had to get down to Fisherman's Wharf to pick up our tickets for our Alcatraz tour.

In order to get there we thought we would take a classic cable car. Well, we got up early and made our way to the first stop and were surprised to find such a long line. It took us about 30-45 minutes before we got on the car, but it was worth the wait to actually ride the iconic car of San Fran. A little hint for you soon to be travelers, don't go to the main turn-around to get on. They don't fill up the cars, and you can hop on at the next stop. That would save you lots of time. Also, you can either buy an all day pass (a great deal) or just a one way ticket on the car. I believe the one way ticket was $5 and the all day pass on public transportation was $13 (a total steal).

We finally made it to the tour store to pick up our tickets. We were a little frustrated because it was first come first serve and the ticket guy was running late. Once we actually got our tickets we were given a 3:20 loading time. That wasn't exactly what we wanted. This is why I would recommend going straight through the Alcatraz Tours Company. There is only one company that has a license to dock at Alcatraz. Do not be fooled by the other companies who say they tour Alcatraz...they only float around the island.

Anyway, back to our day ahead. We picked up our tickets and grabbed a quick breakfast at Joanie's near the tour shop. It wasn't too bad but nothing special. Very typical Denny's or IHOP style food.

After breakfast we took the double Decker bus to the Ferry Market. For you foodies this is a MUST!!!! It is a huge farmer's market with incredible fare. All kinds of local produce, local soy, local honey...ahhhhh I want to go back!

We sampled a few things and then went inside the Ferry Building for another surprise. There were tons of shops and little restaurants. We loved Cowgirl Creamery (I hate weird cheeses but they had some that changed my mind). We sampled cheese, wine and chocolate and bought a few things to take home.

After our trip to the market, we made our way to the Alcatraz Tour. We recommend getting there AT LEAST 30 minutes early or you will be stuck waiting in the hot sun. We made it there early enough to cool off with a few bottles of agua. We hopped on the ferry boat and took a beautiful but short ride over to Alcatraz. The park offers a free audio tour of the prison....but beware it is a nice climb to the top where you pick it up...WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES! I was wearing my typically ballet flats but by day three I was up to about three band-aids per foot :(

Once up at the top we grabbed the audio tour guides and checked everything out.

My husband in jail...

Some of the famous prisoners like Al Capone...

Rusty trying to put me in solitary confinement...

The island tour was really neat and we are really glad we took the time to do it. Once we made it back to the mainland we maid our way to dinner of course!

We made our way back to FW and ate at Ciopinno's. It had a weird name but as far as location it was bay side across from The Cannery. It was an Italian seafood joint with great outdoor seating. Rusty and I enjoyed a great bottle of wine and some decent seafood risotto. I think I could have made it better :/

After dinner we walked across the street and took the night tour of the city. Seeing all of the city lit up was a wonderful way to end the day.

Come back this afternoon for the final installment of my trip! I have to head to a meeting so it should be up sometime around 3pm central time! Have a great weekend!

San Francisco Treat - Part 2

Today's blog entry is all about....San Fran! If you are just joining us today, I am spending the next two days writing about my trip to San Fran.

On day two, Rusty had decided we HAD to go to Muir Woods. Muir Woods is a national park that protects a forest of Redwoods. They are incredible!

In order to get to the park we had to hop on the double Decker bus. We took a cab back to the Wharf to hop on.

This particular bus drove us past The Palace of the Arts (which was closed for renovations)...

Then to the Golden Gate Bridge!!! We actually hopped off an walked the whole thing!

Rusty being really cool, "holding up the bridge"

It was beautiful, the weather was beautiful and we couldn't have asked for a better GGB experience!

We hopped on another bus on the other side of the bridge that took us to Sausalito. The bus dropped us off and we had about 20 minutes to grab lunch. Unfortunately, we didn't realize we only had 20 minutes until we only had 10 left. This lead to crazy attempts to get fast food, me waiting for the bus and begging the driver to not leave, then ending up with a frustrated hubby on the bus with no food.

It all worked out in our favor because we ended up having a wonderful lunch at the organic cafe in the park! Check out my food pics on Twitter!

Here are some pics of the most incredible trees I have ever seen,

Look at how big the tree is compared to my husband!

A view from one of the mini bridges...

After our walk amongst giants, Rusty and I headed back on the bus to San Francisco. Once we were back at the wharf we decided to tour Ghiradelli Square.

We checked out the chocolate store where we sampled the new Pumpkin Spice Squares...yummo!

We saw the vats of chocolate in the Ghiradelli cafe...

Honestly after that I would say there wasn't a whole a lot to see in Ghiradelli Square other than a few cute boutiques.

After our mini tour we dined at the Blue Mermaid. There was a huge sign outside saying they had the #1 chowder in town. They weren't lying! We had some of the best corn and Dungeness crab chowder ever! Mmmm Mmm I am salivating just writing about it.

For dessert, Rusty and I stopped in at a place called Jack's. It is a local bar inside the old cannery building. They have 85 beers on tap, most of which where local. Rusty had a few glasses and I had a flight of 5 tasters, most of which were girlie ciders. I still haven't gotten used to the idea of heavy beer :) Maybe someday.

After our "dessert" we hit the hay. I will say we had a very hard time getting used to the time change. We were kind of losers and were in bed between 8 and 9 which was more like 10-11 Texas time. And 10-11 is well past our bedtime...insert loser comment here.

Well join me twice tomorrow for a breakdown of the last 2 days of our trip. This includes the Wharf, the Market and Alcatraz...and much much more!

San Francisco Treat - Part 1!

So as many of you know, my husband Rusty and I just went on an amazing trip to San Francisco. Over the next three days I will be recapping our world wind tour of the amazing West coast city! For those of you going to SF for FoodBuzz in November, take note....some of our decisions were great, some not so much!

It all started Thursday with a nice mid-morning 4 hour flight. We landed in San Fran around 11:15 and quickly tried to find a cab. Well, all of the cabs were lined up and we jumped in the first one. This was a BAD choice! Our cab driver drove us to the hotel at 95 MPH!!!! Rusty and I always have bad luck with transportation, particularly cabs, and this one was no different. After our terrifyingly speedy cab ride, we checked in at our hotel, the Hilton at Union Square.

Union Square:

The Hilton was a great hotel. It is an enormous epicenter for major conferences, which was very apparent when we arrived. There were a million bags and people everywhere! Our room was great with a pretty decent view of the nearby buildings.

As far as hotel advice, if you need to be near Union Square, the Hilton was great. If you are simply a tourist, stay closer to the Wharf. I recommend a little boutique hotel called The Argonaut, it was beautiful and in an awesome location.

After checking in, we had a quick lunch at Max's. Max's menu reminds me a lot of a Jewish restaurant Katz's. There were a million choices, mostly consisting of huge sandwiches. I tried the blackened shrimp tacos and they were awesome (but a bit on the spicy side).

Once we finished lunch, we headed straight for Fisherman's Wharf to hop on our tour bus. Before loading, we were introduced to the phenomenon known as the SF street performer. I am pretty sure this guy had 10+ instruments!

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT...If you are going to San Fran and have time to check out the city, get an All Loops Pass from CitySightseeing Tours!!!! We had a 48 hour pass that allowed us to hop on and off double decker buses that toured all around town! Our first tour included so much that we almost felt like we had experienced everything we needed to in just an hour and a half (of course we did many other things!!!).

Here are a few pics from the first tour (thank you Rus for playing photog!):

The Transamerica Pyramid:

The Bay Bridge:

St. Peter and Paul Church:

We hopped off the bus at Union Square near our hotel to get ready for dinner. Our dinner was at this incredibly cool but pricey attraction in town, Teatro ZinZanni! This dinner and show combo is housed in a huge complex of circus tents at Pier 29. You walk in to a very "burlesque-ish" type bar with a neat little shop to the side. The website says to dress "festively" and I came very close to adding this beautiful headband to complete my outfit...

The 3 hour show was absolutely hilarious! I wish I could have taken pictures, but of course that was strictly off limits. The show itself is centered around the meal and keeps the time between courses action and comedy packed. The food wasn't too bad either. It was a 5 course meal with cocktails or wine. We ended up choosing the wine flight that was paired with each course. It was a bit more expensive, but for our big dinner out we figured what the heck?!

After dinner we tried to catch a cab outside the theater and we had zero luck. We were standing on a street corner on the Embarcadero, the main street running along the bay, and not a single empty cab drove by. As a last resort, we ended up walking all the way to Pier 39 to catch a cab at the mainstream tourist attraction. It was quite a hike, but thankfully we finally found transportation.

After our safe cab ride home, we sat in bed planning our fun filled days ahead. They included a trip to Muir Woods, the Golden Gate Bridge, Academy of Sciences, Japanese Tea Garden, Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39 (and the awesome seals), Ferry Building and holy cow farmer's market and a tour of Alcatraz. What I can't believe is that we saw all of that in three in a half days. I will try to skim the surface of our adventure and hopefully give y'all some good travel advice! If you have any questions about my trip just leave a comment or send me a tweet and I will be happy to get back to you!