left our hearts in san francisco

One of the best things about having to speak at an industry conference in Silicon Valley was the opportunity to tack on a few extra days and spend the weekend immersing myself in the San Francisco life. Rick flew down on Friday night, and Peter was our gracious host -- living in SoMa, he has the perfect pad as home base for our tour-filled weekend.

Straight off of the plane, we headed out to dinner to Frtjz which had the most unbelievable crepe sandwiches and fries. Leave it to Peter "the foodie" to have our weekend itinerary revolve around dinner reservations. You certainly won't fine me complaining. Especially after we'd had dinner several nights earlier at Betelnut. Our late dinner was then followed by a tour of Ashbury Haight -- a mecca for musicians like Rick. Amoeba Records was closed, but walking passed the bars and shops, we were able to get a good sense of what the area was all about.

Saturday morning and we were on a roll. Breakfast at a place which name I can't recall, and then a tour of San Francisco neighborhoods. We stopped in Chrome so Rick could buy a bag, and then we were on our way across the Golden Gate to see Muir Woods. One look at the line of cars and we decided to bag out on that idea and bee lined it to Tiburon for an afternoon beverage on the water.

On the way back across the Bay, we stopped at Golden Gate park and walked through the Japanese tea garden. By now we were exhausted and I knew we had dinner reservations at 8 pm, so I suggested we head back for siestas. While the boys slept, I watched Kathy Griffin's show "My Life on the D-List." Now yet another show for me to get hooked on, in addition to Project Runway, which Peter also made me watch and now I'm addicted. :)

Dinner was at the Blue Plate, a great restaurant Peter had learned about from "Check Please, San Francisco." He thinks there's a show for Seattle too. I might have to check that out. Anyhow, we got the outdoor dining which I highly recommend. Beautiful landscaped patio with 5 tables which are surround by luscious vegetation that you feel like you're almost alone with your friends and no one else. The heaters also helped immensely. After a lovely dinner, who could resist a slice of banana cream pie. Divine!

Rick was itching to see some live music, so we headed back towards the Haight to see what we could find. After some investigation, someone told us of a venue not too far away -- The Independent. Peter and I were getting a little tired by this point, but we persisted and we bought tickets to the show. Shotgun Wedding Quintet was playing as we walked in. Brilliant band. Then the headliner Forrest Day. Not sure exactly the genre of music. More like rap/hip hop meets big band.

Sunday was a little more laid back. Breakfast at the neighborhood diner, more touring of the neighborhoods including Hayes Valley and Japantown. We went up to the Legion of Honor atop a hill in San Francisco. It's a museum currently showcasing Rodin and women impressionists. There's also a public golf course that overlooks the water. We took a stroll to see that the fog was finally lifting and we could now see at least 90% of the Golden Gate bridge. We thought it would be fun to get closer to the water, so we took an impromptu hike to where the path opened up to spectacular views of the Bay. Amazing.

A little sweatier than when we started, we ascended back to the car, and finished out our drive with a tour of the Presidio, and culminating in some yummy yogurt in Cow Hollow. The perfect way to end our quick weekend in San Francisco.