It has been too long

Well here I am finally posting about our fabulous trip to San Francisco. This city will always hold a special place in my heart and every time I go back I wish we lived closer. It is such a fascinating city from the beauty of the bay to the eclectic shops and hole in the wall eateries. There is a never ending list of places to explore. This time on our trip to the Bay we set out to see "real" San Francisco. A few years ago on our honeymoon trip we spent a lot of time visiting the well known tourist stops such as Alcatraz and Fisherman's Wharf but this time around we planned ahead seeking out places to eat that tourists would never know about. The researching was well worth the time because despite the fact that we were only in the city for two days I can definitely say that we used the time to the fullest and walked away with a ton of great memories. Here are a few of the highlights.

One of the first places we visited on this trip was the Palace of the Legion of Honor, a stunning art museum filled with exquisite paintings by the likes of Monet and Degas. The Legion of Honor was also a featured place in the Alfred Hitchcock movie "Vertigo."

The architecture was beautiful!!

The Thinker- Auguste Rodin

On our quest to explore new places we found this little gem. Jon and I had never eaten at an Indian restaurant before so this was a stretch especially for Jon (for those of you who know him well, this may be a bit of a shock ;-) The second picture is of a little cafe we found down the street from our hotel that served up some yummy waffles.

The weather during our stay in California was beautiful allowing us to visit the Golden Gate Park for a second time. On this trip we spent part of an afternoon exploring the San Francisco Botanical Garden. Here is my hubby hamming it up for the camera.

Full House anyone?

To close out our first evening Jon and I drove across the bay to have dinner with my Grandmother. Since she lives all the way out in California our visits with her are sadly few and far between.

Grace Cathedral

My husband is great at working out details and solving problems. So I wasn't surprised when he got us an unbelievable rate on a wonderful room at a hotel by the Wharf. However when I saw the view from our window I couldn't believe it. We could see Coit Tower from our bed! It was beautiful.

Here is a close up view of Coit Tower.

On our last afternoon in the city we walked around the streets just taking in the culture of this city and the beautiful views. Here is a shot of a street just a few blocks away from our hotel. Can you see why I love this city so much?!?

Despite the fact that we had already been to Fisherman's Wharf a number of times we couldn't help but go back and take in the sights and sounds one last time. We ate at Boudin Sourdough Bakery and Cafe (you can't get any better sourdough bread!), watched the sea lions basking in the sun and heard the interesting stylings of the local street performers. A little ways up the bay is the famous Ghirardelli Square where Jon and I enjoyed delicious ice cream.

It was a wonderful trip that ended too quickly. Looking over these pictures just makes me more anxious to go back there than ever but we'll just have to wait and see.

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I left my heart in San Francisco

High on a hill, it calls to me.

To be where little cable cars

Climb halfway to the stars!

The morning fog may chill the air

I don't care!

My love waits there in San Francisco