United Airlines had this great deal for San Francisco and craziness made a go for it, with a valid credit card. It’s a 10 hour flight and 17 hours of time difference. We arrived on the same day and a few hours earlier than our departure time from Seoul. How wicked is that?
Nevertheless, as soon as we disembarked and got the rental keys we headed to the Golden Gate Bridge, one of the world’s longest suspension bridges, the ninth longest to be exact. It was so impressive that we crossed the Marin Headlands to Bonita Point for better overview photos.
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| Golden Gate Bridge |
For the ones visiting San Francisco this peninsula across the Golden Gate Bridge should not be missed. It’s not developed and hosts amazing wildlife. While taking photos of the bridge we spotted these ones sunbathing.
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| Sea lions in the Marin Headlands peninsula |
We rode off to Calistoga, where we were spending the night. The nights in Napa are cool and we were happy to have a fireplace in our bedroom (that was a treat!) – Anyway that’s what makes Napa wines so balanced in sugar / acidity: sunny days and cool nights. Though in the last 3 years, California has faced a period of drought, which is seriously harming the Golden State, which contributes the most to the US GDP.
We picked two wineries to visit, one big with a self-guided tour formula and a small one, by appointment only. Both were worth it. Some wines were a novelty to us, like the Zinfandel and others a surprise, like the tempranillo, a grape that brought us memories from our homeland despite being grown thousands of kilometers away from the Iberian Peninsula.
We grew fond of the Petite Sirah (its oaky essence made us bring a bottle home!) and tasted one of the best Chardonnays of our life in
Vincent de Arroyo winery. In
Sterling vineyards we had an amazing Sangiovese with a Christmassy flavour.
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| Petite Sirah |
Despite the clouds the valley looked stunning dressed in autumn colours.
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| Calistoga, Napa Valley |
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| Sterling Vineyards |
Back in the city we also tried Su Yuen Pinot Grigio, from Coppola’s winery – mild and sweet, marries well with more acidic and sour dishes.
The city itself was not a disappointment but it was not as captivating as we thought it would be. It seemed to us that all the freedom it fought for once didn't entail other social problems, not stemming from sexual orientation.
Our favourite place was no doubt the Ferry Building. A lot of groovy restaurants and small stores concentrated in one place, selling varied items from fresh oysters in
Hog Island Oyster to vegetable dumplings in the most popular Vietnamese restaurant in town:
Out the Door. We queued like the locals and rejoiced for the creativity being sold at decent prices.
Second favourite place was Alamo Square and the view over downtown. The colourful Victorian houses aka “painted ladies” in Steiner street helped in the ranking.
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| Alamo Square: "painted ladies" and SF downtown |
From the hipster places we have been to (and there’s a lot of them), we can highlight the
Sweet Woodruff – the kitchen is bigger than the seating area, so you can see what is important here! Plus, the selection of wine is not bad at all!
In
Four Barrel, in the Mission District, they roast their own grains brought from small farms in Guatemala, Ethiopia and El Salvador. Impossible to avoid the queue since the place is very popular but worth the wait, especially for one of their pour-over coffees.
We could skip easily Fisherman’s Wharf, which is probably the most touristic part of town, if it was not for the lazy sea lions hanging out around pier 39.
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| Sea lions in Pier 39 |
If you’re going to San Francisco... make sure you don’t miss them.
