A Little Bit of This and a Whole Lot of That: Day One Wanderlusting in San Francisco

“I didn’t really start writing music or lyrics or turning them into songs until I went to San Francisco.” ~ Jello Biafra 

We woke up on Lombard Street to our first full day in the Golden City refreshed and excited for some art! My aunt, an art connoisseur, was taking us to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

The morning started with what could have been the beginnings of a blonde joke, “How many blondes does it take to turn on the shower?” Neither Sarah nor I could figure it out. Come to find out, you had too pull the spout down to start it. Of course we discovered that tis bit after looking high and low for a button, nozzle, tab, anything and ended up just taking baths instead.

Once we figured out the shower debacle, we walked the couple blocks to my aunts for some breakfast. It was a rainy, foggy morning. True San Francisco weather, but I was basking in the much warmer (and humid) temperatures.

After sipping some coffee, and munching on granola and yogurt, while we gazed at Alcatraz and the bay, we hoped on the bus to go downtown.

It seemed like we travelled forever, but it was really a short trip going through China Town and Russian Hill, even seeing the crazy maze atop Lombard Street which we would be paying a visit to later on in the week. I was giddily soaking everything in.

We hopped off the bus, and what did I see, but….

PEETS!

And then, just a few blocks later…I saw another ONE! I was giddy, but refrained from going in as we had art to see. But I snapped a picture and promised to be back later in the day!

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is huge! With multiple stories, exhibits, and one of my favorite parts, a multi-level outdoor sculpture garden with gorgeous views of downtown San Francisco.

The first thing we saw when we walked into the lobby was Richard Serra’s Sequence which is literally a living art maze you can walk through. One of the things that struck me about this museum is how it offers free exhibitions in its lobby, making it accessible to those who do not have the financial means to visit a museum.

This museum has a little bit of everything, from interactive exhibits where you can walk through the artwork becoming part of the masterpiece, or just gazing at paintings and sculpture if you are more traditional.

We spent the whole morning there, traveling from floor to floor admiring artwork and taking a couple (or many) pictures. We stopped at Sight Glass, one of the SFMOMA’s two cafe’s for a caffeine boost before tackling more artwork.

Famished after witnessing all that creativity (and lamenting at the fact I can only draw stick and circle people) we stopped at the Thirsty Bear for lunch. Located right around the corner from SFMOMA, I fell in love with the rustic brick decor, bar like feeling with billiard tables, yet it was also filled with loads of business people. The food was also delicious. I chose the steak salad which hit the spot.

The rain that the skies had been threatening us with, finally came to fruition which was when we decided to go to the Dry Bar which had been on my friend’s list.

But before we went in, we HAD to stop at Peets which is where I got my first (of many) Havanna Cappuccino, made with condensed milk, it was exactly like the Spanish lattes I get at Think Coffee, except dare I say it…It was better! I am now officially obsessed!

My Peet’s craving satisfied, my friend and I stepped into the Dry Bar Salon at Union. The salon had originated in New York, but I had yet to visit one despite knowing friends and clients who were obsessed.

Oh. Em. Gee.

That is all I can say! I now know WHY people are obsessed. I have been converted! It deserves (and will get) its own blog post all its own because it is THAT. AMAZING!

But I will post a picture of the finished product…Look at that hair!

The smell, the luxury, the people, were all incredible. I was extremely satisfied and by the time we finished, the sun had come out and my friend and I were ready to take on some shopping. We walked across to Market Street which was littered with stores from Nordstrom Rack to Anthropologie (And yes we went in…And yes I bought something).

Sarah was searching for some heels to wear to the ballet on Thursday, so we stopped into an Aldo. I had been stressing because I am in a wedding and needed closed toed nude heels. Nude heels aren’t a problem, but I own mostly peep toed heels. Even my booties are peep toed. I was in luck! All the way cross country in San Francisco, I found a pair of nude pointed toed heels that are absolutely perfect!

Purchases in hand, we hoped on the bus back to North Beach where we met up wth my aunt again for some of the best sushi I have ever had. It was literally a hole in the wall place, with maybe thirty seats and a front row view of them making the sushi. It has won awards and I understand why!

Stomachs full, and hearts very happy we made our way back to Lombard to move our stuff to my aunts before we crashed in the living room. With views of Alcatraz and Angel Island shimmering in the night light, we were ready for another exciting early morning adventure.