San Francisco March 2016

San Francisco, CA USA, 03.29.2016

This was not my first trip to the Bay Area. Indeed, it's at least my fifth journey. I've always some trepidation with the overwhelming homeless population in the city. Honestly it's been big enough of a challenge, that San Fran has not been my favorite city to visit. For sure, it's a stunning place. An amazing skyline, beautiful architecture and a food scene all it's own. With tens of thousands of Hyatt rewards points built up, I decided to redeem some of those to cover most of the cost of a room at the Grand Hyatt San Francisco. Conveniently located right next to Union Square and loads of shopping, it's a very impressive hotel recently renovated and ready.

We explored a wonderful farmer's market on Saturday's down at the end of Market Street before walking all the way up to the Embarcadero and Fisherman's Wharf. The latter two are both places I've written about before in previous trips.

Day two was the best. A wine country tour to Sonoma and Napa. Beautiful imagery and amazing wine and food made the day

memorable. We booked the Green Dreams Tour and they did a great job staying on time and getting us to the best sites. It was a small tour bus of no more than 14 people. The first stop of the day was at the famed Presidio, where amazing photo-taking opportunities ensued. Then off to the never-gets-old Golden Gate Bridge. An engineering marvel and a symbol of national pride (Also serves as a congested freeway connecting Sausalito and San Francisco). The views of the Golden Gate Bridge, the bay and Alcatraz was stunning. Even in a cloudy day.

We hit 3 wineries along the way. None particularly stood out and all offered great service, good wine tasting opportunities (remember the word "revisit", it means you want to try that wine taste one or two or three more times, which they must of course oblige at no additional cost). For me another highlight of the day was the food.


We stumbled upon an amazing little marketplace known as Oxbow Public Market. It's fresh locally made organic items to purchase and amazing food. Oxbow has a myriad of food options. My choice for the day was The Hog Island Oyster Co. This is not their only location in the bay area but boy am I glad I stopped by.

It's a small restaurant with communal tables, outdoor seating and bar seating. Located in the big market in Sonomatown. I ordered the clam chowder and it is amazing to say the least. Bursting with flavor and the clams come fully in shell and super fresh. Sourdough bread was super fresh and delicious and the service was quick and friendly. Can't go wrong with the fresh ingredients they use either. Highly recommended for seafood lovers.

Our third day was a more relaxed tour of great San Francisco sights. Including the amazing (and yuuuge) Golden Gate Park. Highlights there include the Japanese Tea Gardens, all the many lakes (and kayaking opportunities), as well as the gardens and forest paths where you can skip along blissfully through the trees.

Dinner was at the amazing Scala's bistro just off Union Square. I didn't mention all the places we ate on this trip. I only mention the ones that I like. Want to keep it positive! But Scala's is a foodie's delight. I have no idea why it's only 3.5 stars on Yelp. I gave it a hearty 5 -star review. The octopus salad is among the best I've eaten. My fish was great, though not amazing. But the steak is as good as I have eaten. The roasted potatoes with chimi churri sauce is downright addictive. The dessert was this chocolate mousse thing that was amazing. Great service, good ambiance and good food.

San Francisco is a great place to vacation. Not my favorite city in the world (not even the top 10) but for most people, it's a great weekend and tons and tons of options.

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