Quit Your Wine-ing! Part 1

As mentioned in the December entry of the "Happy Holidays" blog post, Chris and I were lucky enough to head to northern California a few weeks ago with my Mom, Gwen.  Many of you probably know that I'm a "birthmas" baby - born on the 23rd - but so is my Mom (on the 17th), and this would be one of those milestone celebrations for her - the big 7-0!  We wanted it to be extra special (for her 60th birthday, all of us, including my brother Jim and sister-in-law Leigh headed south to Puerto Rico, which was incredible), and when we asked her to think about what she'd like to do, she mentioned that she's always wanted to see the famous Napa Wine Country.  Napa it would be!

Ta da!  Time for wine!

Like many visitors to Napa, we flew in through San Francisco; not only is San Fran just an hour or so away from Napa by car, but it also allowed us to spend time in one of our favorite cities in the world.  Chris and I have visited the City by the Bay during many holiday seasons past (dating back to 2002, when, newly engaged, we toured Alcatraz and discussed wedding budgeting with my Dad), and although it's normally pretty chilly, it's a great time to see the local sights.  Our flight from Phoenix landed around 10am, and we made it to our lodging for the night, the Marriott Marquis, without issue.  Dropping our bags with the bell desk, we hoofed it to the Ferry Building Marketplace for lunch.  

As you might imagine, Saturday lunchtime was busy, but we were able to find an oasis of peace and quiet in the Imperial Tea Court (even though someone's tall self didn't entirely fit under the tables).  We sipped tea and noshed on dim sum/dumplings, happy to kick off our culinary adventures in such a delicious manner.

I'm so excited it's hot tea season again!

Although there's always tons to do and new things to see in a city as big and vibrant as San Fran, we wanted to take it slow on our first day, and we were content to sip our tea and watch the world go by.  Eventually, the tea was gone, and it was time to move on...to the Wine Merchant store next door.  Although the Merchant is an incredibly well stocked wine store, we were there for their cheese offerings; to go with them, we each picked a large format bottle of beer from their cooler and settled in to enjoy our next round of munchies.

That's the triple cream offering on the left and a hunk of Manchego on the right.

Each of our beers - including Chris' Pliny the Elder - was a whopping $4.

With dim sum and cheese under our belts, it was time for dessert!  Chris found something amazing at Humphry Slocombe, but I was even more thrilled to find the Gott's stand selling oat milk soft serve!

Because of my mild cow's milk intolerance, I don't have regular ice cream

anymore, and it's the thing I miss the most.  

Oat milk options, when you can find them, are a good substitute.

Post-dessert, we rolled ourselves out of the Ferry Building and around the corner, to catch the California line cable car.  The cable cars are not just a fun way to see the sights of the city (and avoid hiking up the crazy hills), but they're celebrating their 150th anniversary this year, and they're the only national historic landmark you can ride.  Part of our destination fee at the Marriott included cable car tickets, and we were pleased to be able to use them.

Here comes our car (check out that hill)!

All aboard!

Passing through Chinatown

We hopped off where the California line crossed Mason Street, then headed downhill toward Union Square.  Although the Marriott for this trip wasn't too far away, we've often stayed right on Union Square in the past, and it was fun to revisit it (even if it was crowded with 8 million young adults dressed like Santa - we think there was maybe a pub crawl going on?).

With the Union Square Christmas tree and Hanukkah menorah

After fighting the crowds at the Ferry Building and through Union Square (and seeing one VERY naked man talking to police officers - technically, he wasn't totally naked, as he was wearing a Santa hat atop his noggin), we needed a rest for a while, so it was back to our hotel.  We checked into our room (and secured Mom's, located right next door), unpacked, and chilled out for a few hours.  As we did, Mom was winging her way across the country, first from Tampa to Atlanta, then on to San Francisco, and her flight landed right on time around 5pm.  By 6:30ish, she'd joined us at the hotel, and before too long, it was time to head to dinner just around the corner, at Bodega.  

Bodega's a newer spot to the city, but it's been getting rave reviews for its Northern Vietnamese-inspired cuisine, and during dinner, we very much added ours to that list.  Everything we ate (and drank) was incredible!  We all proclaimed different dishes to be our favorites, but I personally will be thinking about the garlic noodles for many months to come.

Mom with our bo tai chanh appetizer - a twist on beef carpaccio

She's also enjoying the Club Bodega cocktail

Our other appetizer - the banh cuon - a deconstructed spring roll

Bodega was seriously amazing - we'll absolutely plan to visit there again, the next time we find ourselves in the city.  Well fortified for the chilly stroll back to the Marriott, we had one more stop to make first - for snacks and other sundries at the Trader Joe's directly across the street from the hotel!

I have a box of Candy Cane Joe-Joe's, while Mom has a yogurt

(her breakfast for the next day) and a jar of 21 Seasoning Salute spice blend.

Chris (taking the picture) picked up a new olivewood cooking spoon -

at just $2.99, it already works way better than the one that randomly

BROKE IN HALF recently while stirring black beans

(that was one was from Sur La Table, and it was decidedly NOT $2.99).

With that, our first day back in the Bay was a qualified success!  It was time to hit the hay and get ready to drive to Napa on the morrow!

Later!

Amy