I hope that everyone enjoyed their Valentine/President’s holiday! Now for the recap of my weekend.

On Friday night we drove into San Francisco and checked into the hotel. We stayed at the Inn at the Opera, which is literally steps to the Opera house. Tim and I were both very hungry, so we walked to The Crepe House on Gough Street. Mmmm! I had a Greek salad, and Tim ordered a chorizo scramble. For dessert, I had a crepe with strawberries, brown sugar, and whipped cream. Tim decided on a crepe with bananas, brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla ice cream. It was so delicious, and cheap! On the way back to the hotel, we ended up stopping at Citizen Cake and grabbing a few AWESOME treats: a ginger-molasses cookie and a lemon sandwich cookie.

Saturday morning we woke up early and had a quick (free) breakfast in the hotel. The Cal Academy of Sciences opened at 9:30am, and we got there a few minutes before opening, so we could avoid some huge crowds. Tim and I have been looking forward to visiting for a long time! My favorite part of the visit was the Planetarium show, but the rainforest exhibit was pretty neat too.

We had a delicious lunch in the museum cafeteria (no lie!) of cheese quesadillas, salad and pork tacos (Tim’s choice). Afterwards, we finished up the visit and headed out into Golden Gate Park.  Tim and I both love the Japanese Tea Gardens, but we’d never visited together. It was such a beautiful day (no fog!), and perfect weather for walking around.

After a lovely cup of Jasmine tea and some fortune cookies at the tea house, Tim wanted to walk around the Botanical Garden.  We’re starting to figure out a plan for our backyard, and it gave us a few good ideas. Tim is especially keen on the idea of bamboo all around the fenceline; easier than building a taller fence, prettier than plain bushes, and it grows fairly quickly.

After 5 hours of walking around, I was feeling tired so we went back to the hotel for a nap before dinner. I’d made reservations at Cafe Altano; it was within walking distance, had good reviews on Yelp and the menu looked tasty. The pricing is very reasonable; after wine (one glass for me, two for Tim), salads, entrees, dessert AND tip, we only spent $80. I would definitely recommend it!  We stopped in again at Citizen Cake (the cookies were just too good!) and this time we got a ginger sandwich cookie, a vanilla cupcake and their version of a Payday, which is Tim’s favorite candy bar. Once again, everything was delicious!

I didn’t get a very good night’s sleep, because my darn belly refused to sit comfortably (even with pillows) so the next morning we stayed in bed until 9.  We had brunch reservations at Absinthe Brasserie at 1:30pm, so I just had some fruit and an english muffin for breakfast. We checked out at noon, and walked towards Hayes Street. With time to kill, Tim thought we should stop and grab some coffee at Arlequin. They had a lovely garden to sit in and relax, so we took advantage of the sunshine. 

Absinthe was PACKED! I was so glad that we made reservations. Since we were at a place called Absinthe, Tim decided to try the actual liquor. It smelled like crap liquorice. He seemed to like it! I ordered a yummy lemonade made with lemon juice, ginger, cranberry juice and sparkling water. For my meal, I had a fantastic grilled vegetable sandwich with tons of cheese, and Tim had biscuits, gravy and grits (such a guy platter!). Of course, we had to order the french fries too.

Dessert was an oddity: Kabosu Lime mousse. The mousse was rolled in an elderflower gelee and seated on a green tea cake. It was unlike anything I’ve had before, but it tasted good.  I would love to go back to Absinthe the next time we’re in the city.

It was such an amazing weekend with Tim, and a wonderful Valentine’s Day. I was happy to get home though, and sleep in my own comfy bed. And, of course, I missed my babies!

Here’s a gallery of pictures from our adventures:

Click on the image to see the full size.

xoxoxoxoxo