One of our favorite things to do is travel and eat. So, every year for our birthdays, we take each other on a birthday trip. In January of 2022, I took Nina to San Francisco and we had a great time and ate lots of great food. For my birthday trip this year, I looked at a bunch of different places… NYC, Miami, Chicago, Seattle… and finally I decided on doing 3 days in San Francisco again. There’s so much more to see and do in the area that we’ve yet to experience. This time, we’re not just spending our time in SF.
One day/night in San Francisco and then we’re heading across the bay for two nights in Sausalito and we’ll spend a day in Napa Valley and Sonoma. I’m not much of a wino, but never been to wine country so it’ll be something new.
The City
Our flight was delayed 2 hours out of SLC, so when we landed at SFO we decided to immediately head for a slice of pizza for a snack before checking into our hotel. I’ve been hearing all about this New Haven-style pizza and been dying to try it so we went to Tony’s Coal Fired Pizza & Slice House to get some. Unfortunately, no New Haven by the slice so we settled for a single slice of NY Style. It was OK. We were starving, but it still didn’t really hit the spot and neither of us finished our slice.
One of my favorite slices is right around the corner, so we walked around the corner to Golden Boy Pizza for a square slice. We had Golden Boy last time we visited San Francisco so it was already on my list of “must eat” while in town. Their Pesto Veggie is my favorite, so good! We came back again the next day for lunch, couldn’t resist another slice!
Staying at the St. Regis
We stayed at the St. Regis San Francisco for our one night in the city. It was a nice hotel! We’ve stayed at a lot of nice hotels, but never at the St. Regis. Overall, the hotel was really nice and the staff was very accommodating. However, I will say the bellhops on duty might need some additional training. Checking in and checking out I felt that way. When I pulled up, they stood there chatting oblivious to us. We got out and had to unload our own luggage and say hello to them before they gave us any attention. I’m nitpicking here, but come on – it’s the St. Regis! A certain expectation comes with staying at a hotel where rooms are several hundred dollars + per night. Right?
Not much to say about our room, it was a nice room but didn’t come with that luxury feel I’ve experienced at Waldorf, Four Seasons, or other lux hotels. I didn’t even snap a photo of it. The bar was solid though I will say. That evening we had a cocktail and dessert before calling it a night and before we left the hotel we had a dozen champagne oysters. Some of the best oysters I’ve had
Our day in SF
After an early gym session, it was time to eat! Like Dim Sum? It’s one of our favorites! We miss Dim Sum from when we lived in Atlanta and there really isn’t any in Salt Lake City. We found the Hong Kong Lounge the last time we visited so we had to come back since it’s probably the best Dim Sum we’ve ever had.
After our bite to eat, we headed down to Half Moon Bay area for a little sightseeing. We’d never been to the area, so it was fun to explore outside of San Francisco and see some new things. San Francisco really isn’t such a nice city anymore.
We did a little hiking around the area and then hit the Jettywave Distillery for a cocktail. After a quick drink, we made our way back to SF to grab our things from the St. Regis and head over to Sausalito.
Sausalito
We stayed at Casa Madrona in Sausalito in downtown Sausalito right across the street from the water. Our room had a beautiful view over the bay. It’s a historical landmark and dates back to the late 1800’s. The inside has been completely renovated, but much of the exterior remains unchanged. It’s built into the side of the hill.
We loved this little city across the bay. The slower pace, the food, the locals… I’ve seen quite a few references to Sausalito as the Amalfi Coast of the U.S. I’ve never been to the Amalfi Coast, yet, but I’ve seen photos and I can see the similarities. That and everything here is Italian. Italian restaurants, clothing stores, gelato, markets, bakeries… It’s the Little Italy of San Francisco.
Napa Valley
We planned a full day in Napa Valley and had reservations for two wine tastings. It took us about an hour to drive from Sausalito to Napa and once we were off the freeway, the drive was beautiful. We headed right to downtown Napa to check this place out. We did a little walking around town before stopping at Napa Distillery for a snack before heading off to our first tasting.
If you’re in Napa and you like craft cocktails, you gotta check this place out. Everything is handcrafted and made to order from scratch. We had some sort of horchata concoction made with reposado tequila. The ice cubes were a cinnamon flavor and the drink changed flavor slightly as you drank and the ice cube melted. So good. Normally, I’m a bourbon drinker. But, I love a good horchata and the drink description sold me on this one.
After a quick snack and a drink, we headed off MUMM for our first tasting reservation. I’ve never done one of these before, I thought it was fun and would definitely go again! We sipped all of their champagne offerings and a few sparkling wines. The cheese and crackers snacks they provided came in clutch and got us through this tasting… towards the end of our time at MUMM we both agreed we should pass on going to another tasting lol.
After our tasting, we headed back to Sausalito to relax and get a bit to eat. We dropped into the Barrel House Tavern. That pretty much wrapped up our day! A bit of day drinking and exploring and we were tired so we headed back to Casa Madrona to relax
We had a slow relaxing morning on our final day. We got up late and walked down the street, about two blocks from Casa Madrona to the Sausalito Bakery. It definitely reminded me of some cafes we visited earlier this year in Italy. The cappuccino was tasty and the almond croissants reminded me of Italy for sure. It was a little chilly and rainy so we sat inside.
Another fun trip! These photos never turn out that great, but I love a good sunset view from the window of an airplane.
