Weekend in San Francisco

Did I mention we didn't bring our kids? That's right - for the first time EVER since having kids (that's 5 1/2 years) Brett and I went away for the weekend by ourselves. It was awesome! Since the weather was rainy, we decided San Francisco would be a good destination, since there is still plenty to do even though you can't be outside. Our first stop, and by far the highlight of our weekend, was the farmer's market at the Ferry building. If you are ever in San Francisco and you like to eat, you MUST go here! Outside they have the traditional farmer's market set up with all kinds of wonderful in-season fruits and veggies, and inside they have tons of other vendors selling fresh, locally made meats, cheeses, coffee, breads, pastries... it was unbelievable.
My first stop was a Chinese tea shop where they had tons of different unique teas for sale. The lady at the counter was extremely helpful when I asked her about green teas, and even brewed me up a cup without burning it, a feat that it seems even Peet's coffee employees can't master.

I'm tempted to say that Brett was the only one who liked our next stop, but I was just as excited about the "tasty salted pig parts" as he was. We bought a cup of meat. It is literally a cup filled up with meat. Fresh cured meat that was grown and "harvested" locally and cured right there in the little shop. Yum.

I think we went into every little shop at least twice - we were in some sort of locally-grown food heaven. I don't know why, but I was really excited about this display of lettuce and books - two of my favorite things! Together! If there had been an adjacent fabric display I might not have been able to pull myself away.

Another highlight of the trip was Pier 23 Cafe's crab and shrimp sandwich. It takes a lot to get me to eat a mayonaise-laden sandwich on buttered toasted bread covered in french fries (especially after being romanced by a lettuce display) but this did the trick. This sucker is GOOD. So if you are ever in the vicinity of the Ferry building and somehow have room in your stomach after sampling all it has to offer, walk south and get this for yourself.

We stayed at the W hotel, which I wasn't able to get any good pictures of, but is really swanky with bright pink and turquoise accents and orchids everywhere and 3D floral pictures in the elevators and a pet menu in the room where you can order your dog a $20 steak in the middle of the night. To be honest, I felt a bit out of my element there, even though I was wearing my tall black boots and lots of eye makeup. Neither of us slept very well because we aren't used to having down pillows or a down feather bed, so we both woke up with sore backs wishing we had slept on our good ol' couch bed with our crappy Target pillows instead. Ironic, isn't it? We actually got a pretty good laugh about it this morning - I mean, we sleep on a COUCH BED in the living room, and the W sells their mattresses and pillows via a catalogue in every hotel room. So, we decided that the next time we take a weekend to ourselves, we'll spend the day out and sleep at home where we can wake up to our own stuff. And save a bunch of money.

Of course, I am not complaining! It was a great weekend, full of lots of rest, eating good food and laughing together about non-kid-related things. I didn't have to feed anyone or wipe juice off anything or get boogers on my clothes for a full 24 hours. It was great. But after breakfast this morning when we were deciding what to do next, we looked at each other and said at the same time "Let's get our kids." So we came home early to our wonderful life feeling rested and grateful that this is what we get to do every day.