The hills are alive with the sound of San Franciscoooo

Ok, dorky. Shh. Moving on.

Here's to remembering what happened on recent trip number deux!

I fell in love with San Fran and area. The many many hills, the row houses, the wine, the walking...

Flew out Wednesday evening (straight from work, almost missed my flight O_O), layover in Houston where I caught an EARLIER connection (yay!) that got me into San Fran at 9:30 pm instead of 11:30. Jeremie, the couchsurfer we were staying with, had given me directions on taking the BART to Civic Center and then taking the bus. Guy on the BART (who was the same guy as the one on my flight who PURCHASED my movie viewing abilities on the plane) would NOT let me get off at Civic Center -- because there's too many homeless people and girls like me would get raped and murdered. I tried to assure him that I could throw a few punches with my kickboxing moves (from, um, 6 years ago), but he was adamant. So I get off at Powell instead. Make it to Jeremie & Emilie's around 11. They're a fantastic couple -- here for an 18 month job transfer from France. Jealous?

Thursday morning! My friend Mike and I make our way towards Chinatown (I'm sooo hungry b/c I freakin' missed dinner on the plane when I fell asleep for like 3 min!) and get DIM SUM! SO good! Granted, the same good that later made me nauseous and sick... but totally worth it. Next, head towards Coit Tower where I insist $5 is too much to make it to the top of it, after we trekked up the stairs (in hindsight... probably could've afforded the $5 for a beautiful view). Walked towards Lombard street, but made a pit stop at a coffee shop before we hiked the crazy hill up it. I never imagined (nor did I remember from when I was 9) how STEEP these hills are! At one point, a lady was literally terrified that she would start rolling backwards down it and was clutching onto the guardrails. What a workout. Then we made it to fisherman's wharf and the pier and toured around -- watched street performers (jugglers, crazy instrument players, break dancers, people jumping out of trash cans...) and got some In & Out burgers (what?! I was hungry again.) Ghirardelli Square was delicious also and is where I met THE coolest street musician ever: Starvin' Marvin, who speaks 13 languages! Like, SPEAKS them, not just "knows a few words and calls it a language". He also rhymed all his sentences. What a guy. Then wandered allll along the bay area alllll the way to the Fine Arts Palace. I'm still not entirely sure if there's actually something inside (like a museum), but it was beautiful. Beautiful weather, green grass, wonderful building, and lots of birds and people watching. It's 6 and we told Jeremie and Emilie we'd make dinner at 7, so we find a sweet grocery store (Marina's Market, I think?) and get everything that's needed for some awesome enchiladas. End the night by meeting up with a past couchsurfer of mine, Victor, and his friend and all of us head to a couple of bars. What a day.

Friday's here. We were going to rent a car to get to Sonoma, buuuut the line for the rental is ~1 hr long and if we have no reservations, pretty much SOL, says the guy. Mike calls ferry info lady, Amy, who informs us there's a bus to Sonoma from Vallejo, where we can take the ferry to. So, off we go to to the ferry station! It's pouring right now, but that just gives Alcatraz the look it needs as we pass it by. Get to Vallejo -- Amy lied! No bus! Only one to Napa, which we take, and then Ben (our couchsurfer host) graciously picks us up there. Ben lives on a vineyard. in Sonoma. 'nuff said. He's got the life, alright, and is a way cool dude. There's a couchsurfing dinner tonight in Santa Rosa! So we head to the grocery store, whip up some kick ass mac & cheese, and meet some fun people that night. One of whom gave me a massage whilst eating dinner. That's pretty awesome. :D

Saturdayyy! It's another beautiful day in CalifornIA and we start it out by trekking the wine hills behind Ben's place. I won't lie. I got winded. At the top, I plopped down on the grass which was the best decision I had made so far that day. They soon followed lead. Then, it's wine tasting time! We made it to THREE wineries in Sonoma (Kunde, Family...something, and Ledsor? Lexor? Luxor? I don't remember). Charlie at Winery #2 loved us. Kept repouring our drinks and at the end, didn't let us pay. I'm pretty sure that's why Winery #3 didn't like our lot too much... buncha drunkies. In between we feasted on a picnic lunch from a local grocer. Ben had invited us to a Crystal Method concert, but we decline b/c we have to make it back to Jeremie and Emilie's, so he drops us off close by. The rest of the night was spent chatting and playing boardgames with the two... you definitely need quick reflexes with them.

Sunday, Sunday. Mike leaves in the morning for his flight and I spend the day with Victor. He picks me up and we drive across the Golden Gate Bridge through Muir Woods and the coastline. Even though it was raining, we would stop in between, shoot some pictures, and admire the waves crashing up against the rocks. Make our way after an hour or two to Petaluma -- a quaint little town that seems to have everything it needs (including two Thai places! One of which we ate at). It's getting late and he takes me back to San Fran where I meet up with Ross at the pier. Head to Mission district with him and his sisters for some yummy Mexican tacos, then drive back and forth the Golden Gate again (just because), before he takes me to the airport to catch my flight...

What a trip. 4 full days of awesomeness :) I can't imagine a better way it could have gone.