San Francisco Weekend
Friday, January 12-Sunday, January 14:
Limo, Klimt + Rodin, Beach Blanket Babylon, Sunday's a Drag
Mr. E and I bid on a San Francisco weekend package at the Feast for WEAVE in November, which included 2 nights hotel plus limo transportation to and from SF. We decided to take advantage of the MLK holiday long weekend to make the trip, and the timing was also quite lovely to celebrate our 15-year wedding anniversary (1/11/03).
Our limo picked us up at 2:30pm on Friday afternoon, and we hit very little traffic during the drive, so we arrived at the St. Francis Westin on Union Square before 4:15pm. We checked in and had a slight disappointment when discovering that the Stay Fit at Westin program (providing New Balance workout clothes and shoes) didn't have my shoe size in stock. Luckily, I had packed all of my usual workout gear just in case, but I had been eager to try this service to see if it would be something I could plan on for future SPG hotel stays.
Mr. E had done some research on nearby restaurants, so we walked across the street to Farallon for the oyster happy hour special. Yum! With our cocktails and oysters, we also ordered a cheese plate (for me) and a burger (for Mr. E). We sat at the bar to enjoy our drinks and snacks and ended up having a nice conversation with a friendly young woman who was waiting for her girlfriend to meet up for dinner. After this auspicious start to the evening, we went back to the hotel to try out the Clock Bar for a few more cocktails and then had dinner just a block away at Sears Fine Foods. Mr. E ordered the pork chop, and I had the vegetarian special. We finished up the evening with some wine in our room.
On Saturday morning, the Starbucks at the nearby Sir Francis Drake hotel was our breakfast spot of choice, and we then took a taxi to the Legion of Honor for our 11:30am entry into the Klimt & Rodin: An Artistic Encounter exhibit. The exhibition will close at the end of this month, so we had already been planning to make at least an SF day trip to see the show even before we won the SF weekend package at the fundraiser. Per usual, we ate lunch at the Legion of Honor cafe. We've always been very pleased with the quality of the food at the cafe as well as impressed by how the fare changes to tie in with whatever current exhibition is on display. This time around, we didn't order any of the special items but instead enjoyed a yummy black bean and veggie soup with fresh bread.
We walked down the hill to catch the 38 bus back to Union Square and returned to the St. Francis. Mr. E worked out while I read for a bit, and then we headed off on foot to Club Fugazi, about a mile away, for the 6pm performance of Beach Blanket Babylon. This amazing and famous musical review provided fabulous entertainment, singing, and costumes. We've know about it for years but somehow never managed to fit it into our plans when visiting SF, so it was great to finally get to see what others have been raving about! The show was over by 7:30pm, and we stopped for dinner at a tavern a few blocks from the hotel. I ended my day with wine and yoga in the room, and Mr. E spent some more time at the Clock Bar.
Originally, we had scheduled our limo pick-up for 1pm on Sunday and hadn't made any specific plans for the morning. However, Mr. E stumbled upon the opportunity to go to the Starlight Room on the 21st floor of the Sir Francis Drake for the Sunday's a Drag brunch show. We were able to change our limo pick-up time to 2pm, extend our checkout, and purchase tickets to the 11:30am showtime. I started off the morning with a run down Market Street and along the Embarcadero to greet the sea lions at Pier 39, and then we walked over to the Sir Francis Drake around 10:30am, when the doors opened for the show and the brunch began. The food was quite delicious and included a made-to-order omelet station, which Mr. E and I both utilized. The coffee, however, was dismal! So before the show began, Mr. E popped back downstairs to Starbucks to bring back our daily dose of caffeine (and we weren't the only guests with coffee from elsewhere). The show was quite fun, although I was a little surprised that most of the drag queens lip-synced rather than singing their own tunes. I've seen some drag shows in Las Vegas, which were top-notch caliber, but this production was still entertaining and was Mr. E's first drag show experience!
Our limo drive back to Sac was quite smooth, again with minimal traffic. We finished up our weekend with drinks and dinner at home and snuggles with the kitties. A great SF experience and a fun way to celebrate our 15 years!!!
Limo, Klimt + Rodin, Beach Blanket Babylon, Sunday's a Drag
Mr. E and I bid on a San Francisco weekend package at the Feast for WEAVE in November, which included 2 nights hotel plus limo transportation to and from SF. We decided to take advantage of the MLK holiday long weekend to make the trip, and the timing was also quite lovely to celebrate our 15-year wedding anniversary (1/11/03).
Our limo picked us up at 2:30pm on Friday afternoon, and we hit very little traffic during the drive, so we arrived at the St. Francis Westin on Union Square before 4:15pm. We checked in and had a slight disappointment when discovering that the Stay Fit at Westin program (providing New Balance workout clothes and shoes) didn't have my shoe size in stock. Luckily, I had packed all of my usual workout gear just in case, but I had been eager to try this service to see if it would be something I could plan on for future SPG hotel stays.
Mr. E had done some research on nearby restaurants, so we walked across the street to Farallon for the oyster happy hour special. Yum! With our cocktails and oysters, we also ordered a cheese plate (for me) and a burger (for Mr. E). We sat at the bar to enjoy our drinks and snacks and ended up having a nice conversation with a friendly young woman who was waiting for her girlfriend to meet up for dinner. After this auspicious start to the evening, we went back to the hotel to try out the Clock Bar for a few more cocktails and then had dinner just a block away at Sears Fine Foods. Mr. E ordered the pork chop, and I had the vegetarian special. We finished up the evening with some wine in our room.
On Saturday morning, the Starbucks at the nearby Sir Francis Drake hotel was our breakfast spot of choice, and we then took a taxi to the Legion of Honor for our 11:30am entry into the Klimt & Rodin: An Artistic Encounter exhibit. The exhibition will close at the end of this month, so we had already been planning to make at least an SF day trip to see the show even before we won the SF weekend package at the fundraiser. Per usual, we ate lunch at the Legion of Honor cafe. We've always been very pleased with the quality of the food at the cafe as well as impressed by how the fare changes to tie in with whatever current exhibition is on display. This time around, we didn't order any of the special items but instead enjoyed a yummy black bean and veggie soup with fresh bread.
We walked down the hill to catch the 38 bus back to Union Square and returned to the St. Francis. Mr. E worked out while I read for a bit, and then we headed off on foot to Club Fugazi, about a mile away, for the 6pm performance of Beach Blanket Babylon. This amazing and famous musical review provided fabulous entertainment, singing, and costumes. We've know about it for years but somehow never managed to fit it into our plans when visiting SF, so it was great to finally get to see what others have been raving about! The show was over by 7:30pm, and we stopped for dinner at a tavern a few blocks from the hotel. I ended my day with wine and yoga in the room, and Mr. E spent some more time at the Clock Bar.
Originally, we had scheduled our limo pick-up for 1pm on Sunday and hadn't made any specific plans for the morning. However, Mr. E stumbled upon the opportunity to go to the Starlight Room on the 21st floor of the Sir Francis Drake for the Sunday's a Drag brunch show. We were able to change our limo pick-up time to 2pm, extend our checkout, and purchase tickets to the 11:30am showtime. I started off the morning with a run down Market Street and along the Embarcadero to greet the sea lions at Pier 39, and then we walked over to the Sir Francis Drake around 10:30am, when the doors opened for the show and the brunch began. The food was quite delicious and included a made-to-order omelet station, which Mr. E and I both utilized. The coffee, however, was dismal! So before the show began, Mr. E popped back downstairs to Starbucks to bring back our daily dose of caffeine (and we weren't the only guests with coffee from elsewhere). The show was quite fun, although I was a little surprised that most of the drag queens lip-synced rather than singing their own tunes. I've seen some drag shows in Las Vegas, which were top-notch caliber, but this production was still entertaining and was Mr. E's first drag show experience!
Our limo drive back to Sac was quite smooth, again with minimal traffic. We finished up our weekend with drinks and dinner at home and snuggles with the kitties. A great SF experience and a fun way to celebrate our 15 years!!!
posted by jms | 4:39 PM
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