"Do you have an appointment? ... Do you have a friend up there?"

Wake up San Francisco!  We have finally arrived in the home of Danny Tanner and Rebecca Donaldson = success. 

First of all, a big shout out to Mr. Rohrkemper for hooking us up in the nicest hotel we have stayed in.  The Westin St. Francis in Union Square was AMAZING.  Chandeliers, marble, and bell-hops; not exactly LEED Gold but we’ll gladly take it.  After a long drive after a long day our hotel room was heavenly.  We jumped on our beds for a bit with excitement like eight-year-old girls then hit the hay so we could conquer the city bright and early.

We didn’t exactly have the early start we were hoping for, but with two whole days to explore San Francisco and beds that were too far too comfortable to leave, we easily justified the extra rest.  Finally setting out around eleven, we headed straight for the food (shocking, we know) at Fishermans Wharf and snagged some fresh clam chowder in a home made sourdough bread bowl.  After enjoying our soup with a view of the marina, we headed towards Ghiradelli Square for, you guessed it, more food. 

Ghiradelli Square was delicious.  The chocolate aroma alone fills you up, but we didn’t let that stop us.  By now you have probably noticed we enjoy food, so this portion of SF was AWESOME.  We each got a scoop of ice cream (the one scoop was so big we needed bowls to hold the part that wouldn’t stay on the cone, hoorah).

Next, we put our professional caps on and hit up some local businesses that fit each of our perspective industries, snagging business cards and mingling with the receptionists.  We stumbled upon SB Architects and were very pleasantly surprised with the interior space, but not as much as Gensler – INCREDIBLE!  Although the doorman tried to stop us from heading up, we managed our way into the elevator and chatted up the receptionist, who told us the history of the coffee warehouse that housed the modern-day offices.

C was stoked to learn that her dream firm, Edelman, had a San Francisco office, and that it was just a few blocks away from Gensler on Market Street.  After our hard work, we relaxed with some happy hour treats before heading back to the hotel.   Our legs screaming at us for the miles of (CRAZY) up and downhill walking, J headed inside as C went shopping at some Union Square boutiques.

The next morning, ravenous, we visited Chinatown for some delicious authentic Chinese cuisine as C oogled the beautiful jade jewelry lining all of the store windows.  From there, we set off for the famous Lombard Street, housing eight tight, winding turns in a single block.  I’m not sure how, but we somehow managed to get our out-of-shape asses up the seemingly 75 degree sloped hill and were greeted by an outstanding view of the city.   After being passed by a young, blind woman and an elderly woman (with cane), we realized just out lazy / out of shape we really are... :( Tired and sweaty, we headed back down the hill towards the Wharf, found the nearest Starbucks and plopped down for some iced drinks to cool us off.

Apparently missing the Oktoberfest festivities that had been promised to us by streetlight advertisements, we arrived at Pier 48 to find… nothing.  Agreeing that we did NOT want to do the Lombard Street hike again, we waited for over an hour to catch a cable car, completing C’s first touristy visit around San Francisco.  Four full cable cars later with zero success, we grouchily braved the mountainous terrain back to the hotel.

In an attempt to kick our butts into gear, we wandered Union Square, stopping in almost every shop we saw, but not before we snagged some happy hour delicacies from an Italian bar.  Too many purchases later, we got a sushi recommendation and immediately stopped in for a late dinner. 

We’re SO sad to be leaving San Fran L  See you in SoCal!