San Francisco in 24 Hours

Hi everyone! I'm finally back from vacation and have been so excited to share my experiences with you, but first I really need to unpack, do laundry, go grocery shopping and work out!! Actually, working out is the first thing on my list because I gained at least 5 pounds while I was gone!

But before I tackle my to do list, I'm going to quickly post some photos! As you know, I was in a few different places last week, the first being San Francisco. This trip was primarily a girls' getaway to the wine country, but we couldn't be that close to the city and not spend at least one night there, so that's what we did. Specifically, we had 24 hours.

Any of you that have been to San Francisco can probably understand how difficult it would be for a foodie like me to decide what to do in that short time span. So, I planned strategically. We would arrive on a Saturday morning, just in time to hit the Saturday farmers' market. The best place to stay if that's your primary focus? The Hotel Vitale, directly across the street from the Ferry Building where the market is held! (The photo above is actually from our hotel room window on the morning we arrived. If you click on it, you'll be able to see the tents and throngs of people to the right of the building. That's just a small portion of the farmers' market)

We had less than two hours before the outdoor stands started shutting down, so there was no messing around. On my last trip a couple of years ago, I stood in the long line at Rose Pistola for breakfast. Well worth the wait, the egg, applewood smoked bacon, basil and mozzarella sandwich was amazing, but since our time was so limited on this trip, we opted to skip the long lines and instead walk the market sampling the fruits, vegetables, dips, cheeses and breads the vendors had to offer.

Oh, the ripe, juicy pluots! We picked up a couple of the Flavor Grenades as a treat for later...

We encountered baby corn (that the farmer let us shuck and eat right there on the spot) and those lovely fava beans that I adored so much when in China....

Everywhere we turned there were stands bursting with brightly colored fruits and vegetables...

And raw vegan treats that we couldn't resist.....

I have no idea how it was made, but this raspberry coconut dessert was delightful!

And that was only the outdoor farmers' market. We hadn't even gotten inside the ferry building yet, where gourmet delights abound!

Exotic mushrooms, truffle honey, salts, oils and spreads can be found at Far West Fungi....

Check out the beautiful color of those lobster mushrooms....

The many cheeses of Cowgirl Creamery....

Chocolate from Scharffen Berger.....

and of course, no meal would be complete without salted pig parts!

Unable to resist the allure of the ferry building, we went back the next morning for Blue Bottle coffee and a quick bite to eat before we hit the road to wine country.

Stay tuned tomorrow for Part 2 of my 24 hours in San Francisco-- our TWO dinners!