Parc 55, San Francisco

In July we spent a weekend in San Francisco to have some fun. I posted earlier here about the Friday night activities of that weekend. Well, on Saturday night, we stayed in SF again so we could go to a concert. What concert? Well, I'm glad you asked! The Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit is group of guys from Oakdale, CA and we're lucky enough to be able to call these gentlemen our friends. People, let me tell you. These guys are such a good time! They played that weekend at the The Great American Music Hall in SF and it was a heck of a show. So much fun to see them play to a packed house in the city!

Anyway, we stayed at the The Parc 55 which is locate a very short walk from Union Square. Actually, it's just across the street from the Bart Station and Cable Car Station at Powell St. Can't get a whole lot more convenient than that! We booked the room for $85 on Priceline (score!) and were pleasantly surprised by both the location and the quality of the rooms, etc. The bed was super comfy, we had a great view, the room was reasonably quiet and cool...it's not every hotel in SF that can actually give you all of these things!

Most of the buildings in SF are pretty old with the majority of them being built after the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. People lived a bit more simply back then and as a result you'll notice that SF hotels rooms (if the hotel resides in a period building) are on the small side. So. If you find yourself in a larger room (such as we did at the Parc 55), it's a good indicator that the building is on this side of being newer. I am a fan of the new hotels and I love the quaint boutique hotels you find in the old buildings. Both have their charms.

Being the detail freak that I am I loved the necessity set up in the bathroom. Earplugs? Awesome. I didn't need them as the room was actually quite peaceful (and I had my ever-trusty sleep white noise machine tucked safely in my suitcase), but I thought it very clever to think of providing them for guests. And, I'll just say it. Hotels that spring a little more for quality products rather than random crappy bottles of worthless shampoo, etc, always get extra points in my book. Plus, I can squirrel them away in my bag and later use them in my guest bath baskets (more on that another time).

On an amusing side note, we discovered that Wyndham Hotels are where a lot of airlines put up their flight crews for the night. When we went to check out, the lobby was filled with flight attendants all decked out in various uniforms (Air China's were the prettiest) and pilots. I don't exactly know why I was taken by this, but I was. Weird.

As you can see in this photo to the right, we were blessed with beautiful weather that weekend. I'll say it again. I friggin' love SF.

Hotel Adagio, San Francisco

When we decided to go to the Giants game with our friends Mikey and Tawny we all figured it would be a good idea if we got a hotel room for the night of the game in the City. That way we could all relax (enjoy a few drinks) and not have to worry about who was going to drive us back late at night. We went with Hotel Adagio on Geary Street just a few blocks up from Union Square. Hotel Adagio is owned by joie de vivre, a company that owns a number of hotels in the city. Seeing as we stay in SF quite often, I figured it wouldn't hurt to join their Joy of Life Club; basically a frequent stayer club. Also, they partner with Virgin America Airlines (who I love; more on them another time). Anyway, made the reservation for a room with two queen beds (we figured we'd save a few bucks and share the room with our friends). Good deal.


{Surprise! Hi, Mikey!}

 So. Upon check-in, I was greeted very warmly by the gentleman behind the desk and he informed me that they had upgraded our room since I am a member of their club. Score! We got our keys and headed to the elevator to check out our room.

We were on the top floor of the building (makes for an incredible view) in the penthouse suite. Double score! There was a master bedroom and a living room. Dean and I decided since it was Tawny's birthday (and seeing as she's on crutches and all) that she and Mikey should take the big bed. Dean and I took the fold out couch--which- I will add- was actually surprisingly ok, as far as fold out couches go.

{Living Room of our sweet penthouse room}

Waiting on the table when we arrived in the room were a welcome card and a bottle of wine! Granted, kinda cheap wine. But hey! Fun either way, right?? At any rate, I was impressed by the fact that they actually take the time to make you feel special for being a member of their club. I'm looking forward to future stays at their hotels now for sure. In fact, I did a little research and found that they also own Carmel Valley Ranch in Carmel and Dream Inn in Santa Cruz. Definitely going to be looking into both of those. If not for a get-away for me and my guy then for a possible destination for our study club!

I am a big fan of the style of the decor they've gone with at the Adagio. Kind of modern and contemorary and at the same time comfortable and elegant. I wish I had taken a picture of the shower. It was o-mazing. I love those shower heads that are like rain falling. What are they called?

As I mentioned before, we had a great view from the top floor of the building. And we were stoked to find that we had a big balcony! One catch. No door! What? Seriously? And, as is common with a lot of SF hotels the windows didn't open very far. Boooo. Never fear. Eventually we discovered that there was a tiny window that DID open and it was just big enough that all of us were able to squeeze through and enjoy the fresh air and that beautiful view. Even Tawny demonstrated some serious agility and got out there broken foot in a boot and all!

{Tawny and the Panda sneaking in through the window!}

Lions and Tigers and Bears! Oh My!

I can't even remember the last time I went to the zoo. While in the city (San Francisco) a couple weeks back (Giants' Game and stuff), we were trying to come up with something we could do that didn't involve a lot of walking. Well, in SF, that's kind of hard. Luckily, though, Mikey was thinking and brought up the point that some places have wheelchairs available. Oh, yeah, I guess I should mention here that the reason we were worried about all of this was because Tawny is on crutches. Broken foot. What did we come up with? The San Francisco Zoo! Yea!

{Oh, Hey. How you doin'}

{Pretty sure this dude wanted to EAT ME!}



{Totally looks like he's wearing a suit of armor}

 I was pretty impressed by the San Francisco Zoo. There were a lot of animals to see and their habitats looked pretty nice. I mean, it's sad because they ARE in captivity. But I guess if you're gonna be held captive, it helps if you're in a nice place!


{Don't worry, there's a thick glass wall between us!}



All in all, we had a great time. The lion in his cage inside the Lion House was pretty dang cool. A zookeeper was spraying goat's milk from a spray bottle through the bars of his cage and he was super into that. He never let out a full on roar but he did this low pitch kinda rumbly growl thing that definitely made the hair on the back of my neck stand to attention. Scary dude.

The gorillas put on quite a show while we there. There was one big ole silverback who was clearly in charge. He was just chillin on his rock watching everyone when all of a sudden, the urge struck and he showed everyone there just why he's the alpha. Let's just say there were some moms pulling their kids away from the gorilla exhibit at that moment! Hilarious!

The only exhibit that I wasn't totally cool with was the tarantula situation. I HATE spiders. I don't care if they're "good" spiders or what. If they have eight damn legs I am not a fan. And these suckers are HUGE. Ewwwww. Gives me the shivers just thinking about them. But hey, if you're into big ass spiders, go check it out!

Go Giants!!

I have never been a fan of baseball...until now. My baby sister dates a boy who played ball in college and at that time, I developed a little bit of curiosity because I was getting to know Hayden and his world. Still, though, I never watched it on t.v. Once in a while Dean and I would go to games in San Francisco, but I pretty much had no idea what was going on...Fast forward to 2010. The Giants make the playoffs. Suddenly, baseball has gotten kinda exciting in these parts. Dean starts watching a lot more games at home, and I end up paying more and more attention. Next thing I know these guys are heading to the World Series and I've really gotten into them. I love the Giants. They are a group of odd, quirky boys and I think they are so loveable. I was so impressed by them during the World Series and how they conducted themselves in interviews, etc. Naturally, I realize I am super biased, but whatever...



{Hey, Crawford!}

 So, this year we're hopefully on the quest for another series. We'll see. I still am not knowledgeable enough about all of this to tell you if we have a good chance or not. Dean says things are looking good- I'll go with that. Anyway, one Thursday Brewer/Dunn Night (more on those later), the four of us decided it would be a kick to go to a game for Tawny's birthday. Suddenly, the laptop is out and tickets have been bought! I like it....which brings us to just a few weeks ago. July 18 we were lucky enough to be at a game and watched our boys beat the crap out of LA (sorry, Bri). So much fun.  

{My two faves: Brian Wilson & Brandon Crawford}



We cheered enthusiastically (Mikey was hoarse for daaayys afterwards). We ate food that is terrible for us (um, hello, hotdog). We drank a few beers. Tawny bought a Panda Hat. Generally, we had an absolute blast. Since Tawny was on crutches we decided to hang out for a bit after the game was over rather than trying to fight the crowds. Kinda cool to see the field when it's all quiet and empty. The seagulls swoop in and start helping the clean up crew!




{Can you see the seagulls in the background??}



{Tawny's crazy cool Panda hat}

 



{Checking out the dugout. Too bad the boys were already gone!}



{Happy Birthday, Tawny!}



I Heart SF

I've said this a million times and I'll say it again: I heart SF. It's one of my very favorite places and luckily we only live about an hour and a half away! This makes for lots of fun trips to the "the City", as it's referred to around here. Some of these trips are planned in advance and others and completely spur of the moment. Because of this we've also developed a love of Priceline. This past weekend we had already planned on hanging out in the city on Saturday and staying the night after a concert. But, when our friend Brian called and said he and his lovely wife would be in SF Friday night, Dean and I were down for another night. So fun.

Before meeting up with our friends, Dean took me out for a reaaallly nice dinner. He even suited up for me! :) I rarely get the chance to dress up so when hubby suggested we get decked out I was totally excited. And it doesn't hurt that he looks damn hot (excuse me, but it's true!) in a suit. He found a restaurant called Benu for us to try out. What an experience! We decided to splurge and went with the- get this-- 18 course tasting menu. Talk about a time I was sad I didn't have my "big camera" with me! I tried to capture a few of my favorite bites with my point and shoot, but eh. Not even worth it. At any rate, I definitely tried some foods that I'd never had before that night. Heck, I had never even heard of some of them before! Although, I have to admit my obsession with Top Chef did come in handy.

 

After dinner we met up with everyone at Harry Denton's Starlight Room which is on the top floor of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, right in Union Square. It's a jazz club with tasty drinks. And, while the band is taking a break, they play "the other stuff" and the dance floor gets crowded. We had a great time, not that I expected anything different considering the company we were in! After drinks and a bit of dancing, it was decided that karaoke should be included in the night's activities. Bri's brother knew of a good spot...Bow Bow in China Town. Oh, geez. The boys sang their hearts out and a fabulous time was had by all. Totally can't wait til the next time Bri and Ches head up our way!