San Francisco & Napa

How The West Was Won… by the Weinsoffs

San Francisco is one of my favorite cities. In my twenties, I worked for a company that had a restaurant on Fisherman’s Wharf.  Because I oversaw all marketing and advertising, I was fortunate to be able to go to San Francisco about four times per year. And yes, while it was a business trip, I ate at amazing restaurants and got to see most of the iconic places. I had not been back in decades when we decided our Mother-Daughter trip that year would be traveling to the West Coast of the U.S., specifically San Francisco & Napa.

San Francisco

Our first stop was in San Francisco for three nights. Because I love boutique hotels and I am not a huge fan of staying in touristy areas (aka Fisherman’s Wharf), we chose Hotel Drisco in the Pacific Heights section. It is atop a hill so when we ventured out to walk, it was a huge change from the flatlands of South Florida. It is a historical beautiful hotel not far from many really cool neighborhoods.

Of course, we did go over to Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 59 to see the sea otters, Chinatown, and Lombard Street. What we really like seeing are the hipster neighborhoods, like Haight-Ashbury, more than anything else. We also loved going into the local boutiques on Sacramento Street and Fillmore Street. And, of course, we had to go see the house from Full House, a show we watched when they were growing up.

Restaurants we loved:

The Tipsy Pig – located in the Marina/Cow Hollow/Presidio section of San Francisco. This is a gastropub. We were only able to get a seat at the bar which worked for three ravenous women so I would suggest making advance reservations. It is very close to Union Street in the Cow Hill section which caters to a younger generation.

Bar Crudo – Of course, we were going to find a place to order oysters and small bites -it’s our favorite way to eat.

Waterbar – Considered one of San Francisco’s top seafood restaurants, it is located on the waterfront of San Francisco’s Embarcadero and features panoramic views of the bay, Bay Bridge, Treasure Island, and the San Francisco skyline. We came here for lunch after walking around San Francisco.

Wineries

We did take one day to go visit the wineries. I am fortunate in that I know someone who works in the business and they were able to get us reservations at three wineries. I had made arrangements through Trip Advisor for a driver for the day (the safest way to visit wineries). If you love wine, then arrange for a side trip to either Napa or Sonoma. You can definitely hit up three wineries on a day trip. Next time, I would love to stay a few days in wine country and see some other wineries.

We went to:

Del Dotto St. Helena Estate and booked the Cave Experience & Barrel Tasting

Robert Mondavi– Our friend arranged for a VIP tour of the winery with a wonderful curator. We truly enjoyed his informative presentation and learning about the Mondavi family history.

Domaine Chandon

We stopped and had lunch at a quaint restaurant along the way called Goose & Gander.  It is located in Walter Martini’s historic 1920 bungalow.

We packed a lot into our three days in San Francisco, but it is definitely doable.

Additional Information

Traveling with friends can be complicated, especially during a long trip. So too can vacation with your adult kids. But we had an open, honest dialogue and determined we were compatible. Here are my suggestions for the top 10 travel item recommendations. And, we all know how chaotic traveling is today. I’m sharing tips for Dealing with Chaotic  Air Travel.

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