SF Travel Diary.

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San Francisco has always been one of my favorite cities, despite only having visited a few times. The first time I went was to run the Nike Womens Marathon (back in 2006 – the thought of running one now is truly laughable.) The second time was for a blog project with Adobe (you can see the photos here!)

I stayed with my friend Meg. Meg’s an old friend – we’ve know each other for nine years now but she moved to San Francisco three years ago.You should know that Meg has endless amounts of energy. (I do not.) and she planned what was truly a spectacular, whirlwind of a trip. There was very little downtime, quite a bit of wine, and I really got a great feel for the city. On top of Meg’s plans, I had a few meetings for the blog + we had a fun girls trip to Sonoma. (My first time in wine country!) We rented a van and a driver (no drinking and driving) and just had the best time. #takemeback.

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On Friday, I had a work-related lunch at Kokkari on Jackson Street. The food was amazing. We shared the zucchini fritters and I had the tomato salad. I don’t remember the last time I had such perfect tomatoes.

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It wouldn’t have been a trip to SF without visiting the Cuyana team… their Fall collection is incredible (more on that later this week) and I loved this inspiration board!

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I wandered through Union Square for a bit before happy hour… just taking in the sights and doing a little people watching!

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After happy hour, we went to Trou Normand which is in the Financial District, near the Mission. Meg + her husband have incredible taste in food so I knew they wouldn’t steer us wrong. This charcuterie plate was to die for and Meg + I split the Tagliatelle with parmesan + pork ragu (so good, but isn’t pasta always just so good?)

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It wouldn’t have been a girls weekend without taking selfies + taunting our mutual friends from back home! (Pardon the pixelated iphone photo…)

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The next day, a group of us were up and at ’em and off to Sonoma to taste some wines!

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We made a responsible decision to start the day with a greasy brunch at the Fremont Diner.

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I had the BLT (with fried green tomatoes) — heaven!

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No alcohol had been consumed prior to taking this photo.. you sure wouldn’t know it, though.

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Our next stop was the Viansa Winery & Marketplace. We tasted some wines, and then ended up splitting a few (there were seven of us) outside on their patio.

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After Viansa, we went to Cline Cellars. We had picked up a bunch of cheeses at Viansa, so we just sat outside at a picnic table, drinking more wine. After all that wine, we stopped at Rosso Pizzeria + Mozzarella Bar in Petaluma and shared some flatbreads, pizza, and (more) cheese. Once back in the city, we ended up at a fun little bar called robberbaron for you guessed it, more wine. It was a really fun spot and their wine list is amazing. If I lived in San Francisco, I could see myself spending quite a bit of time there. ๐Ÿ™‚

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The next morning, we were up and at ’em and off to Sausalito! I had never been to Sausalito before and fell in love with the town. And the cliffs and the little colorful houses and beautiful views of the city. We went to Bar Bocce for brunch and I wanted to stay forever – playing bocce, eating pizza, sitting at their fire pit, or watching the sail boats. I had the artichoke frittata which might have been one of the best brunches I’ve ever had. (They’re known for their pizzas, so get those if you go!)

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Last but not least, we stopped by Marin Headlands to get some photos and enjoy the amazing views. The cliffs, the bridge… it felt like something out of a movie! After that, we went to a party at Golden Gate Park and happy hour with another girlfriend. By then, I was dead — opting to skip dinner and take a nap!

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And then it was up, up and away… and back to New York. I can’t believe we did as much as we did in just three days, and I can’t wait toย go back soon!

My fave spots from the trip…

Sonoma: Fremont Diner (the perfect spot for lunch or brunch!) // Viansa Winery + Marketplace // Cline Cellars // Rosso Pizza & Mozzarella Bar

San Francisco: Kokkariย (yum/fancy Mediterranean fare) // Gioia (my friend’s husband is the executive chef!) // Trou Normand //ย robberbaron wine bar

Sausalito:ย Bar Bocce

Leave a Comment

Leave a Comment

18 Comments

  1. Allie || 6000 miles to home:

    Ooh that’s a great list of places I haven’t checked out around here yet. Glad you had fun!!

    6000milestohome.blogspot.com

    9.24.14 Reply
  2. Missy On Madison:

    Great photos Grace! Looks fun!
    xo,
    Melissa
    MissyOnMadison.com

    9.24.14 Reply
  3. Amanda:

    Kokkari is my absolute all time favorite San Francisco restaurant. I hope you got to try the grilled octopus!

    9.24.14 Reply
  4. Amelia:

    Your trip looks like so much fun! I’d love to do a girls’ trip to wine country with my friends…and we’d have to remember to stop at that diner!

    http://www.southbynorthwestblog.wordpress.com

    9.24.14 Reply
  5. nicolette:

    looks like you had an amazing trip!! i love san francisco, and this past trip was my first time going up to wine country, too. i know everyone loves to say new york has the best food, but true to your tomato anecdote, i think california wins. nothing beats the super fresh produce that is available throughout the state!

    9.24.14 Reply
  6. A Hint of Life:

    San Francisco is beautiful!!! love the feeling of the city but not so big and the food… wine! ๐Ÿ™‚
    Xo, Belen
    A Hint of Life

    9.24.14 Reply
  7. whiskandheels:

    I ran Nike in SF too! and the thought of doing it again is, as you put it, laughable. Glad you had a good trip! Robberbaron is a good spot ๐Ÿ™‚

    xo

    anisa | whisk & heels

    9.24.14 Reply
    • Grace Atwood:

      ahhh love it. Some day I’ll run another… or maybe not!!! and glad someone else loves robberbaron! xx

      9.24.14 Reply
  8. Samantha S:

    Marin HeadLANDS ๐Ÿ™‚ Such great photos. Definitely going to be trying some of these spots this weekend!

    9.24.14 Reply
    • Grace Atwood:

      Oops! Need to fix that… pardon the tourist’s mistake!

      9.25.14 Reply
  9. pati:

    San Francisco in the fall is the best! I agree Sausalito is beautiful.

    9.25.14 Reply
  10. Marissa Monticolo (@MMonticolo):

    Have lived in Los Angeles for almost four years now and have still yet to make it up to SF. Hoping to take a trip up there this fall!

    9.25.14 Reply
  11. scompiseno:

    Your post got me really excited for my SF/Napa trip in 2 1/2 weeks! I’ve been counting down the days and mentally planning out the outfits. Sometimes getting away from everything is just… NEEDED. So happy to hear you had such a great time!
    XO, Stella
    http://www.theheartsdlite.com

    9.25.14 Reply
  12. E:

    I live here, and never fully take advantage of all we have to offer. You have inspired some new spots to explore. Many thanks.

    9.25.14 Reply
  13. charlotte:

    your pictures are very nice, i appreciate San Francisco ๐Ÿ™‚

    9.25.14 Reply
  14. Alicia:

    Aw you hit up SO many great spots! So glad you had the best time…. now come back so I can show you my faves :)) Xx

    9.27.14 Reply
  15. Jenna // Prima Haven:

    I’m so in love with Sausalito too, Bar Bocce is my favorite!! Sounds like you had an amazing trip, I’ll definitely have to check out TROU NORMAND!

    9.27.14 Reply
  16. Dee:

    Thank you so much for this. I’m heading there next week and came across your blog on twitter. Anything else I must see or do?

    9.29.14 Reply