I might not have worn some flowers in my hair while visiting the Bay Area last weekend, but I did spot a surprisingly high number of flower shops around the city. Not only can I not get that song out of my head, I can't seem to get the coolness of the city off my mind either. While I'll always highly praise Portland to anyone who will listen (and even those who don't care to), my time in SF jeopardized my inclination to call Portland the most hip city on the west coast. Tempted to stay indefinitely, sadly I had to return home on Monday morning, but even so, I think I may have “left my heart in San Francisco.” Well, maybe it wasn't my heart, but I feel like I left something there. Oh who am I kidding, it's probably just the loads of cash spent on bridge tolls, BART tickets, and uh, maybe a little shopping at H&M.
There were so many great aspects of the weekend trip with my brother and sister, but I’ll try to keep my gushing to a minimum. Because this is clatter’s first official travel edition, I’ve even included a few photos to kick it up a notch – just don’t get used to it. Here's a brief(ish) rundown of the trip:
Highlights:
ϕ Observing and experiencing firsthand many of the redeeming qualities of Oakland. (Seriously, stop scoffing – the East Bay is far from being all ghetto!) This included, but is not limited to, the banh mi sandwiches we ate from a Vietnamese hole-in-the-wall in downtown Oakland. Nothing beats a $2.75 sub for lunch, and no, Subway's $5 footlong does NOT count – especially considering how annoying that jingle is. The well-known banh mi is something that I’ve been wanting to try for a while (apparently a food cart in Portland makes a damn good one), so this Oakland treat was the perfect introduction. BBQ pork, cilantro, shredded carrots, pickled something (??), and some kind of sauce (??), all on a crusty roll…mmmmm. The mystery ingredients contained in the sandwich left me curious, but not as much as the highly questionable meats and gelatin-like items being sold at the place as well. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss.
ϕ Viewing the Golden Gate Bridge from every angle known to man (and taking all obligatory photos at each and every one). This included driving through tourist-crazed Sausalito and making fun of all those tourists on their Blazing Saddles rented bikes, trying to make it across the bridge and up through the hills. Instead of bikes, we relied on our trusty ’97 Honda Civic and headed up to North Vista Pointe for incredible views of the Golden Gate above on the bluff. Unfortunately for us, by the time we made it up there, the fog had rolled in just enough to block out any remarkable photo ops. So instead, my sister took a series of pictures of my brother and me chowing down on burritos purchased earlier in the day in a quaint Marin County town called Larkspur. Who needs incredible views of the Golden Gate when you’ve got a delicious carne asada burrito right in front of you?
ϕ Making homemade pizza at my brother’s apartment. Even though there are tons of restaurants in the Bay area that we could have tried, we just couldn’t not cook together one night (as the famous line in our family goes, “It’s who we are, it’s what we do”). I whipped up some pizza dough and we used fresh broccolini and a mixed variety of tomatoes purchased at the farmers market earlier that day and other ingredients from the Berkeley Bowl (my new favorite grocery store). It wouldn't be family cooking without a little competition, so my sister and I battled for "best grilled pizza", although we put our brother in charge of the actual grilling part (he’s a man after all – it’s what they do). We ended up making four different pizzas, grilling two and baking two. I’d like to think that I won the competition, mostly because we made fun of my sister’s looking a little too similar to a Pizza Hut personal pizza (but trust me, it tasted much too good to be Pizza Hut). We tried taking photos of our creations, but the lighting was just not ideal. But here’s one to whet the palate:
I’d wager to say that this evening in the confines of my brother’s OBK (that’s another family term for "one butt kitchen") provided the most fun and the most laughs of the whole weekend.
Other Honorable Mentions:
ϕ Taking the tour of Alcatraz. Most people enjoy the fantastic views of the city from the bay on the boat ride to tour Alcatraz, like this one:
But for me, I could only gawk at this couple sitting directly ahead of and facing us, both on the way to The Rock and on the way back.
My brother and sister didn't think they were anyone special, but I could have sworn they're famous – only I couldn't place them (still can’t). My obsession with unearthing their identities eventually led to my brother taking incognito paparazzi photos. He did this brilliantly, acting as if he were examining his camera lenses at the most opportune of times: just as the woman fed the man yoga chips (case in point for her being famous: only an anorexic Hollywood actress would eat something like that). Anyone able to identify said couple will be awarded by clatter with a year's supply of Yoga Chips.
ϕ Visiting the Berkeley Farmers Market. clatter got much inspiration while perusing the market, especially from the interesting, highly unusual products (I should have been taking notes because now I don't remember anything). The assortment of tomatoes really was impressive, although for my sister and me, we were more focused on getting our brother to ask out the cute girl handing out strawberry samples. How difficult could it possibly be to walk up to the girl and say, "I'll take one basket of strawberries and your number"? Much to his sisters' chagrin, he didn't seize the moment.
ϕ Making the pilgrimage to the Peet's Coffee original store. As a former Peetnik (or is it that I'm a Peetnik for life?), making the journey to the motherland - where all the magic began - on Vine St. in Berkeley was a particularly special moment for me. So much so that we had to document it for posterity.
Lowlights:
ϕ Realizing how out of shape I really am as we climbed the streets of the city in order to reach Coit Tower. It didn’t help to be in the presence of a guy who recently rode his bike from Portland to San Francisco. How do I compete with that? I soon forgot my shortcomings though, because the stunning views of the city and the bay from the tower’s edge had me strategizing how I can one day afford one of the homes we spotted at the top. I’m still working on it.
ϕ Discussions of deadly earthquakes and massive destruction while driving across the Bay Bridge. Not cool.
ϕ Nearly being burned alive while baking pizza. While taking a pizza out of the oven using a dish towel, I failed to protect my entire hand from the incredible heat, causing an ever-so-dramatic dropping of the pan to the bottom of the oven, directly over the burners. I screamed a few expletives and froze (now I know how I react in a state of emergency). While I could have single-handedly (literally, I almost lost a hand in the crisis) ruined the pizza night for us all, my brother rushed in for the rescue, grabbing an oven mitt (oh, is that what I’m supposed to use to protect my hands from third-degree burns?) and procured the pan from the bottom of the oven. Cheers to my brother the hero!
Whew! Well, I think that just about does it for my not-so-brief recap of a great weekend in the Bay area. Until next time, this is your clatter traveler, signing off.
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