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The day after the century I was feeling pretty good but stiff and just wanted to have a low-key day to relax and recover.  We decided not to have any wine, drink lots of water, and I also surprised Chris with our first sports massage!  It was glorious, like a giant custom foam roller all over the body.  I told the gal not to go too deep, so it wasn’t too painful 🙂  Plus I didn’t want to be even more sore afterwards.  I could definitely get used to having one of these more often if they weren’t so dang pricey!  

After our little spa sesh, we got ready and headed to Muir Woods National Monument.  I’ve been here once before with my aunt. It is absolutely gorgeous and only $5 for adults to enter.  It’s like you’re in a completely different world, with ginormous Red Wood trees enveloping you from all sides.  It sure is a change of scenery from Las Vegas!

I believe this little feller is a banana slug, awww

Of course strollers are not advised on this path haha, um really?

There is just something sacred and peaceful about this place and I love coming here.  You really can’t get a bad picture 🙂

After walking around and enjoying the quiet of nature for about 2 hours, we headed to San Fran to meet up with a college friend.

The moment we got into the city we were brought back to reality by the crazy hustle and bustle of a busy city.  And oh yes, the crazy streets!!  They freak me out every time!  eeek!  We were sooo glad we didn’t have Chris’ manual because that would have surely been interesting.  I thought I was on a crazy roller coaster lol

We all decided to walk around and find a dinner spot.  Our friends recommended a place called Arlequin which was absolutely perfect!

They have a wonderful menu selection and a great patio to sit outside.

I was craving protein something fierce and decided on a delicious spiced lamb burger that was topped with a type of fermented onion salad and ziki sauce.  It was heaven and just what I needed! I took a bite before I remembered to take a picture, oops!

Chris decided on the 1/2 roasted chicken which was equally delish.  We like to share our meals 🙂

After dinner we continued to walk and our friends brought us to Miette, the cutest candy/pastry shop I have ever seen.  I just about died in here!

They featured a whole array of homemade goodies with selections of old-time candies as well.

They were just closing and offered us two complimentary cupcakes, heck yes.  This was seriously THE best cupcake I have ever had, no joke.  It was so rich, moist and full of chocolate-y goodness.  And the frosting, oh the frosting (!) was reminiscent of that jar of marshmallow fluff we all loved as a kid.  I’m not a fan of bland icky frosting that normally tops cupcakes, but this, this was heaven I tell you.  Chris and I shared one, but I wanted a whole one to myself!

We continued to walk and peruse the city and somehow found ourselves at a little ice cream shop that features vegan and non-dairy selections.  How could we resist?  Even though it was pretty chilly outside with the sun going down, I decided to try the chocolate peanut butter and Chris tried the rice milk chocolate mint.  It was pretty darn tasty.  Not your typical ice cream texture, but equally delicious.

As we made our way back to the apartment, we decided to stop at a tea lounge called Somovar to warm up.  This place was adorable as well; a great place to stop, have a nice cup of tea and some down time conversation with great friends.

Chris and I decided on the Ocean of Wisdom, which was amazingly luscious and full of flavor.  I can’t even really explain it, but this description is just about perfect. . .

I couldn’t get over how adorable all the tea cups were.  Sure makes the experience that much more special.

I also tried a little bit of the lavender lemonade which would be refreshing on a hot day.

And the chai tea was oh so comforting.

Even though I couldn’t ever see myself living in San Fran, I really love visiting this vibrant city.  There really seems like there is a sense of community with all the wonderful local shops and restaurants.  I could just spend days and days visiting them all!  I also love how there are a ton of bike commuters pedaling there way to somewhere.  It’s so neat to see everyone out and about being active!

It was a great day!  I also have some great wine tasting pictures to share soon 🙂  Hope your week is going well.  I’m surely going to be sad when we have to leave California.

What’s one of your favorite cities to visit?