San Francisco, day 3 (this was the 13th)

Thank goodness I had done some research before the trip, since I had found out that there is a farmer's market on Wednesdays right by the Civic Center, only a few blocks from our hotel. We walked down there in the morning for a lovely breakfast of fresh fruit.

In fact, my entire morning meal was made up of FREE SAMPLES! It was great- so many of the stands were giving out free morsels of their fruit, so I made a point of trying one piece at every oppurtunity. Mmm... I also had a fresh fig (yes, I did actually buy that one) and it was the #1 best fresh fig I have ever tasted. Soooo sweet, and sooo good. :)

It pained me to see all these delicious fresh vegetables, but to have no way of cooking them myself... Oh, how I wish our hotel had a kitchenette, or even a microwave...

The most beautiful okra I have ever seen!

Oh man, eggplants are quite actually my very favorite. There were so many different kinds on display, it was really neat.



I'd never seen fresh edamame before!


I've never had a bitter melon before, but they sure do look cool!

After that, we did some shopping on Union Square... yay! I'm not going to blog about that though, since it can't be terribly interesting for you all ;)

Our lunch was the fruit we had bought at the Farmer's Market. I think I am a big fan of those white peaches :D

We then headed over to Golden Gate Park, which was just beautiful. I am totally going to live in San Francisco at some point, and I think I'd like to live somewhere near this park.


We also visited the San Francisco Botanical Gardens at Strybing Arbory. My mom and I had a lovely walk through the beautiful trees and flowers and bushes. Oh, how I love plants.


My favorite fart about the gardens, though, was the 'smell garden'. I can't remember the official name, but basically it was a little area full of the most fragrant plants, some of which included lemon balm, cinnamon, rosemary, and many, many more.


My mom and I then wandered over to the Japanese Tea Gardens. While I have never been to Japan, my mom has, and she said that the landscaping was quite close to being authentic.
We even stopped for tea at a little cafe in the gardens, which ended up being a huge ripoff. They charged 4$ per person for a little cup of tea, plus the cookies and crackers that automatically came with your order. What if I don't want crackers? Too bad, I still get charged the 4$ and I still get the cookies and crackers. I did open up a fortune cookie, though, and supposedly I have "a quiet and unobstrusive nature"


Look at this crazy bridge!

Around 5, we had an early dinner back at Cafe Gratitude. Yes, we just HAD to go back!

This time, my mom had the Asian Kale Salad, while I tried out the 'I am Warm' Miso Soup. It was good- not too much different than my own miso soup, but still delicious. We discovered, though, that putting some of the kale salad into the soup yields a fantastic combination. Om nom nom!

We had a flax-carrot cracker again, of course, and I also tried the 'spicy Mexican slaw'. It wasn't very spicy, but I like cabbage so it was still good.

For dessert, we tried the raw fruit crumble. mmm! It was DELICIOUS and has totally inspired me to try making some sort of raw dessert like that sometime.

After dinner, we took a bus north and starting walking around down Hyde street. I was on a quest to find the 'Steepest Street in San Francisco'- Filbert Street, between Hyde and Leavensworth. And boy, was it ever steep! Crazzzzy.


We then kept walking down Hyde Street until we hit Fisherman's Wharf. It was nice going along there a second time, mostly because we didn't feel so much like tourists after having seen it all before.

My absolute favorite part about those little tourist shops is the knockoff sunglasses! I ended up buying two pairs on the trip, both 'Ray-Ban Wayfarers' (blue and black).


The next morning was quite depressing. I always hate having to pack up and go home after a fun trip! Breakfast was some 'I am great!' raw granola we had bought from Cafe Gratitude. Sooo good!

My mom was being kinda OCD about getting checked in on time, so we ended up with 2 hours to waste in the airport. Of course, as soon as I saw a little Japanese fast food place, I insisted that we check it out to see if there was any seaweed salad.

And, lo and behond, there was!

And.. that's it! Three days really weren't enough in San Francisco. I really, really, really want to go back, and I'm thinking that I'd like to live there for a while too. I love how the city is set up and how effectively the bus routes are laid out. I love how it doesn't get too hot or too cold, and I love how it has both the busy downtown and the quiet parks. I've left my heart in San Francisco!

In other news, I have quite a few catchin-up blog posts to do, so I'm hoping to get those done soon! A product review, some meals I've been making, Folk Fest, and a recipe!

thanks for reading :)