MY TRIP TO SAN FRAN & NAPA

To be quite honest, San Fran was 87% exhausting and 13% fun.  I was there for school and little did I know, grad school "study abroad" courses are way different than the typical have-fun-and-learn-the-city study abroads you take in undergrad.  This was work, people.


The class I took was all about learning the sharing economy (think AirBNB, Uber-type companies) and luckily, my group was tasked with researching meal-sharing.  We were able to test out Feastly, EatWith, and BonAppetour.  I highly recommend trying out EatWith wherever you are.  I've now gone in D.C. and San Fran and had amazing experiences in both towns.  I actually blogged about my D.C. experience here.

My group also took a baking class, but I really can't call it a class.  What is it called when you just watch someone do something for you?  Childhood.  Joking; but in all honesty we just stood there and watched the baker throw all the pre-measured ingredients into her mixer.  The cookies were fantastic and I'm not sure they would have turned out that way if we had participated..soo..yea.

Finally once the class was done, my friend and I stayed in town for the weekend and were able to have some fun!  That Friday, we went to Petit Crenn for lunch.  I died.  It was incredible..get the gnocchi. Dominique Crenn is everything and this article proves it.  I was also able to stop into the Cuyana showroom and y'all it's the cutest.  Their Marketing Director, Wendy, is also the nicest, so just go if you're in SF.  I immediately headed to Barneys and Diptyque and was able to find the candle that Cuyana burns in all of their stores.  Lily of the Valley..who knew?  We also got to try Tartine Bakery which was on my list of things to do.  It didn't disappoint; top three chocolate croissants I've ever had..and I've had a lot.

Saturday, we headed to Napa.  Umm Yountville is my fave..Bouchon..go.  Order the Steak Frites and pay the upcharge for the truffle fries.  It's been about a month since I was there and I still think about those fries.  We only made it to two vineyards:  Sterling and Alpha Omega.  Both were great and both had incredible views (Sterling may win out on the views actually), but Alpha Omega was my favorite because it was less touristy, if you will.

I definitely want to make another vacation-only trip back to SF/Napa, so let me know if you have any suggestions on places to go, restaurants to try, etc.