Guest Blog - Jill's Visit

Things have been busy as usual, so busy that we have a guest blogger! Yes, you not only get to play Wii when you come to visit but you also will get to write a blog post. Jenne, you are lucky, you got away with it. So everyone, here is Jill's blog post...

This is Jill, guest blogging from Seattle. I visited Wendy and Tim last weekend, and had an amazing time. Everything was memorable, and highlights follow.

On Thursday, Wendy picked me up from the airport and we got take-out from Burma Superstar. Their tea leaf salad is perfect.

On Friday, I explored the Ferry Terminal shops, in particular Recchuiti Confections – their rose caramel is sublime and New Kapadokia and somehow convinced Tim to drive to Redwood City for Turkish food. It was worth the 30 minute drive – everything was unique, flavorful, well-balanced and intriguing. The most interesting part of the evening was seeing the hordes of teenagers gathered on the equivalent of a city square, hanging out and listening to loud rap/hip-hop, with video games set up on a projection screen. It seemed to be controlled chaos, and was fascinating.

On Saturday, Wendy and I braved the (very friendly) line at Tartine. Suffice it to say, we loved it so much that we went back in line to buy things for the afternoon, and made a detour back to Inner Richmond to refrigerate the banana cream tart, the coconut cream tart, and the Croque Monsieur. We also tried the pain au chocolate (still warm from the oven!), the bread pudding, the arugula quiche, and a scone. It was all phenomenal. (Note: the cake is from a North Beach shop, not Tartine.)

We walked around the North Beach area in the afternoon, and in the evening went to a fabulous party in Sausilito. After that, we met up with Aaron and Aparna for dinner at New Dehli, then drinks at the Top of the Mark. The theme of San Francisco continues: wonderful, warm people and absolutely delicious food.

Sunday, Wendy and I trekked out of the city again – this time to Berkeley. We’re glad to have seen it, but are not compelled to return. San Francisco is infinitely more beautiful. The Cal campus, though, was stunning, and we enjoyed our walking tour immensely. It was a perfect day to visit the Campinile.

We also took a tasting tour of the Scharffen Berger tour, which was fascinating. They were very informative, and the chocolate was tasty. It was great to see a glimpse of chocolate being made, and equally interesting to peek into the offices.

Thank you, Wendy and Tim for the perfect weekend!