Joep & I have been splitting our time between Ottawa and Laguna for the past few months and, if I do say so myself, we have been doing a pretty good job of it! Granted we get to see each other every weekend so it is not too much of a sacrifice but this is some serious commute time!By the time Easter arrived this year we were both well and truly ready for a break from the commute and the craziness. We were both also very ready for some sunshine after the never ending Ottawa winter we are having this year ... snow in April. Yikes. Its been long and cold.
In fact, and I am digressing for a minute here, we were visited by friends here in Ottawa recently. Nat & Jasper who married last year in Toronto . They were visiting Nat's family in Toronto and made the drive out to Ottawa to see us for a sleepover. We LOVED having them to stay and it was so lovely to catch up and realize that time really doesn't make a difference with true friends. **Content sigh** But there is a point to this digression. On the day that they visited which was the end of March, the weather was what we consider to be 'mild'. In fact I walked to work without leggings on and in a skirt. I felt incredibly hardcore when I got home from work and heard that Jasper was freeeeeezing and had sneakily taken a photo of himself walking next to a Canadian in shorts ... yes. I am as tough as Canadian's. Hard core. So that is my point. It is so cold that even other Northern Hemisphere folks find it freezing. We are integrating.
This digression actually results in a perfect segway to our Easter break as well! The reunion with Nat & Jasper was so lovely that it made us realize that we needed to make more of an effort to catch up with old friends. And what is better than catching up with friends ... except perhaps catching up with old friends in one of the worlds greatest cities! And so we booked tickets to San Francisco to visit Will & Em!
Eeeeeearly Friday morning I headed to Ottawa airport to get my 6am (ouch!) flight to San Francisco where Joep was waiting for me! Upon arrival Joep & I headed straight to Will & Em's pad where we were pleasantly surprised to find them both home. Their apartment is amazing. And this is a total understatement. The views! Golden Gate Bridge on one side, Alcatraz on the other ... we could've stayed there forever. But of course there is plenty to see and do in San Francisco! So after a round of hello's and quick catch up's Em walked Joep & I around the neighbourhood (while Will collected his fancy new car) and then left us to explore by ourselves.
Before too long our exploration had turned into a food fest. We found a wonderful outdoor spot to chow down on crab and taco's and enjoy a few cocktails. Heavenly. Even more so because we didn't have to wear winter coats!After enjoying a wonderful afternoon together we headed back to Will & Em's where we settled in to watch some NBA (its playoff time again ... yippeeeeee!!). We had some down time with our gracious hosts and a few beers. We then headed out for dinner and drinks. Will & Em live in the most amazing neighbourhood of San Francisco. There are amazing restaurants everywhere you look, great little shops, awesome bars ... and everyone is seriously good looking. Properly, upsettingly good looking. Joep & I totally fit in. Ha! But seriously. We did.
After enjoying DELICIOUS strawberry cocktails (delightful!) and getting very excited about a bar called 'Delaney's' we headed to Mamacita's for dinner. For the first little while we grabbed a few drinks at the bar and waited for our table. Em notified the host that she was getting increasingly intoxicated (she worded it slightly differently to this) and we were given our table. The feast that ensued was delicious! Will & Em certainly know how to dine in style. Oh and Will & Joep also shared a tequila tasting tray. Yikes.
Alas, shortly after midnight it was 3am for me and I had been awake for a full 24 hours so it was home time. After a great night of sleep we were up relatively early and set to enjoy a great day in San Francisco!
First stop? Brunch! Will took us in his fancy new ride to Presidio Social Club which is in the Presidio Amatury Park. It is a beautiful spot. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast and some champagne cocktails and naturally, some laughs. We then hit the road and made our way across the bridge (I will never get tired of the Golden Gate bridge) to Sausalito for a wander around and a coffee and to enjoy the views of San Francisco. Having achieved all of these goals we then hopped back onto the road for my favourite part of the weekend.
Will & Em drove us to a place called the Tourist Club! So here is the history - in 1912, a group of German Nature Friends living in the San Francisco Bay area decided to buy land overlooking what is now Muir Woods, only 30 minutes’ drive from San Francisco. Their first American clubhouse was built in 1914. Members did all the work, pulling materials and supplies up the hillside by mule and manual labor.Today the Tourist club is accessible by a number of hiking paths and members of the public can bring along snacks and buy beers and sit in the grounds of the club. This is where we were headed! We would never have know about this place if it weren't for Will & Em!
So we hiked from the car down to the club house where we settled in for an afternoon in the sun enjoying some beers, pickles and a game of cards. It was absolutely fantastic! I could've stayed there forever except that the mist came in off the bay and it began to get cold so we hiked back up to the car the head home. Actually, Joep & Will hiked back up to the car. Em & I hiked for a bit and then we got tired. So we stopped for a rest and to take in the views. We were then very pleasantly surprised when a car pulled up to collect us ... to be honest I'm not sure I would've made it the rest of the way up. It was a pretty decent hike!
Upon arrival back home I napped and the boys enjoyed some beverages before we headed out to dinner. There was an important hockey game on so Em very graciously found a restaurant where we could enjoy a good meal and watch the game simultaneously. The evening that followed was as good as any Amsterdam night out we've ever had. The drinks were free flowing, there was some groove shaking, great conversations and lots and lots and lots of laughs. That is before you even consider the fact that we visited a bar with a popcorn machine in the corner (we all pigged out on this), there were some seriously hilarious toilet paper on shoe issues and we made friends with members of a wedding party who had borrowed some of the decorations to take home with them. The evening ended when Joep coaxed Em & I out of the last bar and we were presented with flowers that the boys had picked for us. Well ... Joep had picked a few flowers. Will had gone above and beyond and had pulled an entire plant out of the ground, roots and all. True love.
Joep tried to outdo Will by attempting to uproot a tree as a token of his love for me but we managed to dissuade him from doing that and we called it a night with the boys meditating in front of a bonsai garden before pigging out on pizza at 3am and listening to Joep's discussions of the beauty of the conifer. Aykarumba. It was a big night.On Sunday morning we managed to drag ourselves out of bed for breakfast supplies. Joep made uitsmijters for us all (and we both agreed that they were not his best cooking creation to date) and there were amazing cupcakes to enjoy as well. Delish!
Then, while Em napped away her hangover, Joep & I forced ourselves to get out and enjoy our last afternoon in San Francisco. We wandered down to Fisherman's Wharf and fought through the tourist crowds for a while before deciding that Will & Em's burb is the best in town.
Alas, we had a flight to catch on Sunday night and so after a brief fast food stop (Joep & I gave up fast food for lent so we were VERY excited on Easter weekend to be able to enjoy the greasy delights that fast food chains have to offer!) there were farewells at San Francisco airport before Joep & I boarded our flight to Long Beach.
We had such a wonderful weekend! So lovely to catch up with old expat pals and have so many laughs! Will & Em were amazing hosts and we plan on visiting with increasing frequency in the coming months ... much easier since we'll be Californians then too!
