San Francisco Snapshots {Part Two}

We had to get to Golden Gate Park early, so breakfast was on-to-go: we picked up Starbucks.  I grabbed a pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant) and iced tea. (need my caffeine, cause duh)  Golden Gate Park in the morning is an exquisite sight.  This is the exterior of the Conservatory of Flowers, which opened at 10.  We did some exploring around the park first.

Walking through the gardens kicked us into "photography mode", so we whipped out our cameras and started snapping every pretty flower we could find.  It was amazing to see all the different breeds, colors, and kinds of beautiful plants and flowers they grow in the park.  

The conservatory opened at 10, so we went in and took a look at the exotic plants and flowers they grow in there.  I loved the orchids and tropical trees like the banana and cacao trees.  K made friends with an adorable puppy that became infatuated with her.  

We travelled back to Union Square and had lunch at the Rotunda at Neiman Marcus.  It was absolutely beautiful.  I enjoyed the Andean Dream Quinoa Pasta, which was a gluten free spaghetti with pecorino, snap peas, sundried tomatoes, mushrooms, sprouts, and sunchokes.  It was quite possibly the best meal I had on the entire trip.  

I'll definitely be ordering this one again at the Mariposa restaurant in Newport when I'm home!  It was a healthier yet decadent pasta dish with a perfect flavor combination.

After lunch we boated off to Sausalito on a ferry.  Sausalito is a picturesque little town across the bay, and exploring it was a dream.  The views were amazing and the shops and homes were breathtaking.

Dinner was at The Trident, a restaurant right on the water with a spectacular view of the bay and Alcatraz in the distance.  I thoroughly enjoyed this quinoa and kale salad with feta and grapes (sans the almonds), and we shared a delicious assortment of roasted vegetables including baby zucchini, yellow squash, and broccoli.

A sweet treat- Lappert's Ice Cream!  I had this delicious scoop of no sugar added vanilla ice cream, which had vanilla bean flecks in it!  I was teased all night about how utterly boring I was for ordering vanilla, especially since they had flavors like Caramel Cashew Turtle Cluster, Java Lava, Coconut Macadamia Fudge, Salted Caramel, etc.  But hey, it's my favorite!  And it was delicious.  You can't go wrong with vanilla.

The ferry ride back to SF was chilly but gorgeous.  We saw the setting sun and the lit-up ferry building.  It was a gorgeous night and a great end to a great day.

P.S.  What do you all think of the new blog designs?  I'd love your opinions.