i LOVE COFFEE, & San Francisco

I took a few days off from work for some R & R from the daily grindand headed up north for a week. Little did I know that I would come back a coffee snob.

I woke up, packed, and started to head up north on a Friday morning. Luckily, Venice wasn't far, so we stopped by one of my favorite coffee shops, Intelligentsia for a good 'ol morning wake up. I know some people think this place is overrated, but i think they make one of the best lattes. This place has also got a bit of an awesome old time EDISON-esque flare. It's no frills, but pretty cool.

http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/

I ordered a latte (of course, and Brian got an iced coffee. Yeah, so I know I am on a gluten free kick but the pastries here are pretty darn good, so i had to get one. Yup, there is that half eaten muffin...                              

After our breakfast, we just DROVE, DROVE, and DROVE SOME MORE.....

Stopping at In n' Out, (not my favorite place in the world) but we got there just in time for lunch.

Even if you are on a relatively healthy diet, you can still eat here without feeling nauseous afterwards.

Get the following:

Double Double (yes..that's 2 meat patties) or just get a single patty

Grilled onions

Tomatoes

Protein Style ( it comes wrapped in lettuce and not sandwiched between 2 pieces of white bread)

No sauce

Some cheese, or NO cheese if you are dairy free

If you absolutely need fries, go for it! (just try and share it with another person)

Those were the only stops that were made until we got up to SF 7 hours later to brian's parent's house.

I won't bore you with the rest of the details, but here are some highlights below!

SATURDAY:

Woke up at 8:00am

Had an awesome egg omlette (recipe to follow in a future blog)

Went for a swim

Lunch

12:00pm went on a bike ride up to the top of Mt. Tam

(I curse the mountain all the way to the top, but then am loving the downhill portion of it on the way back)

5 hours later, we ride continue on to Sausalito for a refreshing drink.

We are home at 6:00pm

Tired...

here is a picture overlooking Marin County.

Here's up near the top of the mountain, nearly 2200 ft up. Below that, me enjoying an ice tea after a 5 hour bike ride.

SUNDAY:

WOKE UP and got a manicure at 8:00am

Ate a nice crepe breakfast (see the recipes in my june blogs)

Went for a run to Stinson Beach

Came back

Ate lunch

Went down to the city to hang out and to wish a friend happy birthday

Watch invisible fireworks (unfortunately, the city was cold and cloudy that day)

MONDAY:

 Brian's parents buy us a spa package at SOLAGE in Calistoga  (THANKS GUYS!!!)

Spent pretty much the entire morning and afternoon there to relax!

Where is the coffee in all of this?  WELL, we drank coffee everyday, every morning. Yes, I think i've become an addict.

Betty recommends doing half decaf and half regular coffee, for a more mild caffeine "wake-me-up."

(I think this is great for some people that need something in the afternoon, but shouldn't have a full does of the caffeine)


I will skip Tuesday, but on Wednesday, we went to BLUE BOTTLE COFFEE in Oakland.

AMAZING NEW ORLEANS STYLE ICED COFFEE! The coffee is slightly sweet, but has a bit of a bite and it's somewhat syrupy as well. IT'S SOOO GOOD!
http://www.bluebottlecoffee.net/coffee/preparation-guide/chemex/
Did I mention that I highly reccomend this place?!


After Blue bottle, it was lunch time... and went for another dose of a little wheat in Oakland China town.

I just bought 2 pork buns at only $0.90 each.. who could beat that! 
After this, it's no more bread for me.... :)
My vacation was awesome, but as always, TOO SHORT!!
UNTIL NEXT TIME!