the world's best bike ride?

Back in June, we had some exciting visitors from Australia -- Madeline and Rob -- and decided to use this chance for a touristy activity we had been wanting to do: biking across the Golden Gate Bridge from SF to Sausalito. Lucky for us, it just happened to be an unusually warm summer day, with high temps and a clear blue sky.

Our starting point was Bay City Bike near Fisherman's Wharf; from there we headed west along the bay, through Fort Mason, the Marina and Chrissy Field. After taking a quick break at the Warming Hut for some cold drinks and a re-lathering of sunscreen, we made it to the bridge. As many times as I've driven across the bridge, I absolutely never get sick of the feeling you get when you're on it and the amazing views you get from it. Biking across is even better, for obvious reasons: more time on the bridge and the ability to stop when you want to take photos.

After the nearly two-mile ride across the bridge, which separates San Francisco and Marin counties, we descended toward Sausalito, quite possibly one of the country's loveliest towns. Our goal was Bar Bocce, a new-ish restaurant on the water that serves up wood-fired pizza, excellent sangria and a bocce ball court. A couple of hours here replenished us for the short ride to the Sausalito ferry terminal, where we boarded a boat with our bikes and headed back to the city.

To see all the photos, click here.

finally

Since I moved here in July, I have been dying to get out on the bay in a sailboat. I have brainstormed ideas on how to make friends with some wealthy boat-owner, but I don’t live in the Marina District, so I’ve had no luck. Fortunately, my office took a little outing last night on a catamaran sunset cruise on the bay. The weather has been incredible this week – 80 degrees and sunny – which was a welcome break from last week’s rain. The evening could not have been better. We sailed from Pier 39 (home of San Fran’s famous sea lions), right past the far side of Alcatraz and under the Golden Gate Bridge, where the rolling Pacific waves caused me a to feel a tad seasick, but I powered through.

one fine day

I love it when friends come to visit because it means we have an excuse to get out of our neighborhood and splurge on some of the best stuff in San Francisco. Our friends Alex and Erin came over from Perth on Friday morning, bringing beautiful, warm, sunny weather with them, so we headed straight across the bay to have lunch at Fish., the perpetually busy lunch hotspot in Sausalito. One meal of fish and chips, fried oysters, ceviche, and tuna salad sandwiches later, and we were on our way back to San Francisco, stopping off at Cavallo Point. Cavallo Point is a place I’ve heard a lot about lately, and it does not disappoint. The red-roofed buildings of Fort Baker are now part of a luxury resort that includes the Cavallo Point Lodge, the Michelin-starred restaurant Murray Circle and Farley Bar, all at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County. It felt like summertime as we sat in rocking chairs on the front porch, sipped our pints of Sierra Nevada and enjoyed the view of the bridge and the bay.

Disc golf in Golden Gate Park followed by coffee and cupcakes in Hayes Valley (at La Boulange and Miette, respectively) rounded out our leisurely day of San Fran fun. As an added bonus, while wandering down Hayes Street, we walked by the filming of a new Steven Soderbergh movie called Contagion, starring Jude Law, Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet and Marion Cotillard. We had no celeb sightings in Hayes Valley, sadly, but the downtown next morning I accidentally walked onto the movie set (it was a fake drug store—I thought it was real) and saw Jude Law getting his makeup done in his trailer. Saw him right through his open window.

Cavallo Point, photos courtesy cavallopoint.com (top and bottom left); the disc golf course in Golden Gate Park (bottom right).

walk of envy

I'm not knocking my little apartment that I love so dearly, but when I'm walking through northern San Francisco on a picture-perfect day, it's impossible not to have real-estate envy. Million-dollar views of the bay and the bridge are enjoyed by some fortunate folks. What I'd do for a little rooftop deck all my own...

Quintessential apartments with bay windows on Leavenworth St. (above left). I love the rooftop deck on this building by George Sterling Park on Russian Hill (above right). This gorgeous building at Larkin+Lombard has an equally gorgeous view of the GG Bridge (below).  
 
Great corner apartment on Chestnut (above left). Awesome, awesome rooftop deck on Larkin just above Ghirardelli Square (above middle). Beautiful home on Larkin overlooking Alcatraz (above right). These cute apartments on  Union have views of Treasure Island on the east side of the bay (below left). I love the adorable balconies with bay views on these colorful buildings on Montgomery Street at the bottom of Telegraph Hill—so Mediterranean (below right). These fantastic homes on Russian Hill have a stunning vista of the GG Bridge, Sausalito and the Marin Headlands (bottom).

back in tourist mode

The constant drizzle turned me into a bit of a hermit the past two months, but the sun is back out and I am back in tourist mode. Saturday, I made the journey up to Coit Tower. It was a long, uphill walk, but there could be no better day for it, and it was worth the huffing and puffing. With its prime position atop Telegraph Hill, Coit Tower boasts stunning views of San Fran in all directions. The Golden Gate Bridge? Check. The Bay Bridge? Check. Downtown? Check. Russian and Nob Hills? Check. Wild green parrots that congregate on Telegraph Hill and inspired a book and a film? Um, check.


My destination (top). Almost there (below left). Bay Bridge and Ferry Building; the parrots (below right).

The views of the Golden Gate Bridge are phenomenal (below). The Marina District and GG Bridge (below left). The Bay Bridge and Treasure Island (below right). There are some lucky, lucky folks who live on Telegraph Hill, just below Coit Tower, and get this perfect view of the bay (bottom).

land's end

As I mentioned before back in August, the beautiful Legion of Honor museum in Lincoln Park, on the northwest edge of the peninsula that is San Francisco, boasts great views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the beginning of the bay. What I didn't know until a few weeks ago is that there is a fabulous little hiking trail past the museum, along the edge of the water. It's called Land's End, and for good reason. You may be in a very large, bustling American city, but you wouldn't know it when you step onto the trail. We started at Point Lobos, where the historic Cliff House restaurant perches above the Pacific. We headed north, into Lincoln Park, and followed the trail as it curved east toward the Golden Gate Bridge. We were rewarded with fantastic views of the bridge from a lesser-seen angle. All this is right in the city. Who knew?

the city of light meets the city by the bay

While the famous Musée d'Orsay in Paris is spending 2010 undergoing renovations, nearly 100 of its renowned pieces of art traveled to San Francisco for an unprecedented exhibition at the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park. Birth of Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Musée d'Orsay is the largest loan of its kind, and it's closing next week, so I scurried across town to see famous Impressionist pieces like The Dance Class by Edgar Degas, which is one of my favorites.

In conjunction with this spectacular exhibition, the Legion of Honor art museum, in Lincoln Park, is showing Impressionist Paris: City of Light. This exhibition provides context for the de Young exhibition with prints, photographs and illustrations of Paris during the mid- to late-1800s when Monet, Degas, Manet, etc. were living and painting in Paris. The Legion of Honor has great art, but the building itself, along with its location near the coast and the Golden Gate Bridge, are enough to attract visitors.

The Legion of Honor Museum in Lincoln Park

A mini Louvre feature in the courtyard transports you to Paris

A view of the bay from the courtyard of the Legion of Honor

A view of the Golden Gate Bridge from Lincoln Park