The Honeymooners: Day One

Written by on in Dinner, Lunch, Reviews, Tidbits and Treats, Trips, Wedding

Hello everyone and welcome to December! The snow is back on the blog, which I am excited about. 🙂

Over the next month, there are several different things in store on Eating Bender. I can’t wait to share them with you! Today marks the start of a 5 post series on our honeymoon. I figured it would be easiest to break things up by day since there is just SO much I want to share about San Francisco and Napa. One giant post really wouldn’t do them justice! I hope you enjoy and find some tips for your future travels.

We arrived in San Francisco the morning of Friday, November 19. I was wearing one of those obnoxious fashionable “bride” shirts that my MOH got for me, so the rental car service upgraded us to an SUV for free. Awesome, since we brought our golf clubs!

We decided our first stop would be to grab some lunch. We were planning to go to a sushi restaurant that we had purchased a Groupon for (a theme you will find cropping up a lot this trip!) but unfortunately, it was closed. We wandered the hills for a while, already in disbelief at just how many there were, and stumbled across Goat Hill Pizza nearby.

We never say no to pizza! The specials board looked promising, so in we went. First order: beer for two!

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is one of our favorite draft beers. This one really hit the spot!

After perusing the menu, we decided that instead of sharing a pizza, we’d each order a couple of individual slices. The customized ingredient list was endless and it was very difficult to choose. But I’m so happy we did because…

…what arrived was perfection. On the left we have spinach, sun dried tomatoes and goat cheese. On the right would be artichoke, red onion and feta cheese. I can still taste them.

First meal as honeymooners was a raving success! We explored the neighborhood around the restaurant for a while afterward. Then it began to drizzle, so we made our way down into the city and across the Golden Gate Bridge, en route to our hotel destination in Sausalito.

Sausalito is best described as a beautiful city outside a city. About a mile past the Golden Gate Bridge, we winded our way through the mountains to arrive at our destination, the Inn Above Tide. We were greeted in the room by a bottle of champagne and a comfy, cozy atmosphere that sits right on the bay.

With views of Alcatraz and pretty piers, we settled in for what promised to be a fantastic stay.

After resting up a bit, we decided to venture out into our new neighborhood.

Sausalito is gorgeous! Cute little shops and homes adorn the streets and hills with a waterfront view.

We walked along a pier for a while and estimated how much the houses cost. 🙂 Hint: millions!

The air smelled so…clean. I can’t describe it properly, but all of our stresses seemed to be whisked away.

We even found a funky tree to take silly pictures with.

When we had finished exploring, it was time to head back to San Francisco for a night of entertainment. We started with dinner at Scala’s Bistro, which I had heard rave reviews of after reading Brittany’s post from the Foodbuzz Festival and listening to the advice of a good friend of mine.

We booked the reservation and let them know we were on our honeymoon. They were GREAT!

After ordering a glass of red wine, they brought us out an amuse bouche – ravioli with olive oil, various cheeses, prosciutto and herbs. It was rich and wonderful, especially with bread dipped in at the end.

For dinner, I ordered the Orecchiette & Italian Sausage (another wonderful recommendation), which came with orecchiette pasta, spicy Calabrian sausage, broccoli de ciccio and olio verde. It has a spicy kick to it, which I loved. Two thumbs up!

Bobby went with the Risotto Del Giorno, which turned out to be a balsamic vinegar risotto topped with glazed swordfish. It was absolutely amazing and he was definitely a member of the Clean Plate Club.

Our delicious meals left us too full for dessert, so we said goodbye to Scala’s and ventured out to explore Union Square. It turned out we were arriving just as they were putting the lights on the giant Christmas tree! Wreaths adorned the stores and the public skating rink was open. It looked like a holiday snow globe, which of course had me squealing with delight.

Eventually, we made our way over to a huge shopping center called the Metreon, where we spent the first night of our honeymoon the best way we know how.

Watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!!! :mrgreen:

You know you’re a fan of the series when you book movie tickets in advance…on your honeymoon.

It was amazing.

And so the first night of our honeymoon came to an end with Voldemort stealing Dumbledore’s wand.

I hope you enjoyed the first recap. More to come, with plenty of sights to see!

Question: What are your goals for December?

My goal of the week is to get my Christmas shopping done sooner rather than later!

Abrazos,

38 Comments

  1. What a great first day 🙂 The pizza looks amazing! They are certainly not shy with the toppings. And the dinner restaurant looks like a winner too. Love the cool trees. San Fran is amazing.

    December goals=lots of time with friends and family and to get more sleep!

  4. ahhhh Sausalito was my favorite when I was in SF this summer! SO BEAUTIFUL + CHARMING! I already want to go back now that I saw pictures!

  8. Aww, just smiling as I look at you smiling in these pictures. Yay honeymoon!

    My first December goal is to finish my marathon (!!!) this Sunday. Then I want to work on keeping stress levels low with all the Holiday travel :).

  10. What lovely pictures!! HOW, my dear, does your hair look SO perfect after a day of walking around? You never cease to amaze 😉

    Looks and sounds like day one was a success–can’t wait for round two. Thanks so much for sharing!

  11. Your trip started out on the right foot with a free upgrade! You can never turn that down 🙂 And that pizza honestly looks to-die-for. What a beautiful atmosphere to share you first few days as a married couple! Can’t wait to see more! 🙂

  12. This makes me long for a trip to San Francisco! My two trips there have been very brief, and I don’t think I got to experience the culinary treats they have to offer. That risotto looks crazy ridiculously good!

  14. I’m looking forward to seeing more of your adventures during your time in SF / Napa for your honeymoon. You were in my backyard and you two look so happy! Congrats again. 🙂

  16. looks like a fabulous start to your honeymoon! sausalito is so breathtaking. i rented a car from there when i went to california in october, so i drove along the coast, saw the pretty homes, and lots of cyclists!
    that place you went for dinner with the pasta looks to die for!

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