Six hours in San Francisco

When people ask me how was our US trip, and where did we go, and I tell them about our itinerary, I always get incredulous looks bordering on pitying. Seriously. People can't believe that we flew close to 20 hours to get to New York, only to spend 3 days around Manhattan and 2 exploring the places near Greenwich,Connecticut. For sure, we're not doing any justice to those places. But that is nothing compared to the reaction we get when I say we only spent 6 hours or so in San Francisco. People were looking at me like I was crazy. Hahaha.

One of our MUST DOs when planning the trip, was to stay in San Jose overnight so we could attend a Family Gathering before moving on to Seattle for the Cruise. Because most of our relatives based in the States were working, the gathering was scheduled for dinner which left us a full day to explore.

I've been in touch with Payaws, a close friend from college who lives within the general area, who gamely took the day off so he could take us around. After much discussion on trying to figure out what we wanted to do that was kid friendly (we had Sofia and Maya with us), we just ended up deciding to go to San Francisco so Ady and Sofia could see it for the first time.

We knew time was short, so we prioritized - and did only the important stuff, starting with ambushing friends who had no idea we were coming!  

Hello Oni and Jayden!
Glad it was so easy to ambush you!

Eena with Maya (sorry, I have no idea how to spell her first name) and
Sofia with Ninang Ads

Payaws and Maya. 

Jayden was glad to meet Ate Sofia.

Jayden is such a cutie. He let me carry him so Oni could eat.

Maya is really good at feeding herself.

Hindi magugutom ang batang to. (She will never go hungry)

The last time we were all together was 10 years ago with no kids.

It was just unfortunate, we didn't have enough time to ambush more unsuspecting friends!

#Throwbackwhateverday. Circa 2004.
Ron Gwaping! We will ambush you next year!

Because we needed to be back by 5pm in San Jose, we went directly after lunch to the first thing you think of when San Fo is mentioned.

Golden Gate Bridge. View from the Parking Lot.

First timers no more.

I was dressed for a really hot and sunny day.
No one told me it was freezing by the bridge!

If you look closely, you'll see Alcatraz on our left.
That's where we went when we visited 10 years or so ago.

#Throwback
Captured in Alcatraz 

#Throwback
Escaping Alcatraz

#Throwback
Alcatraz with the Frenchies

Now, back in 2013.

Posing beside Joseph B Strauss. Did you know
he's the engineer behind the Golden Gate Bridge?

Closer view of the bridge.

Sofia with Downtown SFO in the background.

Sofia with the replica of the Golden Gate Bridge.

As strong as Superman.

Group picture with some tourists photo-bombers in the background.

Sof enjoyed seeing the Golden Gate Bridge, even if she
was frustrated at me for not bringing an extra jacket.

We were running out of time so we couldn't do the Zoo anymore, because we wanted to see the main thing any self-respecting chocoholic should not miss in San Fo.

We went to Ghirardelli Square.

It seems like a lot of people had the same idea.

It's truly a chocoholics heaven, because upon entry, you're already handed a Ghirardelli Chocolate Square to try or to give away.

So much chocolate, with discounts if you buy more.

Some even come with Teddy Bears.

Five Pound Chocolate Bar. That's more than 2Kg!

We were eye-ing the Sea Salt Collection.

We kept doing the math to see which one was better
value. We settled for this one because you don't
need to buy 3 bags.

This was the best value, but because you can't choose
the flavors, we passed on it.

They have baking chocolate, but they didn't have the baking mixes.

This is what we got, less the tin.

This is Ady's idea of heaven.

This time with a Photo-bomber. Sofia is spreading rumors that he's
Ady's new boyfriend. Hahaha.

You can also dine inside and look at how they make
chocolate.

It was quite crowded so we opted to grab a table outside instead.

I ordered Eena's favorite Sea Salt Caramel Hot Cocoa.
A bit on the sweet side, very rich, but definitely good.

Ady ordered the Lombard Street Hot Cocoa,
not realizing you had to do it yourself. Hahaha.

And obviously, it took a while to sink in because even when the
next drink was served they were still WTF (Why the Face?!)

Lombard Street Hot Cocoa means you get steamed milk and
four squares of Milk Chocolates with Truffle.

Sof helping Ninang Ads with her drink.

No more WTF after she figured it out.

We were all posing for for the camera, except for Maya who was looking
at the hot chocolate.

Payaws ordered a Banana Split which we all said we'd eat from.
The pineapple and whipped cream was so good, I don't even recall the Ice Cream.

#Throwback
10 years ago, we dined inside. I didn't realize we were so predictable.

Payaws (Tito Joel to Sofia) was convincing Fi that he couldn't eat a lot of Ice Cream because he grew more fingers.

But in the end, it was Payaws who looked confused.

Sofia and I took a quick look around Ghirardelli Square since we were already there.

You can see the Wharf from Ghirardelli Square, but not the part with the stinky seals and the yummy clam chowder in a bread bowl.

I'm glad we were able to visit Ghirardelli.

After the sugar rush, Sofia was ready to watch movies
for the ride back to San Jose.

Thank you so much Payaws, Eena, Maya and Oni for taking care of us! See you next year after May 3. We'll just knock on your door so we can go to the zoo and have clam chowder. The only one I will warn is Eena so she can get the French guys together. just saying.

Dear Eena, They don't have to be from NASA
but they have to be French. just saying. thanks.

GHIRARDELLI CHOCOLATE & ICE CREAM

Ghirardelli Square

900 North Point Street

San Francisco, CA 94109

Phone: (415) 474-3938