We started the morning by cleaning up our rental home because we are decent people. Then we ventured to the Fishermans Wharf where we were staying for the night. We dropped our bags at 10:40 and did not return for 12+ hours. We started by touring Pier 39 which was bustling with people and very lively. We had a 12:00 tour of Alcatraz though so after a loop of Pier 39 we hopped on a boat and ventured towards Alcatraz.
They have a "world famous" audio tour, which is possibly famous in the audio tour world - I can't be sure, but was really top notch! The prison was so cool. They tell you about the history and about escape attempts and daily life. I thought it was absolutely fascinating. Especially the solitary confinement cells. I went into one and sat down and my heart started racing immediately. Very creepy. Devin on the other hand does not like tours or taking pictures of me in classic vacation poses-so I don't think Alcatraz was his favorite part of the trip.
Then we came back to the mainland and stopped at Pier 39 again where we rode on the carousel. I got a panda on the second tier (prime carousel real estate) and Devin got on a dolphin behind me. He's a really great sport about these kinds of things and it's one of the reasons I fell in love with him in the first place.
Then we walked over to Ghiradelli Square where we got this amazing peanut butter and hot fudge sundae with cookie dough ice cream. So much decadence in one cup.
Then it was on to an uber and off to Haight-Ashbury where we walked around and looked in some of the shops. We stopped in a really cool music store where I of course spent most of my time looking at all the interesting books they had. It felt very Empire Records in there and I so wished I could be the kind of person who frequents those stores and is laid back and cool. Instead I am a nerdy scientist. It's ok, I've come to terms with it. We found a fabulous rum bar (whose name I didn't even notice as we drifted through the door) and took advantage of their happy hour which featured rum punches for $3. Here is Devin enjoying our drinks.
Then we stopped at Blue Front Cafe on Haight street to get a gyro because our dinner reservations weren't till 9 and I was feeling a bit peckish. Man. They were amazing. Gyros are kind of Devin and I's food. Most places we go we try to find a gyro place to see how it compares to our all time favorite gyros and we both like different things in a gyro so the competition for reigning gyro is a tough one. These however were superb! Definitely extremely high marks from both of us (and the falafel was also one of the best I've had).
Devin says this was his favorite meal of the night but I think my favorite meal came at our 9 pm dinner reservation.
After the gyro we grabbed another few drinks in the area and I found a dinosaur to take pictures with! That picture is sadly on my camera though. The Dino had a note painted on him that sad "don't sit on me" and even though I really wanted to get on top of him, I know how to follow rules so I posed next to him. Then a man came out of the store and said if I really wanted to sit on the dinosaur, he wouldn't mind as long as I was very careful. I promised to be careful and climbed a top for a picture with an all too large smile.
Next it was off to Union Square! We saw the big Christmas tree, and went into Macy's to use this bathroom and also look at the decorations. We also stopped at the Fairmont Hotel which has a giant gingerbread house in it! The house is so popular we had to stand in line, to which Devin said "Want to know how you can be sure I love you-I'm standing in line to see a gingerbread house." It was pretty cool! Maybe not wait in line worthy. But still cool.
Then it was time for dinner at the House of Prime Rib. I had read about this place somewhere and booked a reservation immediately, and then saw it on one of Anthony Bourdain's shows and knew we were in for a treat. The menu isn't quite prix fixe but you definitely don't have a ton of options. You choose your cut of prime rib and how you want it cooked. Then you get a salad, choice of mashed or baked potato, creamed spinach or corn, and Yorkshire pudding (for the uninformed like me, it's a bread...not a pudding). The salad came first and they mix it up at the table for you. Wow! What a start. I would go back just for the salad. It had hard boiled eggs, and beets, and this yumtastic vinagrette dressing which is housemate so who even knows what's in it. Then the food came. The meat was tender and juicy and perfectly flavorful. The creamed spinach was as creamy as you could hope and piping hot. I got the mashed potatoes which were smooth and buttery. Devin got the baked which I helped him eat because I was a monster with an endless appetite. I am usually very eh when it comes to baked potatoes but not this one. They brought it to the table still in tact, not wrapped in foil, and insanely hot. Then the waiter broke it open, put in butter, like half a cup of bacon, sour cream, and chives. Also at this place you can get a little extra meat if you are still hungry but we were both filled to the brim. But not too full for dessert. Since we had to wait a bit to order our waiter offered to comp dessert for us and who says no to dessert? Tiramisu it is! Also it barely took anytime to order, definitely not at all noticeablely long. But when a couple sat down at the table next to us we realized they like to do things super fast there, salad out within 5-10 minutes of sitting down fast. So I guess in comparison it did take a bit. It was such a fabulous meal I would recommend it to anyone who eats meat. If you are a carnivore put it on your must visit list. If your are a vegetarian tell a carnivore in your life to go.
Then our waiter took a picture of us since we told him it was our honeymoon and printed it our for us to take home. We had planned to go to a cider bar but we were so full and tired we decided to call it a night. Next time cider bar. Next time.
And that was it. Our honeymoon is in the books! We had an absolute blast and now we get to go home and celebrate Christmas with the family. Feeling very lucky indeed this holiday season.
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