February 9, 2009

Weekend Round-Up: Sampler

Crazy weekend! We managed to fit so much into this small, rainy break. And we didn’t even do anything on Friday. Rob and I just hung out at home eating potstickers for dinner.

Saturday morning we had a quick oatmeal and coffee breakfast and then a round of errands in the neighborhood. Safeway and the florist. Birthday girl, Margaret, and a group of friends arrived at noon and we hit the road for Sonoma. A picnic of cheese, salami, crackers, dip and carrots in the car on the way to our first winery.

Isn’t that ridiculous? We called it “aggressively majestic.” A quick tasting course – I was the driver and abstained – before going to our second place. This was more low key but still over the top:

Back home through the vineyards. We parked in the neighborhood, dashed in to see the Chinese New Year parade being broadcast on TV and dashed back out to go see it in person. We took the train downtown and found a good spot right near Union Square to see the last 20 minutes. Lion dancers, dragons, fireworks, Miss Chinatown and our friend’s marching band.

Back home again on the same transfer. We went for dinner at my favorite Ethiopian restaurant, now nearly 9pm. After dinner, everyone peeled off except Jackie. We stayed up for a while later, playing a movie trivia game.

Up pretty early the next morning. Delicious brunch at Tangerine down the street. Jackie had potato latkes with bacon, poached eggs and spicy hollandaise sauce (Rob had a version with zucchini and salmon). I had coconut pancakes with ginger syrup. Delish!

Being a cold and drizzly day, we immediately took the train to the Conservatory of Flowers. This lovely Victorian greenhouse is the city’s favorite warm respite from the cold. The steamy lily pond room is the best:

From there, we dashed back to the Castro and picked up some goodies at Cliff’s Variety. By now, the sun was starting to peek through the clouds. So we grabbed the bikes and pedaled down to the Ferry Building, past the ballpark, through the mission, up to Twin Peaks and back down. Only 14 miles, but pretty steep.

Well earned hot toddys back at home. The rain we’d been trying to avoid all day arrived right on time. Jackie headed back to Davis as the first drops hit.