A weekend in Northern California is good for the soul. Dave and I spent 4 much needed days there, doing everything you are supposed to do, and much more. We stayed with Dave’s cousin Katherine in Palo Alto, which was awesome. She is a fantastic host and friend.

Friday, Katherine worked, so Dave and I made it our tourist day. We hit up Fisherman’s Wharf for some fish and chips and a sourdough bread bowl of clam chowda.

We showed Milo Alcatraz, he wasn’t super interested:)

We weren’t either, I guess!

Mi-guy did enjoy the sea lions, however.

Loving a Ghiradelli Rocky Road cone at Ghiradelli Square. I have to go every time I visit San Fran. It’s a touristy obsession, but I love it!

When we got back to Palo Alto Milo enjoyed some tummy time. I am amazed by his strength! He looks like he’s ready to crawl!Then Katherine took us up to The Hills, a spectacular Palo Alto park, and we shared a delectible picnic with a view of the valley. Seriously the best food ever.
Oh, the joy of a Saturday morning at the Farmer’s Market. I’d have to say that the one we visited at the Ferry Building in San Francisco was the best I’ve ever seen!

You see those plates full of chunks of every imaginable variety of fresh, organic fruit? Yeah, those are samples.

Gotta love the colors, textures, shapes and flavors of the market. Oh, and I tasted a fresh fig for the first time ever. Loved it.Inside the Ferry Building we had to stop off at the much acclaimed Miette and grab a pistachio macaroon. I think I would go back to California just to have another.

Crissy Field is a fabulous beach walk near the Golden Gate Bridge. The weather was perfect, warm with a breeze off of the bay. It felt so good to have the sand between my toes for a few minutes.

Katherine gave me some beginning French lessons on our walk along Crissy Field. J’adore la belle plage.

We rented a row boat on Stow Lake in Golden Gate park and enjoyed our Farmer’s Market finds, along with some left-overs from our picnic. I love this pic of Milo…he looks like he’s loving it!

No trip to San Fran will ever be complete again without a visit to Fiona’s Sweetshoppe. It took a few times around the block and asking the sales associate in Brooks Brother’s, but we found it, and I brought home all of my favorite, bewitching candy: lemon bon bons, brown humbugs, treacle toffee, and coconut mushrooms.

So, the reason we were in the city in the first place was for Dave to interview with a law firm for an internship next summer. Here’s a shot of him in his interview attire. Isn’t that new tie fab?

I love love love having a kitchen, and buying groceries for a meal that I have planned. Living with my parents this summer has been great economically, but tough on my culinary creativity. For Sunday dinner at Katherine’s I prepared roasted beet, baby arugula and goat cheese salad, roasted rosemary red potatoes, chicken apple sausage and a cranberry pecan bread pudding for dessert. Delicious if I do say so myself.

Happy Milo spent tons of time strolling and talking to his good friend Ned. I don’t know what we did to deserve such a great kid, but I’m going to try to keep it up! We were sad to leave the Bay Area, and hope to make it back soon. In the meantime, however, we’ll keep ourselves quite busy flying to NH, packing our apartment, driving to DC, finding an apartment, doing on-campus interviews, driving back to NH, packing the moving truck, driving back to DC, beginning school, moving into a new, yet-undiscovered apartment all while feeding, changing, and playing with Milo. Wish us luck!