grandma ginny's birthday visit

i can't get over the most amazing visit & girls trip we just had.

my mom, aunt, and darling grandma came up to the bay to visit

because i had a week off of work. their visit also happened to fall

over my grandma's birthday, and she also happened to grow up here..

so it all came together to be such a perfect, special, and memorable trip!

the best thing ever = reuniting with this cute mom of mine!

welcome to SF!

breakfast at our apartment the first morning..i made pumpkin 
waffles since it's now "fall" {but still so hot here!}
*on the left is my aunt laurie, then my mom and my grandma!

my cute grandma was so excited to be back in her city.
here she is at twin peaks summit overlooking SF.

we did so many fun things..starting with lunch salads at blue barn gourmet..

after lunch we got on bikes and went all over..

it's not a trip with linny if you don't ride bikes!

we rode on the embarcadero all the way out to the bridge..best ride! 

pretty impressive that my 81 year old grandma could keep up with us all day!

later we stopped at the famous st. francis yacht club..

my grandma's family had a sailboat and a membership here,

so she took us all through and told us about her memories of her

birthday parties, dinners, and wedding reception there.

we stopped by the pretty palace of fine arts..love walking around this place

one of my favorite parts of the entire visit was taking my

grandma to the house she grew up in across the bridge in

marin county. she was flooded with memories and we

loved hearing them...especially the parts about all her

boyfriends who would pick her up from dates on this porch.

 it was also so fun to meet grandma ginny's sisters..she moved to salt lake 

when she met my grandpa, and her sisters were in the bay-so we loved 

getting together with keenan and elizabeth.

one thing ginny wanted was fresh shrimp from the wharf since 

it used to be one of her favorite things to get..delicious! 

 

we stopped by the boudin sourdough bread factory and toured the little museum on top. we always come here..it shows such a good history of the city, and the sourdough samples are a nice bonus! you can watch them make the bread in the factory at the end too.

we stopped for lunch at the famous fog city diner,

and we recommend it. the fish tacos and BLT were great.

plus, how cute is the building? it's right on the embarcadero.

of course we stopped at ghirardelli and their seasonal flavor is to die for..

pumpkin spice caramel. AMAZING! we picked up some dark sea salt caramel

chocolate for chase and my dad..it was hard not to eat it before bringing it back to them!

grace cathedral

 

loved taking them here and getting the best treats ever!

this chinese bakery makes custard egg tarts and they are so famous..and so good!

i also took them by the fortune cookie factory..always fun to see!

after all those treats we walked down to little italy for delicious dinner. 

here is butternut squash risotto & roasted brussel sprouts..yum!

since monday was october 1st, the city lit up the sites in bright orange..quite a way to welcome fall and feel festive! we got a few good pictures with the orange coit tower.

my aunt found a cute rice pudding shop called the loving cup that we had to try 

out even though we were STUFFED. it's yummy and the shop is darling. they 

also have old fashioned frozen yogurt with toppings mixed in!

our last day was gram's birthday, and it was definitely a memorable day!

we woke up and went hiking around mount tamalpais near sausalito...beautiful!

then we went to the most incredible overlook of the bridge and city...unreal!

i don't know how i have never been to this overlook before.

with the birthday girl!

love these ladies

so lucky to have traveled the world with this babe

last but not least, they were close to leaving for home...so we went to the best breakfast place in the city for gram's birthday and as our last outing before they left :(

 mama's is amazing, but everyone should know it comes at a price because of the wait... the line is always always long, but we decided to brave it and wait. little did we know the 40 minute sidewalk line doesn't end when you get in the restaurant- it only turns into another line! it was quite the wait + it was unusually hot in the city, so it was a little rough but let me tell you...the food is amazing! seriously we voted it the best egg benedict {even linny, who makes the best eggs benny} and the french toast is on a different level. i recommend the orange cranberry french toast. mm! i did hear a trip from the hostess that if you go at 2:30 the line has died {since they close at 3}. so maybe husband and i will go back for the famous monte cristo sandwich!

notice linny can't even smile in the picture because 

she's too excited to eat after our long wait!

at mama's with my mama and her mama!

after a teary goodbye, i sent them off and already miss them.
so lucky to have these ladies in my life and i will never forget this visit!
love you guys!

XO