Well, it's begun...

The first successful attempt at home

The search for the perfect Negroni. Although, it hasn't just begun...it's basically been going on since we moved. The Bay Area has a love affair with classic cocktails. Now, while this isn't exclusive to the Bay Area (as we Minneapolites well know), the love affair with the Negroni definitely is. Sazeracs, Manhattans, Side cars, any good bartender knows how to make one. But I cannot tell you how many times I asked a bartender in MPLS for a Negroni and was met with a blank stare (or a scowl, thinking I had just asked for something TOTALLY offensive).

In SF/O-town? Errybody knows how to make a Negroni. Feels like home. And ERRYBODY claims that theirs is THE BEST. It should be simple, right? Equal parts dry gin, campari, and vermouth with a lovely twist of orange. But ladies and gentleman, I am here to tell you that it is NOT simple. And the ingredients make all the difference. Gin varies from bartender to bartender...some preferring the floral, herbaceous gins, some preferring the hot, steely gins. But the deciding factor? The vermouth. And I am also here to tell you that you should never, ever, ever make a Negroni again without using Carpano Antico vermouth. It is divine. By itself, with a splash of soda, or in a cocktail it puts all other vermouths to shame.

While I've found several bartenders who know how to tailor a lovely drink, perhaps none did it better than our friend, Michael, of Tony's Pizza Napoletana, who carved a lovely twist of orange to adorn my Negroni (on the rocks, which is a rare choice in SF), lit it on fire, and tenderly placed it on the edge of the cocktail. When we asked him why he lit it on fire, expecting some sort of poetic answer about the perfume of the orange delicately adorning the liquor, he laughed and explained that he did it "because it's sexy"...Perfect. This town.

Anyway, enough about Negronis. The point of this post was to tell you about an event we attended a week or so ago. But before we attended the event, we ventured uphill from the Fidi into North Beach to have a Pimm's Cup (BFS, we tip our hats to you!) and a vegan burger (one of the best we've had in town) at 15 Romolo. Aaron knew about this place from his biking buddy at work and it was fantastic. You would NEVER know it was there unless someone told you, and you had to walk off Columbus Avenue, down a side street, and up an alley with a 30% grade to the front door. It is dark, hip, with an old fashioned photo booth in the corner, and plenty of crazies to entertain you in the alley below the open windows. This was our view...

After happy hour, we wandered past all of the North Beach shady ladies (while traipsing down the street to find Coi, which I STILL can't believe is in this neighborhood), and made our way to the main event. Along the way, we couldn't help but admire the city...So pretty, right?

The Transamerica building (aka, Atlantis, aka the Triangle building) is right across the street from Aaron's office.

One of our favorite North Beach restaurants, Comstock Saloon, was hosting a "Whisky Waxing Competition." We went here on Valentine's Day and have a little soft spot for this joint. It was recently named one of Esquire magazine's best bars in America. Can we pick them or can we pick them? The food is good, the cocktails are excellent, and the old-timey character of the place is perfect. That night, they were holding a competition for the best beard or mustache waxing. (WHAT?) The beards and mustaches were accompanied by a barbershop quartet, special cocktails compliments of St. George Spirits in Alameda, and a whole lot of people. Including this guy, who happily posed for our picture while waiting for his moment in the competition spotlight.

I don't think he won, as his offering was fairly meager compared to the other participants, but he was very gentile and happy to let us snap a few shots. Unfortunately, it was a school night and we didn't stay until the end of the competition but we did enjoy the whiskey, tunes, and ridiculous facial hair.

Time to wrap it up with one more little tidbit. In case you were wondering, the weather in the East Bay is WAAAAAAAAAAY better than SF. While it is 70 and sunny over here, the Fidi is cloaked in fog and wind for most of the morning. After a few hours of sun and humanity, the fog rolls in around 5 and the down jackets come out for protection. Most evenings in O-town are sunny until at least 7 and the fog rolls away long before people in SF can come out from under the covers. Thank god we moved over here.

Oh, and Simon is a pretty, pretty princess. Seriously. Our house is his house. His life is hard. His new favorite spot...our pillows.

Another suitcase, another hall...

Another early morning flight out of OAK airport…early as in waiting for a cab at 4:30; a cab that didn’t show up until almost 5 (after 3 calls to the cab company). The only upside of the stress and the 20 minute delay was a complementary cab ride!!! Phew.

Side note: We seem to always be making the worst decisions regarding air travel. Somehow, that singer/audition/find-the-cheapest-flight-possible-regardless-of-time-or-connections mentality hasn’t left our psyche. In an effort to save $50-100 per ticket, we find ourselves on flights with 3 connections, in cabs at 4 am, and unknowingly making a stop at LAX on our way back to Oakland. I’m hoping that the act of writing this down and acknowledging the fact that we don’t have to travel that way anymore will magically eradicate that kind of air travel from our lives.

Anyway, we were travelling to Beaver Creek/Avon by way of Denver for my cousin’s wedding. Their plans for a “small” destination wedding turned into a lovely weekend (and longer for most guests) in the Rocky Mountains for about 50 people. We had sublime weather, sunshine and 80 degrees – HOT by Bay Area standards! After a walk along the river when we finally arrived, here’s where we ate lunch:

One can understand why the servers were so pleasant. If you have to work, this isn’t a bad place to have to do so…

The “towns” all were developed along the Eagle River and are connected by an amazing biking/walking path. We were DYING that we didn’t have our bikes with us. There is actually a bike path next to I-70 almost the entire length from Denver to Vail (and beyond!). Incredible riding. Next time…

We went for a hike Saturday morning and were shocked at how slowly we had to go; the altitude really knocked us out. Any incline, no matter how slight, rendered us out of breath and slowing our pace down. Mr. R needed to stop and freshen up a couple of times with a splash of cold water from the creek. :)

We took the chair lift from Beaver Creek up to about 10,500 feet so these sea dwellers were struggling a bit. Despite our humbling pace, the views were incredible, wildflowers were still blooming, and the smell of the pine trees was invigorating. It was truly awesome. 

We hiked across most of the mountain and then up to a magical little lake at the top of the hill. Horses were tethered, the lake was crystal clear, and we giddily soaked it all in.

The wedding was Saturday afternoon and all of the little wedding guests took the chair lift up the mountain and gathered in the little knoll - even my 84-year old Grandma, who was a total trooper (and the star of the show – everyone loved her!). The ceremony was beautiful, peaceful, and it was genuinely moving and inspiring to hear the words Matt and Eric chose to express their commitment and love for each other. 

The happy couple, along with Grams and brother Charlie (on the R, aka, Thor)

The rest of the celebration was fantastic – held at the beautiful Westin resort with a patio overlooking the river, fabulous vegetarian food, and bountiful cocktails. In fact, my pet cocktail, prosecco and campari, was quite a hit and soon champagne flutes found their way into MANY guests’ hands…

After brunch with everyone the next morning, we decided to head out early on our drive back to Denver. Well, we thought it was early, except that the 2-hour trip turned into a 4-hour trip because of the ridiculous traffic on I-70. It was totally aggravating and we eventually pulled off onto the frontage road and navigated the back roads of I-70 (BCSM, I was VERY happy I had my smart phone!). Fortunately, despite the traffic, and the ridiculous set up of the Denver airport (SERIOUSLY – WHO PLANNED THAT PLACE???) we returned our rental car, made it through security, and found our gate just in time to order some sad take-out at Rock Bottom and enjoy a beer while we were waiting. Apparently, several of the other guests missed their flight because of the traffic. Boo.

We wished we had planned to spend more time away but we had to get back for a very important event…more on that next time...

And in case you were wondering what Simon was up to while we were away? You guessed it...as always, holding down the fort, working hard, and earning his keep...

Worst. Bloggers. Ever.

Yikes. Apparently, we can't even keep up with blogging once a month. Well, after all the flack we received during our adventures in the Midwest, we better get moving...

Speaking of, we COULDN'T move while we were in the Midwest because it was SO. HOT. As many California natives have warned us...California makes you soft. So soft, in fact, that doing anything besides existing in 120 degree heat index seems completely impossible. We had a fabulous time squeezing in visits with family and friends every minute of our week in Minnesota and Iowa but WOW were we happy to leave that heat. Sorry, folks.

What we did return to, however, was August in the East Bay. We were very familiar with the fog patterns of SF and we threw our heads back and laughed each day as the fog rolled into the city while we enjoyed beautiful, sunny evenings in the Town. Weeeellll, apparently August has a different plan for our hood. Most nights, the fog rolls on in around 6 pm and covers the base of the hills like a shroud. It hangs around in the morning, sometimes until noon or so, until the sun FINALLY breaks through and the afternoon skies are bright blue.

When you get up at 6 to go for a ride, it could be 4 am. The light is dim, the air is heavy and wet, so you pull on your screamin' yellow jacket, put on your (full fingered - these wimps are COLD!) gloves, and get on your bike...headed for the hills. And then, the coolest thing happens. You are riding through the mist, your glasses wet, suffering, head hanging, and then...Boom. You're in the middle of glorious sunshine, cloudless, blue skies, with a blanket of fog down below. It is awesome. These pictures don't totally capture the sensation but you can see the fog blanketing the base of the hills. It's totally worth the climb. Even if your legs don't think so. 

Yeah, that is NOT the bay, that is the fog...

Road to nowhere?

We've re-committed ourselves to exploring more of the city. It's hard to do when our weather/biking in the East Bay is so much better on the weekends BUT the City is pretty awesome and there is so much to do. Last weekend, we trekked into the city to the very end of the infamous N-Judah MUNI line (seriously, ask anyone who lives here and they'll have a story about this line breaking down). At the end of the line is...THE PACIFIC OCEAN. We still have a hard time actually believing that we live so close to the ocean. Off you jump of the MUNI, cross the Great Highway and there you are. Sand dunes and all.

But beware, apparently the waves can be a little dangerous. Nothing like getting right to the point.

We walked along Ocean Beach, admired the crazy folks who were parasailing, and couldn't stop talking about how warm it was that day. I think it was maybe 65 (ridiculous, I know). However, the last time we were at Ocean Beach was during an audition trip to SF in December about 5 years ago. We decided to walk most of the length of the city: all the way from the Tenderloin, through the entirety of Golden Gate Park TO THE OCEAN (about 6 miles up and down considerable hills). By the time we got to the ocean, our fingertips were frozen, we were starving, and the Beach Chalet seemed like an oasis (take our word for it, it's not). Needless to say, we couldn't possibly be inspired by the view at that moment. But this time, it was different. The wind was warm and even though the sky was grey, it was beautiful - in much the same way Lake Superior is.

After we tired of the pelicans, we walked back through the park, past the Polo fields (HAVE TO GO TO THERE), and waterfalls, through the Upper Haight and down to the inevitable end of every one of our outings, the Pub. 

We ended up in the Lower Haight after a quick trip to the record store, and quickly made our way to one of the best pubs in town, Toronado. Fantastic craft California IPA's and a fine selection of Belgians; BUT, the best part of it was that they had several bumper stickers on their wall from the infamous Wolski's of Milwaukee, WI. The music was terrible so we ventured across the street to a place that had recently been declared one of the best British pubs in the city, Mad Dog in the Fog. The sun had finally come out and we were enjoying our beers on the patio when we were befriended by two pre-destined Lucas Film employees.

One was a hilarious, outspoken Aussie who quickly helped himself to our chips and the other was a sweet guy from LA who had moved to San Rafael to be a sound producer at his "dream job." Mr. LA told us that sitting on his desk were the Star Wars toys he played with throughout his entire childhood. Of course, Aussie had to do one better. He told us that on top of his parents' wedding cake were none other than...Han Solo and Princess Leia. How could he possibly work anywhere else, right? But the coolest thing they told us was that Lucas still eats at the cafeteria, waits in line just like everyone else, and seems pretty down to earth. He does have an entire ranch in Marin (named Skywalker Ranch) and several roads in that area named accordingly, but...

Someone also felt right at home on this patio when he saw his fellow "Minnesotan" behind him...

No matter where we go, we can't get too far away from the NBA. :)

Speaking of feeling at home, we're pretty much settled into our new place. HGTV is filming some show directly across the street from us so we're thinking maybe we can ask them to come in and redecorate our living room while they're in the Town. We're looking forward to September and October since everyone has told us that is the best weather in the Bay Area. Simon is just looking forward to playing with his toy...per usual.