Parents' Weekend!

Remember in college when we had 'Mom's Weekend' & 'Dad's Weekend'?  Or depending on which university you attended, maybe it was just combined into 'Parents' Weekend'.  Well, we just had our version of Parents Weekend in SF...from Saturday to Wednesday.  Gary, Michelle, John & Valerie all came down to visit us in our new city!  We packed our days & nights full of activities, and did lots of eating (as usual).  
*Feel free to click on the hyperlinks throughout this post, and be prepared to take notes if you're planning a culinary trip to the Bay area any time soon. *

The O'Leyar's arrived on Saturday, and we promptly got our kraut on at Leopold's.  You can't go wrong with their amazing house-made sausage & kraut!  Their selection of German beers is quite impressive as well.


Sunday morning we headed up north to introduce my parents to lovely wine country...

A foggy stop near the Golden Gate bridge on our way up 

Wine tasting at Jacuzzi vineyards in Sonoma.  Love this place!

After a stop for some bubbles at Gloria Ferrer, followed by a delicious lunch at The Girl and the Fig, we pressed on.

We enjoyed more great wine & beautiful scenery at Gundlach Bundschu

Mahone got in on the wine tasting too

Sunday night the Backus pair arrived, and we all had dinner at Pesce, a great local spot in our neighborhood, that serves mostly small plates of primarily seafood.  In a city full of restaurants, it's been around for 11 years, and I can see why.


On Monday, our surprise adventure for our folks was a tour of Alcatraz!  None of us had ever been, so it was a new experience for everyone.

It was a gorgeous day!  Gotta love the audio tour headsets. :)

Monday night we were joined by our dear friends and SF consultants, Nate & Serena.  The eight of us had meatballs, burrata, and pasta cooked to perfection at A16.  Our parents just adored these two, as we knew they would.


On the agenda for Tuesday was a trip to the de Young museum in Golden Gate Park.

It's an amazing museum with some incredible artwork.  The architecture is a feast for the eyes too.  We could've stayed there for hours on end!

The trip wouldn't be complete without a stop for lunch at our favorite sandwich spot, Blue Front Cafe on Haight street.  Don't let the website scare you, it's delicious- I promise!

...just trying to see how many touristy things we could fit into one  visit...

Tuesday evening my parents headed back to Seattle, adequately worn out from their time here.  The remaining 4 of us had our final dinner at Kokkari, yet another recommendation from Nate & Serena that didn't disappoint.  We topped it off with dessert at The Loving Cup.  Mass likes the rice pudding, but I'm a fan of the frozen yogurt...they mix in the toppings with a machine!


Finally, I had to face reality and go back to work, and Mass took his folks to the amazing Tartine Bakery.  I haven't had the pleasure of trying it yet, but from what I hear they make outrageously good pastries.
Whew!  After our 5-day stint of touring & feasting we now officially don't need to eat again for weeks...but something tells me we'll find a reason to do this all over again soon. :)

Mahoney loved playing with her doting 'grandparents'!  This is basically how we were all feeling by the end of the 5 day tour.  Exhausted but happy.  Thanks for the visit Moms & Dads!