Saturday, December 01, 2007

San Francisco dreaming...

We recently had the wonderful opportunity to spend a few days in Marin County, just north of San Francisco. As always when on mission, one of the things we miss the most is the outdoors, therefore always dedicate a few days of our vacations to one of our favorite activities: diving, mountain biking, snowboarding or hiking. This time, we decided to mountain bike and booked ourselves into a lovely bed and breakfast, The Mountain Home Inn, in the quaint town of Mill Valley, located on Mt. Tamalpais, the "birthplace of mountain biking" in the 1970s.

Our room had a jacuzzi tub and wood burning fire place, and a balcony with a stunning view of the mountains as well as the city. We usually got up early in the mornings and went for a ride up to the top of Mt. Tam, to return to a wonderfully home cooked breakfast (selections included healthy options such as fruit and oatmeal, and not-so-healthy, though decadent flavors such as grits with ham and onion, topped in a sunny-side-up egg).

Days were spent cruising around Point Reyes, eating oysters, more mountain biking, and of course, a day of wine tasting in Sonoma and Napa. What a wonderful reminder it was for where we started off little over ten years ago. We had lunch at the exact same cafe on the water in Sausaulito, where we ate the afternoon before Chris proposed, and debated driving into San Francisco to eat at the famed Bardelli's Italian. On the first night however, we decided to stay local, and instead drove into Mill Valley in search of a meal. We stumbled upon a lovely Italian place on a corner overlooking the main square, called Vasco's. I don't know, perhaps it was the 300 bottles of wine on display in the window that sealed the deal, or perhaps fate...for when we sat down, following our wine and starter orders, Chris, as he so very often does, flips the menu over to read the story of said Vasco's. Turns out, Paul Lazzareschi named his Mill Valley restaurant after one Vasco Lazzareschi his father and, get this, owner of the very same Bardelli's where Chris and I cemented our engagement all those years before. Coincidence? We think not.


Taken at the spot where Chris proposed to me ten years before.



Dining on oysters California style - BBQ'ed!


The sun setting over San Francisco, as seen from our balcony.

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