Wicked Weekend in the City

Knowing how important quality time is for Dave, I gave him the gift of a fancy date in the city for his birthday back in December.  We went on this date last weekend and it was wonderful!  

  

We stayed at our first 5 star hotel, the Fairmont.  It was fun to explore all the luxury and history this SF landmark had to offer, but we realized we are definitely Best Western kind of people! :)  When we called ahead to inquire about parking, they told us that since we were guests, they'd be happy to valet park our car...for a mere $98 a night!  We found an overnight parking garage a few blocks away that was willing to provide this same service (minus the valet) for $30.  Score 1 for the cheap, Dutch couple. 

On the rooftop garden, it was cool to watch the cable cars rumbling up and down the street.  And in the hotel's hallways it was fun to take in rows and rows of photographs showing all the presidents, world leaders, and movie stars who have stayed at the Fairmont.  I snagged the below pic of a favorite singer, Ella Fitzgerald, for our oldest daughter. 

The highlight of this weekend was the show I booked us tickets for back in November-- Wicked!  I have only ever heard great things about this musical and even still our expectations were exceeded!  The music was fantastic.  The performers were amazing.  I do believe this is even the Broadway cast on tour.  The sets and production blew us away.  Seeing it in another historical landmark, the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco, was pretty neat too.

 (This is the ornate ceiling at the Orpheum.)

With our car tucked away in an over-night garage, we limited our outings to ones we could walk to.  So, the morning after Wicked, we spent some time wandering around the nearby Grace Cathedral.  With features like these gold doors depicting Bible scenes, this place was beautiful!  We spent a lovely morning sipping coffee in the cathedral's prayer garden, talking and listing to the cable cars clang up and down the street right beside us.

Friends from work gave me tons of suggestions of favorite places to eat.  On Friday night was had a fabulous, authentic Italian dinner at an intimate cafe that had about 10 tables in it, and a line out the door by the time we left.  On our way home Saturday we stopped for lunch at the American Grilled Cheese Kitchen and gobbled up fancy grilled cheese sandwiches and a bowl of crispy maple brussels sprouts.  It was DELICIOUS!  Definitely recommend!

Ella was at a church camp for the weekend and Delia spent the night with some friends.  We're so thankful for even this small window of time to reconnect and do special and super fun things together.  Life has been busy and our schedules often have us just passing each other.  Dave and I probably talked more in these 2 days than we have in a month.  I'll always remember our fancy weekend in the city, and already have my kids singing all the Wicked Soundtrack songs!