Wednesday, October 28, 2015

The Golden Gate City

A wonderful opportunity to visit
San Francisco came to us
via - the farmer's work conference.

What an interesting and beautiful city!

The first day there, after checking in to the incredible Fairmont Hotel,






and a quick trolly car ride



Yes this is a fake picture but we really "did" ride the trolley - smile!








We were privileged to have a group wine tour to the Nappa Valley!


The wine was delicious, the scenery was beautiful, in spite of the devastating and long drought they are experiencing there.













New friends were made ...










First time on a "party bus"!!!!


Our beautiful fearless leader!


While our spouses went to "work"shops, we went on several
city tours - what fun!

The first one was an architectural tour of the city - amazing...
the tour guide was so interesting as he pointed out many, many famous buildings and sites.

Can you spot the famous Painted Ladies?








The next day we ventured over the bridge and spent a few hours in Sausalito.
Sooo pretty!


















And then on to hike the Marin Headlands ...










The evenings were spent with incredible conference sponsored dinners with our 
spouses and representatives ....... not the least of these, a dinner cruise to
Alcatraz!!!!


This included a tour of the prison followed by a delicious dinner while cruising back
to Fisherman's Wharf.









The last "bonus" day in San Fran was spent at Fisherman's Wharf where we tasted the famous Ghirardelli chocolate and ice-cream, and browsed through the Boudin bakery where they serve up their famous sourdough bread bowls filled with delicious chowder!!!








And last, but certainly not least, the farmer convinced me that we MUST take 
a Segway tour. After a quick lesson, off we went with a guide zipping through traffic on the 
Streets of San Francisco!!!  I still can't believe we did this.



It was wonderful to be home again ....
the front porch mums were blooming at their peek



And it was time to get back to sensible eating!!!!

Thus, the overnight steel-cut oats for waking us up in the morning ....





This easy recipe is so rewarding to wake up to ...
2 apples diced
1 1/2 Cups Almond Milk (or Cow's milk)
1 1/2 Cups water
1 Cup Steel-Cut Oats
2 Tbsp. brown sugar or honey
1 1/2 Tbsp. butter cut into 5-6 pieces
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. ground flax seed
1/4 tsp. sea salt
handful of dried cranberries













Grease the inside of your crockpot (I used coconut oil)
Place all the ingredients into pot and stir.
Set your timer for 7 hours and cook on low.
Go to bed and wake up to the aroma of delicious oatmeal for breakfast!











Garnish with nuts, maple syrup, and more almond milk.
Definitely worth the bit of effort the night before.





Till next time .......... getting back on track, resting our weary legs from climbing the hills of San Francisco, and enjoying the memories of a fantastic and privileged week.

P.S. If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair lots of layers (it get's unexpectedly cold there sometimes)!
















12 comments:

  1. Wow! Now that's a nice way to see San Francisco with all those great tours and outings planned for you. Yikes...I know I'm not brave enough for a Segway venture. Good for you for doing it.

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  2. I'm smiling here...at you San Francisco adventures. It looks like you had a great time at your husband's work conference! :) This post brought back so many good memories of our visit to San Fran a few years back...from touring Alcatraz to Ghirardelli chocolate and the Boudin bakery. You make crockpot oats look downright inviting!

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  3. Smiling at your last comment about going to San Fancisco . . . what a great experience for you to be able to tag along and enjoy the ride . . . and the sights! I don't now what the painted ladies refers to but I love those old three or four story houses all tight in a row.
    BTW . . . you look great! =)

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  4. I love San Francisco! Looks like a fun vacation.

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  5. You always have fun! What a great peek at San Francisco...love that you took a segway tour, you wild and crazy gal!

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  6. Such fun! Isn't SF a wonderful city??? We stayed at the Fairmont on our last trip (got a friends and family rate via a girlfriend!) and loved being able to walk the city from there. Now I want to go back :)
    P.S. Just returned from a few days holiday with some girlfriends and I need to start eating sensible again---your oats look terrific!

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  7. I just love San Francisco. It's one of my favorite cities. Glad you had a wonderful time. I have got to try your oatmeal - I'd love to wake up to that aroma! Wondering if I can omit the butter. I know I'd sacrifice some yumminess, but I am watch cholesterol! Pinning this, Rosella!

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  8. Ah Rosella, I love how fun this post is. You had such a great adventure from the wine tour to the Segway tour.You are brave and fun! It's been years since we were there and I wonder how much has changed or how much I have forgotten about. I remember we stayed in a little motel with our boys as we stopped there a few nights on our way to Disneyland.

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  9. Hi Rosella! Thanks for stopping by. I somehow deleted your comment. Sorry. Your trip looks like it was an amazing time. It was so nice to hear from you.

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  10. What a wonderful trip - such a blessing to be able to go and see those famous sites! I didn't know Ghirardelli chocolate was from San Francisco - it's delicious!

    and thanks for the slow cooker oatmeal recipe. My dh has porridge every morning. I usually make a big pot and he heats up a bowl each morning. I enjoy it - grew up eating it every day. but i like muesli and yogurt better now.

    You're brave to try the Segways - it's funny because friends of ours just posted a picture this morning on facebook - both of them on Segways. I'd like to give it a try!

    Hope you have a great weekend Rosella!

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  11. I tried your overnight oatmeal recipe. Not so good. It burned in the cooker and turned into a brown sludge. Now I have a charred pot to clean. I made a smaller quantity than the amounts in your recipe and don't have a timer, so that's probably why. Sigh.

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    Replies
    1. Oh no - I'm so sorry that this didn't work out for you. Mine sticks to the side a bit too but I actually like the texture and taste of the "outside round" that gets sort of roasted. Sorry that yours burned - ugh!

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