Drumroll please.......

(Better late than never, I finally got around to publishing our spring vacation blog from two weeks ago.)

Mr. Moey and I left last Thursday morning for destination San Francisco.  We've both been there a few times before, but Mr. Moey left his heart there two years ago on a business trip and had a burning desire to return.  The weather is somewhat coolish for my liking but you do have to throw them a bone once in a while.   

He has an annual convention in Las Vegas that he attends so we decided to combine the two.  Three days in San Francisco and on to Las Vegas Sunday afternoon.  Mr. Moey and I have somewhat different ideas on how to spend a vacation.  He likes to walk the city streets and  look at all the architecture while I'm just looking for the closest shopping and restaurant hub.

We trawled the streets of SF and finally arrived at Market Street.  Unfortunately with two hours of walking already under my belt I sort of lost the desire to shop.  By the time we reached Union Square my feet and calves were aching. It's no secret that I despise winter so the most walking I've done since October was from the sofa to the kitchen and from my car into the office.   Even bears are wise enough to slowly stir from a deep hibernation.  But said bears aren't in a relationship with Mr. Moey who insisted that a good long walk would be good for me, get the blood flowing.  Right.  More like the blood boiling.

Enough of that, Saturday was going to be MY day.  I had decided that I wanted to visit the farmer's market at the main ferry building and take a ferry over to Sausalito for lunch.  Sausalito is my kind of town, tiny with little art galleries, small boutiques to browse through and very good waterside dining establishments. Bliss.  We spent a couple of pleasant hours there and returned to San Francisco and Market Street.  We walked back to Union Square, did a little bit of shopping and finished the afternoon off with a cocktail at the top of the Hyatt Regency. 

We elected not to dine out in the evenings while we were there because we knew that we'd be out every night during our five days in Las Vegas.  We found a Whole Foods grocery store within close proximity to the small house we rented and it had everything imaginable.  In fact it made Trader Joe's seem somewhat ordinary.  Great cheese selection, Pont Levesque was among them  I was impressed, usually in the US finding decent cheese is like searching for the Holy Grail.  They also had a very good selection of California wines. 

Here are a few pics of our time in San Francisco.  The farmer's market is terrific, all kinds of organic fresh fruits, vegetables, seafood, local cheeses and of course sourdough bread.



Home sweet home - Protrero Hill



The wine on the left was really nice, we bought another bottle the next day.

Outdoor dining at San Francisco's farmers market

'shrooms anyone?



Fresh oysters for sampling, wonderful



Mighty fine selection of Californian wines



Fresh organic fruits and vegetables



Not even the seagulls were left out, they're enjoying a pizza lunch.  Some kind soul had bought the pizza and placed it on top of the bin for them.  I thought that was pretty cool.

From the Sausalito ferry, a view of Alcatraz

Union Square, San Francisco



 

Next up....Viva Las Vegas!

We arrived in LV late Sunday afternoon.  Warm and sunny, I couldn't wait to be poolside.  By the time we were unpacked and settled in I put off going down to the pool until the next morning.  BIG mistake, the next day was overcast with a high of 65 degrees.  You've got to be kidding me!  However I wasn't about to let that stop me, I went down for a quick breakfast and found a deck chair.  After two hours of shivering and having to purchase a coffee to warm me up, I decided that my time was best spent elsewhere.  Retail therapy works every time.  Off to the outlet mall and I did manage to pick up a couple of items.

That evening we went to the Foundation Room restaurant located in the Mandalay Bay hotel.  It used to be a private club that was recently opened to the public on Mondays and Thursdays.  The food was good and we had a  nice wine recommendation from the waiter that we really enjoyed.  The downside was the ambiance and decor was very ordinary.  One nice feature was a balcony at the top of Mandalay Bay hosting a magnificent view of the Vegas strip at night. I would recommend going to the lounge for a pre dinner cocktail or a nightcap to take in the view and then take your pick of the many fine other dining options Las Vegas has to offer.

The trough (buffet) dining at the various casinos  is good value, especially if you're not sure what you're in the mood to eat.  Something for everyone's taste  and endless refills if you're a piggy.

For our last evening I booked an outdoor table at the Italian restaurant Bartolotta located in the Wynn Hotel.  We struck a home run with this one.  Fantastic food coupled with a very pretty outdoor setting.  We would definitely return to this one.

Roasted artichokes, porcini mushrooms on a bed of greens with shaved pecorini cheese, lovely.

Seafood stuffed ravioli with a white wine sauce





Ravioli stuffed with ricotta cheese smothered in a pecorino cream sauce.



Outdoor dining cabanas, outstanding!





My favorite view,  my feet at the end of a sun lounger on a nice day.

Mr. Moey is positive that I'm a weather jinx, San Francisco was 80 degrees the day we arrived then settled into the mid sixties for the rest of the weekend.  Las Vegas was 85 degrees until we got there.  The next two days were cold and rainy and much to my dismay I only  managed a couple of days at the pool.  (Pictured above).  When we arrived back in Montreal on Friday it proceeded to rain for the next five days.  It really hasn't stopped since.  All in all it was an enjoyable trip with the exception of the weather. The little bit of color that I got is barely hanging on, a visit to the tanning salon is next on the agenda.