Daisy Dukes, Bikinis on Top

11/7/10 - Edited with pictures!

I made my first ever visit to California this weekend - specifically in the lovely city of San Francisco. I've visited a decently-sized handful of major US cities before and have always remained steadfast in my belief that Chicago is the best and only city for me. But now I'm not so sure. Compared to Calgary, San Francisco felt like a slice of heaven - breezy, gorgeous heaven. Here are some highlights of my weekend:

* Staying at the gorgeous Sir Francis Drake hotel, located right downtown at Union Square, a hop and a skip from all the stores ever

* ...and so as a result, shopping shopping shopping! There is something about being in a new city that completely changes my take on spending money. If I'm in Chicago, say at the Macy's downtown I might see something and be like "meh". In SF that became "OHMYGOD I WILL DIE IF I DO NOT OWN THAT".
* In N Out. Oh god oh god oh god so good

Animal Style! Fuck yeah.

* Walking to said hamburger heaven and on the way, being scared out of our wits by a man dressed as some sort of creepy monster who burst out of a trash can as we walked by, to the amusement of many a spectating tourist
* Coming close to rolling down so many hills
* Meeting/talking to Bret Taylor, CTO of Facebook
* Going to AsiaSF, a fine-dining experience that involves you being served by beautiful, well-endowed, scantily-costumed Asian women. Think Victoria's Secret + Hooters - everyone's dream come true, right? Yeah, except for the part where you find out these girls are not women, but rather, men (mostly post-ops) who look damn fine in corsets. Dancing on tables, birthday shots off various unmentionable body parts, what's not to love!

Not a girl, not yet a woman

* Seeing touristy things, like Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Cliffhouse was not at all annoying/painful. The balmy 75 degree weather didn't hurt, either ;)

* Standing on a crowded bus at 3 in the morning, listening to the teen next to me asking everyone for a "surface". His friend, who was in a garbage can costume, surrendered his lid. Before I knew it, the kid was rolling a blunt and smoking right on the bus. Nobody complained - they all just opened the windows nonchalantly like they'd seen this a million times before
* Seeing friends, old and new, and making a bunch of new ones.

San Francisco, you have charmed me with your exquisite weather and beautiful people and impressive display of organic produce. In the words made famous by the governor of your lands, I'll be back.

Will update with photos soon. Gotta catch some shut-eye if I want to wake up tomorrow and hit the gym!