I left my heart ...

After college I made (what seemed like) the pilgrimage to San Francisco in hopes to make a career in theatre. With loads of college alumni friends living up there life seemed like a frat party until I realized that my peanut salary wasn't paying the bills. In 2000 I got my first real paying corporate job and began to settle down. After I got married in 2003 we decided to move back down to San Diego to be closer to our families. I cried when I gave my resignation and said goodbye to my friends. I haven't been back since.

In 1 week I will be going back up to San Francisco for a friend's wedding, to celebrate my dad's 66th birthday and Easter. I feel like a kid going to Disneyland. I am giddy with excitement. There are specific things I miss about The City ...

71) I could plan an entire trip around the places I would eat at. The City is famous for the new restaurants that open up every week, but it is the ones that have been around forever that I want to go back to ... Zarzuela, Crepes a Go Go, Plutos ... the list goes on and on.

72) Theatres! Museums! Street fairs! Oh my! If you really wanted to (and you had the money to) you could have every weekend booked in your calendar with things that are going on around The City. There is something for everyone all the time.

73) MUNI. You heard me right ... I love the public transportation. I actually got reading done, returned phone calls, distressed. Now, I am stuck in traffic surrounded by Southern California drivers. Don't get me wrong. I still had my uber cool Nissan Sentra for trips to the grocery store or going out of town. But, for my day to day commute MUNI did a girl right!

74) My darling friend Jen. I met her at a kickboxing class. We were both dedicated attendees and eventually started chatting. To reward ourselves for all of our hard kickboxing efforts, we would to pick a new restaurant once a month. We would chat for hours over appetizers, main dishes, dessert and of course a nice glass of wine. I could always count on Jen for dinner and goodconversation . I still can't believe that I haven't seen her since my wedding day in 2002. We stayed in contact, but as life catches up this becomes harder and harder to do. So, when I figured out this trip I made sure that I will not miss a dinner with her at a new SF restaurant.

75) The view. There is nothing like seeing the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz from the top of Pacific Heights on a clear day. You also can beat seeing The City skyline while having brunch in Tiburon. But, the views of The City are not constrained to just the bay. The architecture. The people watching. The neighborhoods. All of it is eye candy!

If you have never been there go NOW! I love San Francisco and really can't wait to get back up there!