Tonight we had dinner at Ironside to celebrate Michelle’s 33rd birthday. The usual crowd was there and it was fun catching up and enjoying some tasty roasted corn and butternut squash soup. Happy Birthday, Michelle!!
Here are the rest of the photos.
Today marks our 7th Wedding Anniversary. I also figured out that we’ve been “together” for 14! Whut?! Crazy. It’s been a blast so far and we went to Napa for the weekend to celebrate. Koa came along and he was surprisingly well-behaved. We took him to Fleury, a very small winery that accepts dogs inside their tasting/barrel room.
We also stayed at the brand-new Westin that also allows dogs to stay without an additional fee! For dinner we went to La Toque and had a fantastic one-Michelin-star meal complete with wine pairings.
On Sunday morning we also had brunch at Bouchon. I finally got to have their famous salmon rillette and it was just as tasty as I had hoped. On our way back to SF, we stopped at the outlets and did a little shopping to round out the trip.
Tonight we had a quiet Monday evening with some homemade lasagna that I prepared while Jes was finishing up his last meeting at work. Happy Anniversary to my bestest friend in the whole wide world!!
It’s Little J’s 2nd Birthday and I was there to share his birthday dinner of turkey loaf and cake. He wore a birthday crown and was a little scared of the birthday candles. He opened up his gift of Tonka trunks a garage rampy toy I bought him and he seemed to be very excited about it. Happy Birthday, Little Man!
Here are the rest of the photos.
We’ve always said that working in the hospital sometimes feels like being in a zoo. So…for the Friday before Halloween, we dressed up as zoo animals. Teresa and I have always called ourselves Team Tiger so obviously we were bright orange Cheetos with black duct tape stripes. It was fun working in a sweatsuit but boy was I sweatin’!
The rest of the gang included two zebras, two monkeys, a big cuddly panda, and even a zoo keeper! We also made ears and a tail for one of our grumpier nurses and he actually strutted around as an honorary tiger all day long. We got a lot of looks and compliments for the tiger costume and there was certainly no subtly to our outfits. It was fun but I’m glad we only have to do it once a year. From ordering and waiting for the sweats to arrive in the mail to cutting a grip of stripes out of duct tape to sewing felt onto headbands, it’s a lot of work. Maybe I can just wear this costume every year for the next 10 years.
Afterward, we went out for Happy Hour with Dr. Mai, who was visiting from LA. We went to Ben and Nick’s and had a great time catching up and being silly just like old times. Come back soon, Mai!!
Here are the photos!!
Ah…Milan…it’s been over a month since we returned but I have so many good memories of that city. So, heeeeeeeeere we go!
The trip from Cinque Terre to Milan was quite pleasant. We got a direct train that stopped a few times but we never had to get off. We sat in First Class, which wasn’t as fancy as our first trip from Rome to Florence. We did, however, have a private cabin that we shared witha couple from Colorado. The view was gorgeous from the window with the ocean all along the first half of the trip.
We arrived in Milan in just under 3 hours and the station was so grand. It was such a change from the sleepy villages of Cinque Terre and the ancient city of Rome. Everyone was dressed for work and it felt like my first trip to NYC.
We walked to the subway station, bought a ticket, and figured out the transit map. Our hotel was located just down the street from a station and we were pleasantly surprised by the fanciness of the Sheraton Diana Majestic. I booked this place with points and we scored a Junior Suite with Jes’ Starwood status.
After checking in and getting all cleaned up, we walked down the nearby street that happened to be a busy street lined with shops. I also found a Grom!!! I heard this place was like the Pinkberry of gelato and got me a scoop of espresso with a biscotti on top. It was the best gelato I had so far with a rich coffee taste with a subtle sweetness. Mmm…I’m drooling just reminiscing about it.
We also saw a bunch of these street cars that made me say “Hey, they have the same cars we do in SF!” Of course, Jes replied with “Uh, dude, SF got their cars from Milan!” Right…I’m a dummy…I totally forgot that I knew that.
We also found a cute park that featured a dog park, playground, and a bocce ball area where a bunch of old Italian men and women were playing in a tournament. It was so much fun to watch!
When we first arrived at our hotel, we were informed that the bar would be moved to the mezzanine because they were hosting a party for a Vogue Fashion’s Night Out event. I thought to myself, “That’s cool but it’s too bad we weren’t invited” but on our way to dinner that evening, we found out that this event was going on all over the city and completely open to the public!!! WOOOOHOOOO!!!
So we walked along Via Montenapoleone on a red carpet that lined the street gawking at all the glitz and glamour. I truly felt like a little country mouse trying to find my way among all the lovely gazelles. All the famous names were along that street from LV to Prada to Ferragamo. I also bought a special Italian Vogue as a souvenir for the bargain price of 2 Euro that evening. Unfortunately Jes’ stomach wasn’t having as much fun and we had to reschedule dinner for the next evening and had to take a little break back at the hotel. Luckily he stuck it out a little longer that night and we were able to get back out there for some late-night window shopping that included sipping prosecco inside the stores.
The next day was gorgeous and we found out that the F1 Gran Premio D’Italia was going on that weekend too! So there were groups of guys checking in and lots of “racing girls” welcoming them to Milan and to the hotel. We definitely picked a good weekend to be there…so much stuff going on! This is a photo of “h bar”, which is the hotel bar that is apparently a very popular place to go at night. We hung out there for drinks one evening and were treated to a complimentary buffet of appetizers and salads with our drink order.
The Galleria was so beautiful and had a bunch of swanky shops inside. In the middle are 4 crests that each represent a city in Italy. The most famous one is of Torino (Turin) that features a bull. It’s supposedly good luck to spin around on its testicles and so I did. Heh heh. It looks really mean but I can use all the luck I can get.
The Duomo in Milan was probably my favorite of all the duomos we’ve visited in Italy. It’s so ornate and majestic both inside and out.
The piazza is also a great place to hang out and people-watch. At one point a peddler stuff some birdseed into Jes’ hand and he was bombarded by a flock of pigeons. It was gross but I managed to get a photo of him with the birds all over his arm and then of him wiping his arm off afterward.
Being in Milan means seeing lots of couture shoes and dresses. Check out these Prada shoes! I guess rivets will be in this Fall.
On our flight home from Milan to Atlanta, we flew over the Swiss Alps. It was amazing to see the mountains peeking out of the clouds!!! Made me wish I could see the Tour de France one day.
Of course as we landed in Atlanta, I had to give props to ATL. This photo is for you, Billy!! On our layover, we had our first meal back in the states and it was fried chicken and mac and cheese. Ah…
So that’s Milan in a nutshell. It was a great way to end our 10-day Italian Adventure going from the ancient ruins of Rome to romantic artsy Florence to beachy lazy Cinque Terre to an exciting modern Milan. What an awesome vacation.
Here are the final 124 photos from Milan.
On Tuesday (10/20), Project by Project SF had their Kickoff Event at Press Club. It’s a brand-new chapter for the organization and they were hoping to raise some money and gain some awareness. There was a raffle, plenty of wines to taste, and lots of people who had RSVP’d through Facebook.
Susie asked me to be one of their photographers for the evening. I had the 5:30-7:30 shift, which was much slower than the later shift so my photos are mostly of the venue and people registering…<sarcasm>pretty exciting stuff</sarcasm>. Having the early shift was actually nice because I got to hang out with friends once they arrived at a timely 8:00 pm. Press Club was nice enough to give us full roam of the place and it was bumpin’ by 8:30 pm. I have a feeling they’re usually not this crowded on a Tuesday night.
Here are the rest of the photos from the event. And here are some cheesy snap shots we took at the end of the night in front of the big PbP banner.
The Masayas
Director of Partner Outreach and Director of Volunteer Management
If the turnout for the Kickoff was this big, I can’t imagine how crazy the but Plate by Plate Fundraiser will be like next summer.
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