gilded fog

The sun made an appearance today, which was truly grand— and here's where the layering thing pays off: I ran over to The Mission from the cold and foggy area where I'm staying to have brunch at Boogaloos on Valencia Street. The Mission district is always warmer than the rest of the city. Today it was scarf, sweater and jacket in Nopa, and t-shirt and skirt weather in the Mission. So you either peel or add layers according to where you go in the city.

I don't think a visit to San Francisco is complete without a visit to The Mission. There are lots of wonderful cafés and fun shops to check out, and I do recommend a breakfast or brunch at Boogaloos— if you're there on a weekend, try the Eggs Valencia, it's a California take on an eggs benedict. Avocados and grilled tomatoes. Sadly, they had just ran out of avocados (which I thought was impossible in California) so I went with my next favourite, Polenta and Eggs.



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Later in the afternoon I met my friend A at Alembic on Haight, a dark and sultry little bar/restaurant with the most divine cocktails. Don't expect to get a cosmo or a mojito here, these vintage cocktails are far more complex and I kid you not, there are layers of flavour. Pictured above is the Gilded Lily, a delicate mix of Plymouth gin, Chartreuse, orange flower water, sparkling demi-sec and a brilliant touch of gold leaf that catches the light in an oh-so fabulous way. These cocktails are meant to be enjoyed.

The fog rolled in full-force when we parted ways, and I was overwhelmed with nostalgia. I used walk home down Haight in the evenings after my trapeze class at Circus Center, feeling I was walking through the belly of some beast. The fog is alive here, it snakes around corners and crawls up the sides of buildings.