Travel: San Francisco

Itinerary:

• Day 1: I flew up LAX >> SJC and met up with C. After he picked me up, I dropped off my stuff at Hotel Avante in Mountain View. We went out to Palo Alto for dinner at Bistro Elan and for drinks at a popular college hangout whose name escapes me at the moment (it was suggested to us by B's friend S who had gone to Stanford).
• Day 2: The next day, we drove out to Muir Woods and took one of the easier paths. Since we were already on the other side of the Golden Gate bridge, we decided to tour Sausalito. After a late lunch there, we headed back and went to Fisherman's Wharf and the Embarcadero for a little shopping. We then caught a movie (Quantum of Solace) out at a local AMC. C had never seen Casino Royale (with Daniel Craig), so I had to give a synopsis of the first part while we were driving around town. It was interesting that one of the movie trailers that played was Tom Cruise's Valkyrie. C remarked how in Germany the story only warranted a made-for-TV movie, yet, in the US, it was a full-blown blockbuster. Afterward, we strolled through the City Hall-area before heading back to our car. It was a bit scary, as we ended up walking through a dodgy part of town.
• Day 3: We headed out to Golden Gate Park and strolled through various parts of the park including Stowe Lake Island (where we got hot chocolate nearby), Strawberry Hill, and the Golden Gate Pavilion. Afterward, we drove out to Ocean Beach, followed by a trip to the Presidio. We had dinner in Palo Alto at Joya. I flew back to LAX later that night.