Anyone who knows anything about me knows that the Bay Area is more than just a great destination. It’s home. And San Francisco is kind of like the jewel in the crown. So when friends come, I have to show her off a little. When my Joc came for a long weekend, we took Bart from Berkeley (a jewel in her own right) into the middle of town and then a cable car up and over one of the city’s epic hills. It’s true that some of the hills are so steep that they build steps into the side instead of sidewalks. The trolley let us off in the center of Fisherman’s wharf. We walked with bags of shrimp and then bought the biggest, most sinfully delicious, chocolate coated, caramel drizzled candy apple you’ve ever seen.

“… if you head up to the roof you’ll find one of the most beautiful tea lounges in the Bay.”

  What to do with a full belly but walk it off at one of my favorite places in the city, the MoMA and Museum of the African Diaspora around the corner. The views of Yerba Buena and the rest of the neighborhood from the MoMA are worth the trip alone. Across the street (in Yerba Buena itself), if you head up to the roof you’ll find one of the most beautiful tea lounges in the Bay. Samovar is awash in natural light. Small plates of cheese, honeycomb and fruit come served on wooden slabs. You could stay for hours. Yummy dinner at Ichiban was followed by several hours of dancing to old school hip hop and the night ended with two incredibly tired but happy friends napping on a Bart train back to the East Bay.