Day 2: Breakfast by the Ferry Building: Niette’s signature gingerbread cupcake.

Every bite was as delicious as it looks.

Brunch was had in Oakland (a quick hop, jump, skip, and BART ride away), consisting of a scrumptious crab meat Benedict and grapefruit mimosa (not pictured here), and topped off with a large soy chai (also not pictured here). So far, the bulk of my travel expenses here has been vested in food and macaroons (I’d picked up a dozen at Niette), which only earned me more travel ‘cred’ amongst my Bay Area friends Iris, Tom, and Ingrid.

After digesting a bit, I finished off a whole wheat hot cross bun I’d picked up at an Oakland-based co-operative bakery, while my mate Mike (a recent SF transplant from NY) enjoyed an iced cold bagged beverage in ‘Dolo’ (Dolores Park).

The sun came and went, and not long after, I found myself on Valencia St., deep in the Mission, perusing through one of my favorite boutiques in the area: Encantada Fine Arts Gallery. It was there that I ran into a certain Frida Kahlo in the flesh!

We (Frida, Mia the gallery owner, and I) chatted about fashion and fate over tequila and macaroons. I also stopped by Paxton Gate, another Valencia Street fascinating fixture, to smell the orchids

before returning to Iris’ flat right as the sun was setting in the Mission.