My life consists of studying for the most part. I'm taking another CPA test next Tuesday and since I let myself get behind in July with the move and getting settled, now it's crunch time. This test is said to be the hardest - mostly because of the amount of information available to be tested. So hopefully with a few more days of hitting the books, I'm prepared!I was able to take a break this past weekend to have some fun with our very first visitor, my friend Courtney! She was in town for work on Friday and Monday, so she stayed with us through the weekend. It was a really nice excuse to get out and be a tourist and of course a much needed break from studying.
On Saturday we started off the day with the famous Irish Coffees from Buena Vista Cafe near Ghirardelli Square. They were delicious until I got to the bottom where it was all whiskey - it was just too early in the day to enjoy that. Afterwards we wandered through Ghirardelli Square down to the waterfront to take some pictures of Alcatraz and the bridge.
We really lucked out with weather both days. It was almost always sunny (somewhat of a rarity in SF), almost warm enough for summer clothes, and the fog was light so we had great views. Once we were done enjoying those views we hopped on a bus headed towards the Ferry Building where the big Saturday Farmer's Market was taking place. We walked around a bit and then decided to have champagne brunch outside on the patio. 
After lunch we wanted to take advantage of the nice weather so we headed back towards the Marina (where we live) and went to the Palace of Fine Arts, an outdoor promenade of sorts that was built for a World's Fair a long time ago. The structure is massive and really is nice to walk around in on a sunny day. You may recognize it from a scene in the "The Rock" with Sean Connery - Jordan and I were eager to figure out where exactly they filmed it!
Sunday also turned out to be a gorgeous day so we decided to take a driving tour through the outskirts of SF. We drove through the Presidio (a huge old army fort with lots of open forests) in search of a good spot to view the Golden Gate Bridge. We found one!
We also drove over to the Pacific Ocean and walked all the way down to the water. There were some people swimming, but you'd have to be brave or wearing a wet suit because the water is freezing. Here's a view of the Cliff House, a restaurant overlooking the ocean:
Overall it was a wonderful weekend. We also got to do a bit of shopping in our neighborhood and tried out some local bars. I can't wait until I'm less busy and can get out more often! Only two weeks until our next visitors arrive..my parents are coming to town :)
Back to the books!
