Quick Editor’s Note: I drafted this two weeks ago on my first day in Rome foolishly thinking I would be able to publish this before beginning the next chapter of my trip. I was wrong! But more on Rome later.
After 18 months of making ‘moving to New York’ my personality, I’ve made the utterly cliché decision to not renew my lease, punt the apartment search, throw my belongings into storage, and hit the road for the summer. I have every intention to return in the fall, but traveling alone for a bit is something that I’ve always wanted to do. And thanks to New York, I’ve gotten pretty good at being alone.
Normally I begin each post with some kind of drawn out intro, but seeing as I haven’t published in months, let’s cut to the chase. I love to escape. When I was young(er) and dumb(er), I often fantasized about being a runaway. After a heated argument with my parent/guardian/nanny, I’d pack a bag in the middle of the night and hatch a plan to leave at dawn. When I got my driver’s license, I’d often go on long, aimless drives to clear my head (probably blasting Coldplay’s A Rush of Blood to the Head, who knows). The former, fueled by spite and petulance, compared to the latter, which was like putting my mind on airplane mode, have evolved into this need to constant need to be on the go. I don’t know if I’ll ever learn to sit still.
Fast forward to this summer. Some FAQs:
Why didn’t you stay in NYC?
Well, there was nothing really keeping me (no apartment lease, to be specific). I am extremely fortunate that my job is letting me work remote for a large portion of the year.
Where are you going?
My journey began in my hometown of San Francisco for two weeks, featuring a quick detour in Los Angeles, followed by a quick 36-hour pitstop in New York City. Now, I’m off to Italy for 6 weeks. Italy will begin in Rome, then Lucca & Florence, then back to Rome again, then down to Salerno and the Amalfi Coast, then… I don’t know! Truthfully, this trip is only 70% planned out. By design, one might say.
Who are you going with?
To reiterate, I am traveling alone but I'll be staying with family and friends in California and meeting up with friends in Italy for the first segment in Rome and Lucca & Florence. The whole reason I’m going to Italy is actually to watch my best friend Sheyda marry the love of her life under the Tuscan sun (swoon).
What about after Italy? Back to NYC?
Nope, not yet :) I’m going to stay in Atlanta with my parents for a few months and move back to NYC in the fall (October/November).
How are you going to work abroad?
As someone who is commonly labeled as “chronically online”, you can find me where there is free wi-fi… and espresso.
I Left My Heart in San Francisco
I try to visit San Francisco once a year. Having spent majority of my formative years in the Bay Area, the annual pilgrimage lets me reconnect with my roots and go on a nostalgia-fueled tour of all my favorite places and things. Even though Atlanta is where my parents and most of my close friends live, it’s not home the way the Bay is. When I go back to SF, I’ll usually stay with my aunt in Union City whose home—save for a few renovations— has barely changed since I was a kid. Staying under her roof makes me feel like I’m 8 years old again, begging my parents for a doubleheader of In-N-Out and Krispy Kreme for dinner.
When I was planning out this summer on the road, it only felt right to kick things off in my hometown. In a way, it’s like getting to review the original blueprints of what make me me. It’s also a trip where I don’t have to think through a lot, giving myself a chance to adjust to being on the road, working in a different timezone, nail my packing/unpacking routine, etc.
I’ve written extensively about my favorite places to dine in and around the Bay Area, but here’s my essential list of things to do if you find yourself in SF for a few days:
Luxuriously long dinner or lunch at Zuni Café. People (annoyingly) like to give me so much flack for Zuni being "too simple” or “boring”, and I don’t know what you people want from me! If you want a more interesting meal, you could go to State Bird Provisions and have duck pastrami on little pancakes. When I’m in San Francisco, I want to pay homage to the style of cooking that made me really start to care about food and where it comes from. Some real deal Michael Pollan shit. If you think farm-to-table is played out, I won’t necessarily disagree, but I also don’t think a lot of the restaurants I love today (like State Bird) would exist without institutions like Zuni Cafe. Also, a glass of gamay, roast chicken, and fries? Death row meal.
Giants games, as many as you can or care to see. Oracle Park is my favorite ballpark (nay, place?) in the world and if you get it, you just fucking get it. I was also *delighted* to be in town for the Dodgers series.
A day trip to Napa with lunch at Bouchon Bistro. I know, I know, we are not necessarily Thomas Keller stans here, but god, I just love a really good French bistro, you know? Also, I think they’ve stepped things up since their Michelin star was taken away. This trip I also solved the dilemma of loving Napa Valley but not necessarily loving Napa Valley wines by booking a tasting at Mathiasson Winery. Renowned for pioneering organic, sustainable farming practices in the region, Mathiasson picks the grapes early, preserving their acidity and producing wines that don’t devastate your palate. Think counter-culture to Robert Parker.
Turns Out I Was Wrong About Los Angeles
Yep, I was wrong. As a kid in the Bay Area, you’re kind of brought up to look down on SoCal folk. You’re told that they’re spoiled rotten with beautiful weather, fixated too much on appearances, and that Dodger stadium is basically a parking lot with a baseball stadium inside of it. (Read: it is.) All of these things can be true, and I’m still left eating my words. Los Angeles has a few things figured out.
To quote John Mulaney, who presents as a great walking case study of NYC → LA transition:
“Los Angeles, a city that confuses and fascinates me,”
So, why visit Los Angeles all of a sudden? A very sweet friend, who shall not be named here but is called out as a regular in this Bon Appetit article about Horses, offered to host me at their Laurel Canyon home. Things are already starting off on a high note when you’re posted up in the Hollywood Hills. LA, often criticized for its vastness, feels less overwhelming when you’re somehow removed yet still in the center of things.
Simply put, Los Angeles (Santa Monica and Venice included) is beautiful. It’s just beauty on top of more beauty on top of even more beauty. I used to discredit LA’s appeal by comparing the unnatural, heavily injected culture against the stunning, natural landscape of Southern California, but I think that’s actually the point of Los Angeles. Whether it’s real or highly, highly artificial, beauty is still beauty.
I am a big advocate for the west coast in general, but my general feelings for LA went from skeptical to full on infatuation in less than a day.
So, let’s get into it — here’s what I ate, drank, saw in LA (the high points, at least):
Dinner at Horses (so good, we went twice!). Horses combines a lot of things I love under one roof: a really, very good vesper martini, paper tablecloths and crayons, a messy divorce, and an off-menu pasta. It’s a good a restaurant with a lot of lore.
Erewhon’s Hailey Bieber Strawberry Skin Glaze Smoothie. I’m sure I’ll regret putting this on the internet but in a world of $20 something cocktails, a $19 smoothie is a welcome luxury. Worth every penny. My skin was glowing. Maybe one of the funniest quirks about LA is its enduring pursuit of “wellness”. That there just might be a cure for everything. If you’re looking for a fix, just find a drug dealer or go to Erewhon!
Found Oyster for a sunny lunch. Reminds me of a chic, up-to-date version of Swan Oyster Depot. Honorable mention to the pork milanese caesar salad special that I’m still thinking about.
Gjelina & Gjusta Bakery. I must defer to Jonathan Gold’s 2015 review which more or less unpacks the psyche of stepping into one of the very stylish Italian- Mediterranean-Middle Eastern-who-knows spots.
Honorable mentions the Hollywood Farmer’s Market and Brentwood Country Mart, where you can cosplay as your favorite celebrity (it’s Gwyneth Paltrow for me).
And with that, andiamo a Roma!
Love this and of course, I ❤️ LA