You can spot it from the freeway and once you enter valet, you have the immediate sense that you’re home. The interior design will leave you in awe while you register exactly where you are, this is Menlo Park. Located about 45-minutes from San Francisco, Menlo Park is also known as Silicon Valley and right next door to Hotel Nia is Facebook’s headquarters. Yep, you’re surrounded by the biggest tech companies but once you step inside your room, you’ll forget all that and be mesmerized by how beautiful your home away from home is.

Pier Market is the first 100% SF green business certified restaurant and the first on the entire Fisherman's Wharf. They are 3rd generation family-owned, and the owner of the restaurant is the one who built Pier 39, which I found to be really cool. The seafood is 100% sustainable and delivered fresh every day. We were so impressed by these facts that we did hold some high expectations for our dining experience. 

Chef Peggy Tan and her staff curated a special tasting menu for us that evening, which showcased a few of their most popular dishes and a couple of unique staples like the hamachi shooters, that are given as starters. Throughout the night, each course became more engaging in flavors and presentation. No two dishes tasted the same and each one left us anxiously waiting to see what the Chef had up next.

While there are plenty of tricks on Youtube on methods of packing a carry-on, I decided to share my own tidbits and tips for a three-day, in addition to what the must-have outfits are for a getaway.