FoodBuzz Fest in San Francisco 2012

One of my favorite things about being a food blogger is being able to attend Food Blogging Conferences.

We are typically pampered with tons of delicious food and don’t feel judged when we pull out our iPhone to snap a few pictures of it. While I have had some hairy experiences with a past Foodie Conference {you’ll want to read that story sometime}, this conference was full of excitement, but no police involved this time.

Last weekend I flew to San Francisco to attend the FoodBuzz Fest. My flight was delayed 2 hours due to fog, so I did what most would do with two extra hours on their hands… I tweeted, played Cut The Rope, and also people watched.

I love people watching, especially at airports and malls. It’s fascinating.

When I finally made it to San Francisco it was a bit of a culture shock to say the least. I hopped on one train to a subway system, and then rode an escalator up to one of the busiest streets I’d ever seen. Then I walked briskly across the street while a man turned around and started following me, who then proceeded to ask me, “Why are you following me?” {huh??}

I quickly found a cab and threw my luggage inside and was off!

I met up with some great blogging friends where we had a great time playing around with food. Then we waited for about 30 minutes to find another taxi to take us back to our hotel. We finally decided to just walk the 1.6 miles back.

Luckily I had a few friends with me this time because we walked through some real sketchy neighborhoods where I clutched onto my iPhone with all my might.

A few of us went to dinner that night at a great Thai restaurant and were lucky enough to have a quick ride back to the hotel. After chatting all night long with my dear friend Krista from Budget Gourmet Mom, we finally got a few hours of sleep in our tiny tiny room.

The next day we were up bright and early for another walk to the “BART” (subway system), and then a little more walking to the Ferry Building. We got there a little earlier than we were supposed to to get some breakfast. We looked around at all the cute shops for a bit and I decided on a Jalapeno and Cheddar Bagel with Jalapeno Cream Cheese, cause I love things spicy. We had just sat down when a blasting fire alarm started blaring.

I wasn’t sure if this was a normal thing or if we should leave the building. Keep in mind this is a massive building with a farmers market surrounding it on a busy Saturday morning.

I’m talking loads of people.

After a few minutes or everyone looking around at each other, a man in a shiny security vest starts herding people out of the building. Then I hear a worker from one of the coffee shops say, “This is real!”

Of course it’s real… cause only these things happen when I’m around.

After standing outside for about 20 minutes, not really knowing what was going on and quickly eating the rest of my bagel, the alarm stops. Then, like nothing’s ever happened, people start walking back in the building.

 We walked to the front of the building to find the rest of the food bloggers we were supposed to meet up with and there were a few fire trucks parked in front of the building. {still not sure what that was all about}

We proceeded to go on a scavenger hunt throughout the Ferry Building and Farmer’s Market.

This is where I went picture crazy.

Everything was so so beautiful. The colorful fruits and vegetables were just calling to have a photo shoot.

I couldn’t help but take several.

I wish I lived closer to a farmer’s market, cause if they are all like this one, then I would be there every day.

And you would most likely get sick of seeing pictures of fruits and vegetables.

 I wanted to buy one of everything.

The Ferry Building and Farmer’s Market was probably my favorite part of the whole conference.

After we finished up there we rode a bus down to Fisherman’s Wharf to get a glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Of course it was too foggy and all I could see was one tiny small red pillar sticking out of the water far off in the distance.

We enjoyed a nice and warming sourdough bread bowl full of clam chowder. Then we were back off to the hotel.

 

We walked again to the City View at the Metreon where the Taste Pavilion was. This was a gathering of all sorts of local small businesses and a few larger ones wanting to share their passion with us bloggers.

It was awesome and I was able to meet several great new companies and people.

Later that evening, after a much needed energy drink, we went to the California Academy of Sciences where we were spoiled with more great food as well as dazzling displays of sea creatures and reptiles of all sorts.

I met so many wonderful bloggers, but failed to pull out my camera and take pictures. I blame it on the fact that I was so exhausted from all the walking and the constant go.

The whole trip was great, but tiring. I don’t think I’ve ever appreciated having a car so much in my life.

Looking back at all these pictures of the Farmer’s Market makes me miss it, and I wish I could go back again.

Do you have a farmer’s market near you?