SF -- misc. & mental pictures

Just a few random photos from our trip...

Kristi -- this one is for you! One of the exclusive boutiques around Union Square.

I saw this in a dollar store and it cracked me up -- Benign girl instead of Barbie or Bratz?

This overpass had a long glass wall with poetry on it, I found it charming. (and I love glass art!)

This is for my cousin John -- he loves frogs.

Their gas prices are making our $3.25 a little easier to take.

Since when are hotel mini bars spread out on the desk to tempt you?

...although I wasn't really tempted. What sane person spends $4.00 for a little Rice Krispie treat or a bottle of water???

I really liked this metal art -- it was inside the ginormous Banana Republic that we went to, twice.

And now for some mental pictures, things I wish I could have captured on camera:

The very cute old Asian couple that I stood by while waiting for a bus. She kept bumping the back of his knee with her knee, causing it to buckle. You'd think that would get old, but she kept doing it for 10 minutes straight, and each time they would both giggle.

An older man in a wheelchair with a mohawk that was turning gray and a leather jacket. He might have been getting older, but he wasn't going to stop being cool.

An awning I passed while on a bus that said "Hair Fairies: We Help With Head Lice". I wanted to get a photo for you, Lelly!

A couple of younger guys walking behind me. One of them said: "So, eBay, that was started in like the 80s, right?" (!)

I love watching and listening to people, and the diversity of big cities.

SF -- day 3

On our third day in SF, we slept in and then Marc practiced his conference presentation, so when we headed out, it was for an early lunch. (Marc attended a session the day before by a group called Chow Hounds -- anyone heard of them? They have a website where people post about their favorite food finds in different areas, and some of the locals gave the attendees a tour of Chinatown.) One of the Chow Hounds said his favorite restaurant in SF is The Chef and the Butler Bistro, and since it was only a few blocks from our hotel, we were excited to check it out.

It was definitely off the beaten path -- I don't think we ever would have found it -- and it was wonderful! Small, very authentic, delicious. We had the best boeuf bourgignon either of us had ever tasted, with fresh olive bread on the side.

The French chef came out and talked with us for a little while and was very friendly. We both wished we had more time to go back and sample their crêpes, quiches, and desserts. Definitely worth a detour.

At this point, I had to go back to the hotel and change my shoes. Walking was pure torture on this day, and I had to go for the most comfortable pair I own, even though they didn't exactly go with what I was wearing (gasp!), as there was no way I was going to miss a tour of Chinatown. But first, a little more shopping around Union Square.

We found a Richart in SF! This is a chocolatier that I found in Paris not long before we left, which was sad because they are so unusual and so so good. You can imagine our excitement, then, to see one of their stores. The chocolates are about 1/2" square and cost $25.00 for a box of 16. They have flavors like: passionfruit ganache, curry, and green tomato/basil (which I swear are all amazingly delicious).

Finally, on to Chinatown, a feast for the senses.

These red lanterns are strung back and forth across the main drag and create such a festive atmosphere.

This character, Domo, dominated one of the shops we went in -- on t-shirts and in plush. I didn't really want to spend $30 to buy one, but I think he is so cute! Maybe I will try to re-create a Domo of my own someday...

We bought a bunch of gummies for the kids and some mango ones for us. So yummy! I wish we had bought more.

I loved walking through the food markets (but then, I always love that) -- the colorful produce is beautiful!

We saw a lot of these dried roots, so many varieties of the pricey little buggers. I wish I knew what they were!

And at a fish market, a bucket of live bullfrogs! You don't see that every day.

After sampling some Chinese pastries (not my cup of tea) and getting our fill of the shops and street musicians, we bought some souvenirs for the kids and went back for Marc's presentation:

He's never one to choose a boring topic. With this one, he even coined a new term. I can tell you that he was far more interesting than the other two speakers on his panel! He told me later that he saw me nodding off during their presentations -- oops! When it was over, he stayed to talk with some other attendees and I went upstairs to lie down for a half hour.

Then we took Amy's advice and went to North Beach to l'Osteria del Forno, a tiny little Italian restaurant. We only had to wait outside for a few minutes before we were seated. It was obviously run by Italian people, but they also spoke excellent French with a couple sitting nearby. Marc had the pumpkin ravioli and I had the roast pork with garlic potatoes, both were delicious. Thanks, Amy!

After dinner, we crossed the street to get some gelato. I had dark chocolate, blood orange, and coconut and it was SO good.

We went to a huge mall near our hotel and went to Borders to scout out possible publishers for Marc's ABC Paris book. (We got some good leads, too!) Then we went back to our hotel, packed, and bemoaned the fact that we didn't have more time to spend in San Francisco. What a delightful city.

SF -- day 2

On Thursday, Marc and I went to breakfast together (it was kind of lame), then we parted ways as he went back to the conference. My feet were killing me -- damn plantar fasciitis! -- and I feared I wouldn't be able to do the exploring I wanted to do. I was really bummed that I was having so much pain, especially since I have narrowed my footwear options down to a very few pair of "approved" shoes!

Anyway, I took my hot chocolate and caught a bus to go to Fillmore Street so I could finally see this store in person:

Paper Source! I've ordered from them online before, but this store was pure eye candy. I was there a long time, narrowing my choices, which was pretty difficult as I pretty much wanted everything I saw.

{Side note: I called Jill to get the exact address. Luckily, she had just gotten to my house to watch Eva and was able to look it up online and let me know that I was only a couple of blocks away. Thanks, Jill!}

When I came out of Paper Source, I met a very eccentric woman and hilarity ensued. But that will have to be a separate post...

I got another bus and went to the marina (I had found a walk online that purported to be the prettiest walk in SF). My map showed that the bus would take me all the way there, but when the driver told me we were at the last stop, I discovered I had to walk 5 more blocks to get there. By the time I walked the final distance, my feet were hurting to much to do the prettiest walk! So I sat on a bench, enjoyed the breeze, and took some photos.

I didn't tour Alcatraz, just viewed it from across the water.

I just love water. I am completely at peace when I'm by the ocean. I love the waves, the sound, everything.

I had wanted to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge, but my foot problems precluded that, so I had to content myself with viewing it from my bench. It sure was pretty!

After a little rest, I trekked back to the bus stop. If I had seen a cab, I would have taken it. As it was, I took my two buses back and was amazed that it was almost 5:00 by the time I made it back to the hotel! Marc was raring to go, so after stretching out on the bed for a few minutes and a change of clothes, we went out for a cable car ride.

We watched some street dancers for awhile -- so entertaining!

We rode the Powell Street cable car all the way to Fisherman's Wharf and got some great views.

We walked to Ghirardelli Square and found this cutest little cupcake shop. There was an employee packing up all the remaining cupcakes in preparation to close, and we dashed in and bought two. They all looked so good, but we chose fleur de sel: chocolate cupcakes with caramel filling, topped with chocolate ganache and a sprinkling of fleur de sel. Whoa. And that was before dinner!

We bought some chocolates for Marc's parents to thank them for staying with the kids, then we walked along the wharf. By this point, my feet were just killing, so we had clam chowder in sourdough bowls and caught a cab back to the hotel, where I had a long hot soak in the tub. Ahhhhhh.