5 of 5: San Francisco - Day Four - Window Shopping

Our last day in San Francisco was spent window shopping inside a half mile radius from Union Square. After bagels and a muffin at a deli so small that one table was placed in the window, we had our picture taken in front of the heart at the entrance to Union Square, and then started making a circuit around the perimeter of the lively shopping district. 

We were surprised to find the open doors of the Notre Dame des Victories Church a short walk down Bush Street from Stockton. The interior of this French church founded by bothers, "striving to work together for the greater glory of God," was filled with light from ranks of candles and vibrant stained glass windows.

Continuing down Bush we found the Chinatown Gate with a message in Chinese that reads, "We all work under Heaven for the benefit of the common good." The idea of working together must be our thought for the day.

Another surprise was the elaborate Mayan influenced Art Deco decoration of the 450 Sutter Street Building. Stepping into the lobby was like stepping back into another time.

The Garden Court of the Palace Hotel built in 1909 took us further back in history. The shimmering leaded glass vaulted skylight supported on a classical colonnade dominates the elegant palm filled restaurant in the center of the hotel.

Maiden Lane was our next destination where we passed the time before the store openings by window shopping designer shops such as Channel and Gucci. A peak through the window of a gallery with a petite but powerful Frank Lloyd Wright exterior and interior dominated by a spiral ramp (prototype for the Guggenheim ) held our attention until Britex Fabrics opened at 10. The store hadn't changed much since my last visit more than 25 years ago - four floors of fabrics stacked on shelves along the walls from the floor to the 20 foot high ceiling. The third floor is devoted entirely to buttons, ribbons, and trims. Gary found a comfortable chair on each level as I wandered the aisles taking in the wealth of colors and textures.

After leaving the fabric store with our wallets unopened, an abundance of shop windows entertained us for the next hour. A soft dusty pink shear petal like dress in the Armani window and a black strapless evening dress with a short billowing skirt by Oscar de la Renta were unforgettable. The domed antique skylight at the entrance to the Neiman Marcus Department Store was also impressive.

Our window shopping worked up an appetite and a thirst which was satisfied with a chicken pot pie and a shared pint of Guinness Stout at Foley's Irish Pub on O'Farrell Street.

With only a short time left before our departure for the airport, we checked out the atrium of the Museum of Modern Art, the fountains of the Yerba Buena Gardens, and the ultra modern addition to the Jewish Museum.

A bit sad but satisfied with our four day adventure, we collected our luggage at the hotel and returned to the airport via BART. This time at least we knew where to go and how to operate the ticket machine. 

Now that we are home and rested, the words of the well known song keep playing in my head:

If you're going to San Francisco

Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair

If you're going to San Francisco

You're gonna meet some gentle people there.

4 of 5: San Francisco - Day Three - Typical Tourists

Thursday started with a delicious breakfast of french toast from thick house made bread and a perfect easy over medium egg with bacon at a tiny cafe called Dotties. The place is so popular that we had to get in line shortly after 7:00 am to get a table when they opened at 7:30 am.

After breakfast, in typical tourist fashion, we caught an already packed Powell/Mason cable car to Fisherman's Wharf. Clinging to poles on the outside running board as the car swiftly climbed hills and navigated corners, we were surrounded by the jabber of travelers and natives speaking a multitude of languages. Upon arrival at the Wharf, we separated from the crowd headed for harbor cruises and city tours to walk the almost deserted docks where fishing boats and historic ships were moored. 

The need for restroom facilities led us to the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park Museum where we were intrigued by an exhibit about the people who manned a light house located 20 miles out from the entrance to San Francisco Bay during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The light house keepers and their families were completely isolated except for visits from supply ships four times a year. 

On our way around the corner to Ghiradelli Square, we couldn't pass up an opportunity for Irish coffee at Buena Vista Cafe even though it was still only 9:30 am. After our drink, we resisted the temptation to consume great quantities of chocolate and instead boarded the Powell/Hyde cable car.

One of the most fascinating experiences of our trip was a visit to the San Francisco Cable Car Museum on our way back to the heart of the city. We entered the dark and noisy building where huge wheels more than 12 feet in diameter power the continuous loop cables for the four cable car routes. We learned that it takes 5 hours to weave a 90 foot precision spice when the cable needs to be replaced. Below the cavernous main room of the power house, there is a viewing area where we could see the large sheaves (wheels) that help direct the cable into slots under the street. After our visit to the museum, I was obsessed with looking for the cable moving at 9 miles per hour each time we crossed a slot in the street.

After a brief walk through Chinatown past the fortune cookie factory, produce stands, and the Chinese Hospital our route brought us down the hill to the Financial District and the antique shops of Jackson Square. One gallery displayed Audubon prints and striking botanicals from the Dr. Robert Thornton "Temple of Flora." The full set was only $450,000.

Somewhere during our walk through the Jackson Square area we came upon one of the few buildings saved during the great earthquake and fire. Apparently the A. P. Hotaling Company whiskey distillery escaped destruction in 1906 due to the efforts of a Navy lieutenant and his crew who ran a mile long hose from their ship at Pier 43 over Telegraph Hill to save the building. A quote on the building goes something like this:

If, as they say, God spanked the town

For being over-frisky,

Why did He burn His churches down

And spare Hotaling's whiskey.

At the corner of Jackson and Montgomery we found the William Stout Architecture Book Store. We both grew up with Powell's City of Books in Portland so it is hard to be impressed by a purveyor of books, but there were more books per inch in this store than I have ever seen anywhere. Not just any books. One whole floor of architecture books and a basement filled with decorative arts, graphic design, fine art, interiors, landscape design and urban planning. The person we spoke to at the counter said they sometimes lose track of volumes and are surprised when they find them on the shelf years later. 

After an overload of books we turned onto Columbus Avenue and found La Boulange French bakery in an area known for Italian restaurants. The lunch of lightly dressed greens, hot open faced turkey/dijon/cheese sandwich, and raspberry/strawberry tart was perhaps the most outstanding meal of our trip. Our table facing the street was also a great place for people watching.

With our stomachs pleasantly full, we made our way up Telegraph Hill stopping at alleys and landscaped stairways on our way to Coit Tower. The famous PWAP murals on the walls inside the tower done in 1933 are still impressive. One 10' x 42' scene of California flower, fruit, nut, and wine growers created by Maxine Albro was our favorite. Because of the light crowd and my anything goes on a vacation mind set, Gary even talked me into taking the elevator to the top of the 180 foot tower for a 360 degree view of the city and surrounds.

On our way back to the hotel for a change of clothes Gary engaged the cable car conductor in a conversation about the conductor's participation in an upcoming bell ringing contest. The conductor told Gary the trick is knowing how to make the bell sing.

A visit to San Francisco would not be complete without a drink at the Top of the Mark located on the 19th floor of the elegant Mark Hopkins Hotel atop Nob Hill. The popular bar offers a 360 degree view of the city from windows that rise out of benches at the perimeter uninterrupted by guard rails. I sat on a stool, at a safe distance from the precipice, enjoying my martini and the view while Gary lounged without a care on the bench next to the window. 

An Asian buffet in the Tonga Room of the Fairmont Hotel complete with south sea decor and a tropical rainstorm was followed by a cable car trip back to our hotel for a welcome night's rest for our tired feet. The end of another memorable day in San Francisco. 

3 of 5: San Francisco - Day Two - A Scenic Drive

We were scheduled to pick up the rental car at 7:30 am on Wednesday so breakfast at the popular 1930s vintage "Sears Fine Food" started a bit past 6:30 am. Fortified with 18 pancakes, lingenberries and sausage we set out for a scenic drive around the city.

Our first stop was the Pacific Heights neighborhood of elegant homes as big as hotels perched tightly together on a terraced hillside facing the water. We parked the car and walked the almost deserted streets to take in "drop dead" views of the Bay, bridges and countryside in the distance; tiny postage stamp gardens overflowing with enormous roses and tropical flowers; and architectural styles from Tudor to Saint-Tropez.  Beautifully landscaped steps along the edge of the Presidio led us down the hillside and a street so steep we had to walk on our toes and hold on to a handrail brought us back to the car. So this is how the other 5% live.

On to the graceful Palace of Fine Arts surrounded by Venetian style homes in the Marina District. We took a leisurely walk through the impressive classical columns arranged in and arc around the central domed temple. "Just why have those maidens at the top of the arcade turned their backs to us and what are they looking at over the top of the wall?" we wondered. 

After finding our car and checking our map, we turned into the Presidio and took the scenic drive out to Baker Beach in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area where we found a spectacular view of the Golden Gate Bridge.

A drive through the exclusive Seacliff neighborhood clinging to the rocks above the Pacific was followed by a short stop at the Palace of the Legion of Honor and the historic Cliff House. The road then dropped to a wide expanse of beach where San Franciscans of an earlier time enjoyed relaxing at a large amusement park. Along side the giant windmill at the NW corner of Golden Gate Park we turned our car East and traveled down the full 3+ mile length of the Park to a small bakery where we picked up sandwiches, apple/rhubarb cobbler and a piece of delicious chocolate moose cake for a picnic in the park.

Following a quick drive through Haight Ashbury and a frustrating 30 minute search for a place to park we enjoyed our lunch in the Shakespeare garden serenaded by machinery at a nearby construction site. 

The next destination, the Victorian style whitewashed glass Conservatory of Flowers, was by far the highlight of the day for me. It is a giant hot house filled with more than 1750 species of tropical plants and flowers. The aquatic plant room was so steamy that the lens on my camera fogged as I tried to capture the delicate beauty around us. Seed pods hung in clusters or spirals above our heads. Flowers of every size, shape, and color either displayed themselves shamelessly or hid camouflaged among the foliage. One tiny three pronged orchid gradually transformed from an intense red at the center to an equally vivid orange at the edges. I am eager to capture the color and structure of the unique flowers in colored pencil drawings.

Our afternoon at Golden Gate Park ended with a stroll through the Arboretum. After a drive through the elite Presidio Terrace, Gary wanted to check out more neighborhoods, but I had my fill of mansions for the day and was ready for a margarita.  

We stopped at a Mexican restaurant and bar located on Geary in the Richmond District for margaritas touted as among the best in the city. Tommy's was truly an experience. We sat at the bar facing a wall of what seemed like hundreds of different Tequilas. Overwhelmed by the choices we told the bar tender to surprise us. He proceeded to hand squeeze limes (5000 pounds per month) and mix our drinks to perfection as the patron next to us consumed a margarita made with 35 year old liquor at $72/shot. 

With our stomachs full of Tequila and tasty enchiladas, we checked the car in shortly before it was due at 6:00 pm and returned to our hotel tired and completely satisfied with our day.

2 of 5: San Francisco - Day One - Just a Small Town Girl

Sensory overload started the moment we arrived at the San Francisco airport. The crowds of people traveling at high speed on conveyor belts, airport shops overflowing with kitsch, glass cases filled with art displays, and confusing signs leading us to our first experience with BART would be enough to undo anyone. Even though I've traveled in Europe, lived in Chicago, and visited New York it was almost too much for this small town girl.

The first challenge was to decipher the BART ticket machine. A mistake in calculating our fare could leave us stuck in the station unable to exit at our destination. Finally, with tickets in hand, we boarded the train for a noisy 20 minute ride to the station at Powell Street in the heart of the city.

Emerging from the dark tunnel into the bright and bustling streets near Union Square, I found there was too much to look at and it all became a blur. Fortunately Gary still possessed his senses enough to purchase three day transportation passes and navigate through the chaos to our nearby hotel. We checked in at 10 am, left our suitcases with the hotel clerk, and returned to the dark tunnel for a quick Muni train trip to the Embarcadero. 

After a turn through the beautifully restored Ferry Building and a refreshing lunch in a below the street 1930s night club, we boarded a cable car for a ride up California Street to Nob Hill. A quick peak at the opulent Fairmont Hotel lobby was followed by a short walk past an exclusive gentlemen's club to the quiet sanctuary of Grace Cathedral. Started in 1928 and finished in 1964 the concrete structure combines 20th century engineering with 12th century Gothic aesthetics. The long walk through the 11 circuit Chartres labyrinth on the cathedral floor helped me unwind and settle into a moment by moment mind set for our four days in San Francisco.

We covered a lot of territory on Tuesday afternoon: side trips into lush hidden alleyways on Russian Hill; views of the city from hilltops and block after block of row houses crowded close to the street; a toe bruising walk down the steep sidewalk beside the brick covered serpentine of Lombard Street; and an excursion into City Lights Book Store as we strolled down busy sidewalks in North Beach ending in the Financial District surrounded by banks. 

On our way to enjoy a cocktail and spetacular view of the city from the 52nd floor of the Bank of America Building we literally stumbled upon an exhibit of books created by Henri Matisse. It was a treat to see an original printing of my favorite called "Jazz."

After a side trip into the South of Mission District to enjoy a sandwich at a quirky little place called "Custom Burger" we walked through the Civic Center and checked out the main branch of the public library. An exhibit of pen and ink drawings of San Francisco buildings from a unique San Francisco Chronicle comic strip called "All Over Coffee" by Paul Madonna was another enjoyable surprise of the day.

A welcome Muni bus ride back to our hotel ended a whirlwind first day in the city by the bay. 

1 of 5: I left my heart in San Francisco . . . high on a hill, it calls to me.

Gary has had a burning desire to show me San Francisco for more than 10 years, but tight budgets, family responsibilities, and jobs always seemed to get in the way. Finally, a small windfall made it possible for him to start planning a four day trip. With the proverbial "kid in a candy store" glee, Gary spent the last month researching everything from classy hotels to authentic tequila bars. On Tuesday this week, armed with his 12 page itinerary, we set out on our journey at 5:30 am. 

Watch this space over the next few days for a detailed log of our marvelous adventure. 

WARNING! It will make your feet hurt just to read it.