A quick weekend in SF
 

I haven't posted a trip report about my short weekend in SF but I've been asked about some of the details, so here's a quick trip report so everything is in one place.

Who: flight out to meet up with DF and a couple of meet-ups with some wonderful Fodorites
When: First weekend in April
Where: Just SF this trip - no time for side trips
Why: DF was out there for a conference and it was the perfect time to go. We had been out there the previous year in March. We've decided this will definitely be an annual event :-)
How: Inexpensive roundtrip tix via Delta. Free place to stay. Focusing on things I've not done before

Result - a great short (4 day) getaway!

Day 1 -
Delta flight from Atlanta at 9:35 arriving in SF at 12:07.

I'm not a big carryon fan, but love my new lightweight bags from LLBean so decided to give it a try this time. Love my bag. Holds a lot. It WAS nice just deplaning and grabbing a cab into the city.

Dropped the suitcase off at the Marriott at 44 Fourth Street (to be held at the bell stand until DF arrives) and off to the Ferry Building to start the trip off right!

Lunch at the Slanted Door - the Ferry Building
http://www.slanteddoor.com/

A wonderful treat meeting up with a couple of Fodorites at this wonderful restaurant. A perfect combination - great food, great view, great company!

Two of us started with one of their signature drinks (that I don't see on their online menu right now). Champagne with elderflower syrup. Light, not too sweet, delicious!
So good we each had seconds :-)

(I just googled and came up with "Sunset on the Danube" for the name of the drink - but I don't remember it with that name.)

Everything was good, but I can highly recommend the Slanted Door spring rolls and the caramelized tiger prawns with garlic, onions and chili sauce were divine.

We shared the beignets with cinnamon sabayon for dessert. Wonderful!

Such a delightful experience and always wonderful to meet up with Fodorites again!


The Ferry Building - This was my first time visiting the ferry building and, as others have said, it's a new favorite and much more enjoyable than the Fisherman's Wharf area. The shops are amazing and the foodstuffs are fabulous.

I had explored the website before I left and knew I had to have something from Miette. DF's recent birthday was a great excuse and I stopped there to buy some gifts to take home and a couple of slices of incredible cakes (cocanut and chocolate) along with a candle to take back to DF.

http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/miette.php

I wanted to wander more, but my new Blackberry Storm rang and DF had arrived in SF!

Yeah! Looking forward to reading about your trip!

Night 1 -
Although it's hard for some to believe that starrs wasn't staying at the Hotel Monaco, the "free" hotel room at the Marriott was very nice. DF asked for a lower floor and there wasn't the usual elevator problem one finds at a big convention hotel. Wandering the warren of halls to get to the room was pretty typical, but I loved the location right at 4th and Market. Great for a lot of transportation options.

After talking about changing to a Blackberry Storm (for a long time), I finally did it the day before departure. I was a bit worried about getting used to it on a trip, but called DF and he had one too. He offered to help me out. As it turned out, neither of us had anything other than phone service for the entire weekend. I used the business center at the hotel for internet access. (Obvious) lesson learned - don't make such a change the day before you depart. I kept telling myself I was going to duck in a Verizon store to see if they could figure it out, but things were too busy.

Back to cake and birthday presents - we had a great time celebrating DF's birthday and we about to head out the door when his phone rang. He TRIED to reschedule, but a VIP was NOT going to take "no" for an answer. He hung up, conferred with me, and then called back to accept the dinner invite.

We scrambled for a Wicked ticket for me. A few days before great tickets were available for $99. DF had called brokers before (as a surprise for me) but we decided we'd rather spend our limited time differently. The concierge could only offer sets of two tickets (even though only one was needed) in the $400 range. I tried calling Ticketmaster and the box office. Finally, we decided that the best bet was for me to head down there myself.

I arrived just in time for their normal nightly lottery, but the box office had a FABULOUS seat in the front row of the balcony. I grabbed it. They gave me a map of restaurants in the area, and although I wasn't hungry I found a place to sit and relax until the show.

http://www.shnsf.com/theatres/index.asp?key=52
It was a treat seeing Wicked at the Orpheum theatre. I love the old, elaborate theatres. It was a bit like "coming home" to the beginning of Wicked - although the show opened in previews at the Curran. I was VERY excited to be there, and had another glass of champagne to celebrate :-)

Earlier that week I had heard that Patty Duke had just taken on the role of Madame Morrible. That was another reason to see it. I thought given my early arrival at the theatre I would be one of the first to be seated, but there was already a man with his son on my aisle. A group of 5 joined me a bit later. I settled in for (big surprise) my favorite Broadway show. As usual, greeted Elphaba's entrance with applause. The man next to me greeted Madame Morrible's entrance with applause and I smiled (another nut :-) ). Then, a bit later, when she sang for the first time the man next to me "conducted" her during her first four lines. I leaned over and asked if he was were vocal coach. He shook his head "no". A few minutes later, he leaned over smiling and told me he was her husband.

At intermission, the fellow to my right started chatting and he and his group were there to support his friend who was the understudy for another role. She knew that she would be performing for certain dates, and offered him four tickets. He wanted five, and she was able to pull through with 5 tickets. It was then that I realized why my seat was empty and how/why I got such great seats at the last minute. I was sitting in the friends and family row, and thoroughly enjoyed the conversations with my seatmates. The show, once again, fabulous and I added another Wicked city to my list.

Back to the Marriott to meet up with DF for evening cocktails. The concierge suggested a place that we walked to, but it was NOT at all as he described, so we stayed only a few minutes to rest up for the next day in SF!

What fun Starrs to be in the friends and family row! :-D Glad it was all you wanted and more!!

Question - there are many Marriotts in SF - which one was this?

The Marriott on Fourth is a great location, isn't it? We stayed across the street at The Mosser last year when we met up with you and loved how easy it was to get around from there.

So glad you got to see Wicked; we saw it in Feb with lottery tickets and Carol Kane was Madame Morrible - she was great. I had heard that Patty Duke was taking over. Is she still married to John Astin?

And the Ferry Building, ahhhh - go much good eats and so little time.

I always reading trip reports [especially from friends] on SF, brings back great memories of my favorite city.
Deb

Dawn, Starrs is talking about the one on Fourth, just 2 blocks from Market.

We stayed at Courtyard in Feb. It was very nice, but a really long walk from Market and Union Sq etc. It was on 2nd and Folsom. Got a great price, but it was a schlep just to get to Market St [15 minutes or so]

Deb

Day 2 - DF heads out early to go to work. I PLANNED to head out early to explore the Saturday market at the Ferry Building.
I was tired. I didn't get out early at all :-(

I DID make it in time for a bit of wandering before the wonderful tour of the Ferry Building offered by http://www.sfcityguides.org/

<i>Thanks, StuDudley!

</i> The tour was great. Short - only an hour. Very interesting history of the building and SF. Our guide did a great job.

Headed off to BART to grab a train to Oakland to meet up with another Fodorite. The last time we were out there, DF and I spent quite a bit of time walking around Berkeley with his DD. It was a real treat to see Oakland with a local as well. We stopped in for an incredible (and inexpensive) lunch at his favorite lunch spot - Shanghai restaurant. We ordered his favorites and added on a curry dish. The food was wonderful and very, very reasonable. Once again, the best part is getting to know Fodorites better.

We headed off in his car and I got a tour of Oakland and the hills. It had been two decades (scary to realize that it had been that long) since I was out there driving around there by myself for work and what a treat to get a tour by a local and to see the rebuilding that has taken place after the fires. One can only hope that everyone incorporates a lot of the fireproofing design ideas that they've used if there's ever a need to rebuild.

The day lasted longer than expected but it was absolutely delightful. With a hug goodbye, I was dropped off at BART to head back for an evening with DF.

<<Dawn, Starrs is talking about the one on Fourth, just 2 blocks from Market.

We stayed at Courtyard in Feb. It was very nice, but a really long walk from Market and Union Sq etc. It was on 2nd and Folsom. Got a great price, but it was a schlep just to get to Market St [15 minutes or so]

Deb>>

Thanks Deb - I am low on Marriott points, but may have enough for one night stay - :)

Deb is right. That's the one. I looked at the Mosser everytime we turned on 4th and wondered WHO I knew had stayed there. I knew someone had!

I DID like that location. My fav (the Monaco) isn't too far away, but I did like the close proximity to Market and everything it has to offer (especially transportation options).

I've seen Wicked TOO many times to admit to (and won't) and had tickets for the following week in Birmingham. B was my 5th city. Heck, I'm going to stop worrying about it. Some folks see a ball game in every city they can. I'm just doing the Wicked thing. :-)

Patty Duke did a VERY good job, but it was a bit strange seeing someone so petite as Madame Morrible. All the ones I have seen were tall women with PRESENCE! Think Jo Ann Worley - LOL! :-) An itty bitty Madame Morrible just didn't to seem as ... mean or dangerous... and the headmistress seemed so small next to the students. But, Patty Duke DID do a great job in the role. And, Wicked is known for casting all sizes and shapes and colors in various roles. LOVE that show. :-)

No, she's no longer married to Astin. She's been married for 20 years to a nice, unassuming man and they live in Idaho. Their son was a gentle giant of a young man. Very nice people.

Thanks Starrs! I will see what I can come up with - because it is a long weekend, I do want the best location. I have stayed down by fisherman's warf and did not care for it as well as in a Marriott in Union Square, but cannot recall which one...I have a 100.00 g/c for a Hyatt as well...

I agree - who cares about Wicked and how many times you have seen it! Your time and your money :-D. I have only seen it once but am going over the summer in S.D. to see it again.

Night 2 - When I get back to the room DF is resting after a long work day. Up early to interview folks, meetings, entertaining for lunch, an exciting new opportunity in his new field of speciality. He is wiped out. I am too. We both collapse to rest "for just a few minutes" and promptly fall asleep.

We do wake up and, although we both LOVE to travel, have absolutely no ideas of what to do when we get up. We are in the midst of discussing room service and a movie, when it hits me - WE ARE IN SAN FRANCISCO ON A SATURDAY NIGHT! We get up. :-)

Both of us are tired, but DF has the idea. He leads me to the Powell Street turnaround, not a problem with lines at night and we jump on the next cable car. We have our pick of seats and we ride on our wonderful chariot through SF at night.

It was magical.

http://www.sfcablecar.com/routes.html

At the end of the ride, we walk over to the (internet problems, let me see if I can save this post)

Love your trip report starrs and it sounds like you had a wonderful time. And you sure spent time with some fantastic Fodorites! My grandson recently saw Wicked with his "new" girlfriend and I need to hear how they enjoyed their evening.

"her son was a gentle giant" ... Sean ?

<I>we ride on our wonderful chariot through SF at night.</I>

I did that when I lived there but it was on a motorcyle .. thrilling... flying through the streets late at night, over those hills.. hanging on for dear life .. but a cable car can be fun too.
How could you stand to leave? :)

Starrs: YOu have given me a great idea to take the cablecar for a ride at night through the streets.
I will be in SF for a very short while and thus was thinking of various ideas on how to enjoy the city in the little time I have. Will try your idea for sure.
Wonder how late into the night,the cable cars run?
Enjoyed reading about your adventures and experiences.

I love those "stealth" GTG, don't you?

Great trip report.

Wonderful trip report to a favorite city. You had me at the bakery...I guess I better go pack.

Patty Duke was in the room next to me in St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica when our sons were born. Sean, a day after mine. That is when you stayed in the hospital 3 days, she had a private room of course and kept the curtain drawn. It was very hush, hush who the father was, she was not married. Turns out Astin was not Sean's father after all. Her room was full of flower arrangements, the nurses station had them all over, so they started lining the hallways with them. It smelled like a funeral parlor. LOL

Nice trip report!

ileen,
We took the cable car from Union Square to Fisherman's Wharf on Valentine's Day at about 8pm. We walked around a bit, then took the cable car back. We hoped off at California and had a drink at The Top of the Mark. It was wonderful. Riding at night gives you a very different sense of the city. It was also freezing cold!

Deb

i love your idea of a cable car ride at night. it sounds just glorious!

Whew! Back again. 340 miles later, I'm home with a good computer connection.

Sean Astin = a gentle giant? He always seemed short to me.

No, I saw Sean on The View the week before I left - and that's when I heard his mom had joined Wicked in SF - but her youngest son was with his dad (her current husband of 20 years) at the play. According to wiki he's adopted. Nice kid - maybe late teens/early 20's - but very tall and a big guy all around.

starrs - very nice report, but I keep reading and waiting to hear that you had the hot chocolate at Boulette's Larder in the Ferry building! What could have gone wrong, pray tell???? If you didn't have it, you have to go back immediately!!!

The Magical Night - Riding the Rails, continued...

We walked the short blocks from the hotel to the Powell turnaround, boarded a cable car (no line at that time of night - about 9ish), settled in at the front on the left and got ready for a magical ride. It was so much fun with the stars above, the lights around and the camardarie on the car. A great start to the night!

At the end of the line near the Wharf we walked over to the pickup point of the trolley car and rode in a vintage trolley car along the waterfront, turning at the Ferry Building, all the way up Market Street, to the end of the line at Castro.

http://sanfrancisco.about.com/od/mun...iandmaps_9.htm

We got out at the end of the line and had a nice time just wandering around the neighborhood. It was early for the nightlife (around 10ish now) but enjoyed strolling arm in arm, stopping in a couple of shops and just having a good time together. The most memorable sight was the guy that would put NYC's Times Square "The Naked Cowboy" to shame. This guy WAS naked...okay, okay, he was wearing a nordic wool cap on this head, but other than that.... wandering around having a good time catching the attention of folks and posing for a few pictures.

The movie Milk was still in theatres and a few of the movie posters were in his otherwise empty storefront. That was pretty cool. We weren't really hungry, but needed some change for the return on the street car so we ducked into the Hot Cookie for some cookies to go and a couple of waters. A bought a couple of cookies for the next day and a couple of minis for "now" and chatted with some guys waiting for the trolley car. Back down Market, off at 4th and on to the hotel to rest up for the next day.

A great (easy and inexpensive) night tour of San Francisco - from the end of one line (cable car) to the other (trolley/ streetcar). One of the best SF memories EVER! :-)

Note to self: Don't wait 6 weeks to write a trip report - or at least make some notes...

On the drive home, I was wondering "What about dinner on Saturday night? I'm sure we ate dinner!" but couldn't remember. Now, I do!

I forgot the middle part of the day. DF's last session was to end about 4:30 - 5 and we were to meet at the Ferry Building. He wanted to take the ferry over to Sausalito to have dinner there, before coming back. Sooo, I wander the Ferry Building a bit, waiting for him and just before he was to arrive I walked to the ticket booth.

Uh-oh. On weekends, there isn't a later ferry that would give us enough time to have dinner and get back. I knew this would be a problem, because the ferry to Sausolito is one of his "traditions". I started scrambling for options. I asked the woman in the booth for recommendations and she gave me the name of her favorite place, but warned it was pricey. At least I had a new option to share when DF arrived.

I was about to settle in for a glass of wine at the wine bar when my cell phone rang and he was there. We strolled the building discussing the options and then I mentioned the new place. I had noticed it on my walks back and forth (but had not noticed it in the Fodors guidebook). We decided to give it a try. We walked in WITHOUT a reservation, got what I think was the last available table (because it was early) and settled into a new favorite SF restaurant.

Boulevard
Here's some shots of the interior -
http://www.boulevardrestaurant.com/gallery_int.html
Here's the menu -
http://www.boulevardrestaurant.com/menu.html

The decor, the service, the food = all sublime

We shared a starter -
Monterey calamari stuffed with Dungeness crab, served with Italian butter bean with Spanish chorizo & Meyer Lemon Relsih.

OMG! Unbelievably good.

I ordered the halibut, he ordered the Angus filet mignon, and we were very, very happy diners! :-)

Okay, now, back to the hotel, for a rest, fall asleep, wake up dioriented and deciding what to do for the rest of the evening? Movie in the room? No! Off to the cable cars (DF's GREAT idea) Back on track...

"No notes"?
Wow. Great memory!

And thx for the heads up on your return visit. <i>HARUUMMMPH</i> [(

Still kicking myself for missing your last trip out here. It looked like a good time. Even if Faiyenu was there.

Just for that, I'll do an under the radar trip to Atlanta.
[-X

It looks like you were using ***kim's*** camera!

BTW the nickname of that Marriott is The Juke Box Marriott.

Day 3 (Sunday) - another day that I had pretty much planned, leaving the evening open for whatever DF wanted to do.

Well, he woke up on Sunday morning and wanted to go for breakfast and blow off his first session. I scrambled to figure out how to get the rest of the day to fit :-)

We walked a block away to a diner. Mel's Drive In. I'd walked past it numerous times during other convention stays and never had any desire to go. But, it was that or Denny's and so we went -
http://www.melsdrive-in.com/hoursand...ionstreet.html
Loud. Mediocre food. Pricey. DF was on expense account, but not me. We had LOVED the 24 hour diner down the street from the Monaco last year. Not this place. Families, beware. I can't imagine paying for a family's breakfast here.

Said my goodbyes to DF as he returned to the conference and I headed to church. Now, the second service rather than the early service. Destination - Glide Memorial Methodist Church

http://www.glide.org/Celebrations.aspx

I was a bit early so I stopped by the restroom at the Hilton and hung out in the lobby for a few minutes. The church website said to get there 30 minutes before the service but when I walked out the lobby doors, the line had already started for the next service.

If you saw the Will Smith movie, the Pursuit of Happyness, you may remember the church service in that movie -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-T1GZ0qxXQ

I attend an intown United Methodist Church that is very active in my city's homeless community and is very GLBT inclusive. Glide is as well, but at warp speed. They feed the homeless three meals a day. The congregation is very diverse and the church is very inclusive. The service is far from a "normal" Methodist church service - think Pentacostal or Baptist church meeting. Ushers continually walk the aisles offering fans and Kleenex. One of the soloists and lay speakers was very Southern (Alabama, I think) and her elderly parents and equally funny brother were there to share the day with her. The music was fabulous. It was an amazing service. I talked to quite a few people - visitors and members - and were enthralled with their stories they shared. It was a wonderful, uplifting, joyful worship service. Amazing.

One of my favorite SF memories - ever. Another (new) one :-)

The Ferry Building tour was so good I knew I wanted to do another one. I chose the Noe Valley tour, because I had never been to the Noe Valley. I grabbed a cab at the Hilton and we headed out. The tour started at the Public Library and the cab driver had difficulty finding it. I used my map to help navigate and we wandered a bit. We couldn't figure out how we had missed it, so he stopped to ask a walker for directions and we had driven right past it. I arrived with 1 minute to spare.

http://www.sfcityguides.org/desc.html?tour=55

The start of the tour was good with a discussion of the Carnegie endowments for libraries, but it shortly (very shortly) tanked. The volunterr guide volunteered that this was her second time leading a tour. She had a large group (about 30 at the beginning of the tour). The day was HOT - and many of the visitors weren't dressed for such a hot day. My big mistake was slipon clogs that were shearling lined. Can we say "stupid"? Walking the hills on SF on a very hot day in shearling lined clogs. Dang! Where were my Crocs?!?! :-D

If the guide studied any notes or did any research, it would have been a surprise to us. She was very nervous but had very little to share. She had absolutely no sense of guiding. Several times during the tour, the group was spread out over three blocks, and she never looked back to see where folks where - nor waited before she talked. We had two elderly women with us including a woman who had lived on the blocks were walked and now lived in Diamond Heights. Another woman had grown up on the same block as Lick Middle School. She just shook her head in disgust at the babbling of the young tour guide. Once, after telling the group "No more hills", she headed straight up a very steep hill with all but two of us following. One poor woman and her husband waited at the bottom of the hill and mumbled and grumbled the entire time. The reason for the unplanned trek up the hill? To show us a modern house that happened to be for sale. We trekked back down the hill and at that point I decided that this was not a good use of my time.

I enjoyed the commentary of the Diamond Heights woman who had lived in the area for decades and the woman who grew up there. I took pictures of the woman standing on her front stoop pointing at the duplex doors - her grandmothers shared the left side of the house and her parents and siblings lived on the right. The tour guide had stopped in the middle of a driveway when a car slowed down and then started honking. The tour guide didn't move. Finally, the passenger window comes down and the woman says "This is OUR house". The guide moves the group down a few doors, and our little group at the end was told that they were bringing home their baby from the hospital. It was a very sweet moment to see the new parents take their baby into the house for the first time.

We caught up with the group at the bottom of the hill and the tour guide pointed out Carlos Santana's signature in the cement and mentioned that he paid for a Peace Garden in front of the school he had attended. The next stop was a mauve house, and the older woman muttered "It's JUST a house!". She said her goodbyes to our little back of the line group and I decided she had a great idea. At the next intersection, I asked for directions and headed out. I did tell a couple of folks I was going - in case the guide ever looked back and noticed folks were gone. I'm sure she never did :-)

Once I left the tour, the day turned brighter. I really enjoyed the houses, the details, the gardens and all the open house signs as I headed to my next destination... a tea room!

Now for the good stuff -
http://www.lovejoystearoom.com/About/aboutus.html

Lovejoy's Tea Room
Delightful!

I was looking for something nice for DF's DD and I to do on a Sunday afternoon and thought a tea room would be nice. I posted a question on the board, but no one had tried it.

TRY IT!

DD was back in Atlanta that weekend (and posting on Facebook from Krispy Kreme that morning :-) ) but I was so enchanted with the website I decided to go solo. It was wonderful. Just a darling place with mismatched china and stuff all around and WONDERFUL teas! Behind me was a bridal party, to the side was a wedding shower, in the corner was a family birthday celebration and scattered around the room were tables of friends and couples. I just loved the place. (Can you tell?)

I chose the one of the herbal teas - vanilla rooibas and the high tea service and settled back and tried to forget the Noe Valley walking tour :-)

Oh, if you think you want to stay in the Noe Valley, this place looked wonderful - http://www.hidden-cottage.com/

Tea over. Picked up the J MUNI line right outside the door. Headed back into the city and enjoyed the ride back. Did I mention that the day was very, very HOT? Two families with little ones got on and one family was on the way to Zoe's birthday party in Delores Park. When we pulled up to the park, the little girl was amazed! The mom shared that perhaps everyone that was there weren't there for Zoe's party. The dad across the aisle suggested they crash Zoe's party if it was this big of a hit.

The park was packed on a sunny day. We were stopped there for a while, and I saw something I never expected to see in April in San Francisco. A (bit chubby) man wearing an electric blue Speedo. Ah, the sunworshipers were out for a beautiful day in a city park :-)

We just saw Wicked at the Orpheum this past weekend, a Mothers Day present for DW.

It was a pleasure to tour you around one afternoon. :)

ty

It was a blast, ty!
I couldn't remember what you ordered for us -
Beef noodles, onion pancake, pork dumplings, something else, and the curry dish? What am I forgetting - or getting wrong?
All of it was delicious!

Thanks for sharing Starrs. I love SF and wish I got up there more often.

Peking Beef Noodle soup, Green Onion Pancakes, Steamed Dumplings (with the "soup" inside!), Yellow Chicken Curry with potatoes...and white rice!

Tea of course...and a DC for you.

ty

you went to a couple of my most favourite places!
boulevard and lovejoy.
did you check out their antique store across the street for some great china?

glide memorial is pretty special.
dd and i volunteer there each summer and the number of people we serve at each meal is staggering.
we have gotten to know a few of the regulars and it is pretty cool to watch and hear dd with them talking about music and what got them into the homeless situation.
many of them could be ordinary folks like you and me - with a twist of bad luck.
kenneth cole has a new ad campaign designed around glide.

abranz, I'm so glad someone else is in love with Lovejoy's! I will definitely go back. In fact, I'd love to own a place like that. I DIDN'T go to the store across the street. I had less time to play with than expected, and was sure I'd be tempted...and if there's one thing I don't need more of it would be china!

Glide was very special. ellenm invited me to join her at her church in NYC and now Glide in SF. It means a lot to me that there are churches like those serving others. And, I completely agree that many are "ordinary folks like you and me - with a twist of bad luck". That's what so scary about the economy right now.


cpg, NO! I DIDN'T! :-(
I fully intended to, but was never there at a time I was ready for hot chocolate. I will return though - and maybe will see you and cmcfong there making difficult choices. Maybe Sunday brunch would be a good time for a mini-GTG -
http://www.bouletteslarder.com/menus/menu_brunch.pdf

I DID stop here to buy some amazing "cherry bomb" chocolates to take home as gifts - along with a bar of one of their delicious chocolates. DF has a sweet tooth so I took a little box of treats back to the hotel - but only managed to get a taste or two :-)
http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace....fen_berger.php

Starrs- I was there last weekend for Mothers Day - we rode the cable car from the Wharf to downtown around midnight and there was a full moon- it was just amazing- would have been very romantic if I had been with a SO- but I was happy to be with daughter

Cherry bomb chocolates? How did I miss that? What are they?

Oh, cpg, they looked great! My dad loves chocolate covered cherries. S-B take real cherries with stems, surround one with cherry candy of some kind and then dip the whole thing in chocolate. They are BIG. I took 4 home to dad and he was thrilled! Mom got a bar of lavendar infused chocolate.

sunbum, wasn't it great? I can't believe I'd never done it before. Never again - or ALWAYS, I guess. Every trip to SF will have a cable car/ street car round trip night ride from now on :-)

Okay, back to the end of Day 3.

I joked on another thread asking about what to pack and I said "American Express". I took 2 pairs of shoes and they just didn't work for this trip. Who knew that SF would have a HEAT WAVE at the beginning of April and my "comfortable" shoes were hot and very uncomfortable. Wrong shoes, wrong socks, lots of walking on hills = my feet were killing me!!!

I knew DF was waiting and I knew I would fly out in less than a day, but I had to buy new shoes.

The location of the hotel is great for shopping - Nordstrom's and the Westfield Shopping Mall. I chose the store that required the least walking....Adidas....walked in and put on new cool socks, told the guy to bring me two pairs of tennis shoes with good arch support and walked out in new shoes. The entire process MAY have taken 10 minutes. On with new yellow (yellow! :-O ) tennis shoes and back to the room. My feet were soooo happy! :-)

Night 3 -
Back to the room. DF was already there and resting. Time to get a recap of the day and hear all the great things that had happened. Time to discuss what to do for dinner and the evening.

DF had talked about taking me to the Haight. I had driven through in a limo when I was out there entertaining customers and they wanted to "see some things" on the way back from lunch at Cliff House. (If you haven't been to Cliff House - GO!). I considered a walking tour - and maybe will one day. DF had done his version of "dropping out" during the Summer of Love, but John's Grill figured in that summer as well...and it still is His Favorite. And, given that it was close by, off we went.

http://johnsgrill.com/
John's Grill - the location of one of the GTGs last March. Home of the Maltese Falcon. His father's recommendation when he called to say he needed "real food" during his pseudo-hippie phase in SF. When LoveItaly and I arrived a year earlier, we were told "Your friend is waiting for you at the bar". Seems like a bit of symmetry to end the next year's trip here.

We were seated upstairs and had a great view of the table in front of the windows where so many of us had gathered for a great GTG. I quickly decided on the apppetizer - mussels - and ordered prosecco and we started our meal with a toast to LoveItaly (two of her favorites) and the rest of the Fodorites we spent time with last year.

A great meal. A great time. A great end to the trip.

The trip back was uneventful. I headed out to catch a cab on Monday morning and the Super Shuttle was there ready to go. Off to SFO, no problems checking in and an easy flight home.

Can't wait to go back. Approximately same time, next year :-)