Just back from San Francisco
 

We just got back from a lovely 3 days in San Francisco! We arrived on Monday evening, and it was very cold, but we hopped on the cable car outside our hotel anyway, and headed for North Beach, where we headed for Coit Tower, and later had dinner at L'Osteria del Forno. We both had the roast pork, and it was quite good. I thought it might stay cold the entire time, but the weather was gorgeous the rest of the time. On Tuesday, we went on the boat tour of the Bay that was included in our CityPass. We had eaten breakfast at Buena Vista Cafe, and we ate so much that we weren't hungry for lunch for some time -- we'd planned on lunch at Scoma's right after the boat tour, but went souvenir shopping and to the Aquarium of the Bay instead, where my husband pet a Ray and a shark. We also had to get some shots of the sea lions at Pier 39 for our oldest granddaughter -- she was very interested :-) My husband sent her a picture on his phone, and we called her to let her hear them barking. Finally, we headed to Scoma's for the Prix Fixe lunch, and it was as good as we remembered -- Petite Dungeness Crab salad, with a lot of crab, a bowl of wonderful clam chowder, and the dessert was really yummy. We had chocolate torte with raspberry sauce and whipped cream -- not the fake stuff. The next day we took the Victorian Home Tour, and it was fantastic! Our guide was very knowledgeable, telling us about the different styles of architecture, and we got to go in the rooms of the Queen Anne Hotel. After that, we went to Yank Sing for a late lunch, and it was okay, but don't think it was worth the price. We didn't have that much to eat, but now I know what Dim Sum is. I doubt we'd go back, though. We much preferred Brandy Ho's, though the next time I will definitely order mild, not medium :-) We didn't make any reservations, as we went early enough that none of the restaurants were crowded. Our favorite places were Swan's Oyster Depot and Boulangerie de Polk. We had shrimp cocktails at Swan's Oyster Depot before taking the Orange Line to the Tadich Grill for dinner, where we had sand dabs. One day we went to the Top of the Mark at sunset, and it was beautiful! We went to the Mission, but it was late in the day, so we just went to La Tartine for a Banana chocolate tart. Mmmm... We wanted to go to the Mission Delores, but with only 3 days and the first evening, our time flew by! Next time, we will definitely stay a little longer. The last day, we had breakfast at Cliff House. The food was better than I expected -- good popovers -- but the real reason we went there was for the view. We arrived early and had our choice of tables by the window. Then, we walked down the road to catch the #5 bus to Golden Gate Park, where we went to the Japanese Tea Garden, and had tea in the tea house. Last time we went there it was raining, so it was nice to see it with the sun shining. We went to the de Young museum and went up to the top for the view, and then headed back on the bus -- we'd forgotten the Legion of Honor. From there, we took the #18 bus to where we picked up the #38L to go to Polk Street for the Swan Oyster Depot. We enjoyed talking to the servers at Swan's, and they were very helpful in suggesting we go to the Ferry Building when we got off the Orange Line, as we had an hour or so before dinner. I brought back sausages from Molinari's other store -- can't remember the name -- for our kids. Next time, we'll check there first, as there were lots of other things we could have brought back. Oh, one other thing! We went to the San Francisco Art Institute, to see the Diego Rivera mural. After that, we ended up walking up Lombard Street -- my knees survived :-) LOL! As I read over my trip report, it looks like all we did was eat.

Seems like you had a great, fun filled, busy time.

I could feel your enthusiasm in the report but a hint for future trip reports - use paragraphs to make it easier to read.

Glad you had a such a grand trip.
Deb

You were definitely busy, I am tired just reading your report :)

Sandy, what is the orange line? Don't think I've heard of it, you mentioned it here:

"We enjoyed talking to the servers at Swan's, and they were very helpful in suggesting we go to the Ferry Building when we got off the Orange Line, as we had an hour or so before dinner."

Hi Faina,
Sorry about that :-) I was writing this trip report in a hurry, as my husband was waiting for me to go out to dinner. I meant the California Cable car. I think I was thinking of the F line, which is sometimes orange, isn't it? Anyway, I should take more time editing. I could have saved it in my e-mail drafts and gone back to it, but I always have problems when I write in e-mail and copy and paste.

You're right...we did a lot in a very short time. We were so exhausted when we got home that we slept 9 hours!

Sandy

Faina,
The orange line is between the yellow and red lines.

Sandyp3,
((Y))
You guys did more in your 3 day stay than Mrs Kal and I have done in our last 10 trips to SF combined.

Great report, Sandypaws.
Is there a link for the Victorian tour? It sounds interesting.

Was the Victorian Home tour a Stu Dudley special?

5alive...try typing Stu Dudley in the "search" box.
Good recs.

Author: Kal
Date: 06/23/2008, 08:45 pm
Faina,
The orange line is between the yellow and red lines.

:)) yeah, it is!

Kal,
We did a lot, but we would have liked to have stayed longer in some places, such as Golden Gate Park and the museums. We had to pick what we really wanted to see.

I think the Victorian Home tour was some of the best time we spent! Here's the link:

http://www.victorianwalk.com/

Sandy

5alive,
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it :-) I was thinking that it was Kal who wanted the link, so I posted it in my reply to him. I'll post it again, just in case you didn't see it. I think you would really enjoy it. Our guide was very good, and we learned a lot about the different types of architecture. There's no way we would have found all those beautiful homes without taking the tour. Also, I appreciated the fact that she avoided the hills. Transportation is included.

Sandy

Oops...sorry, 5alive! Here's the link again:

http://www.victorianwalk.com/

Sandy

Thx Sandyp3.
We were interested in it too.

We have an "in" at the Queen Ann but never take advantage of it.
Maybe this is the year?

I'm dying for a Buena Vista Cafe breakfast with an Irish Coffee or three.

Oh Kal, another thing we have in common: the Irish coffee at the Buena Vista. So good! Are you buying? LoveItaly and I will be right over. :-)

Kal,
You're very welcome :-) The Queen Anne was lovely! For those who are interested in checking it out, here is the website:

http://www.queenanne.com/

Sandy

sp3,
Thx...I want to stay there once at least to see the ghost!

tpj, We'll be down there in Aug. for the Plate to Plate Run.
You two ready for me? ;)

Molinari sausages! They are the best. Try their sticks of pepperoni next time you're in town. They make great stocking stuffers. ((Y))

Please let the record show I will not touch that line. [(

When I go into Molinari's they ask me if I need any help.

I tell them "No thanks. I'll just stand here and smell".
They told me I did a good job at it.
=-O

Not even a nibble Kal? Awwwww....

I enjoyed your trip report. I liked the detailed descriptions of your bus routes as I travel that way as well. You do seem to have an appreciation for food so I was a little curious as to why you both got the roast pork at L'Osteria del Forno. Is it that good? Had you been there before? I almost never order the same thing as my partner since I prefer variety in sampling. Hope I'm not being too nosy; just curious as to other philosophies.

I love swan's oyster depot, too. Whenever I have a conference in that part of town, I try to leave a little bit early for a lunch at Swan's. What a great old (and teeny!) San Francisco institution. It's so small that I only take one or two buddies, if any, with me. And you're right, the staff are great.

I understand that the founder of Pearl Oyster Bar in NYC was inspired by her great aunt and Swan's!

Regarding the Diego Rivera mural, I was thinking it would be a great double viewing to see his mural and then go to the Frida Kahlo exhibit now at the SF MOMA.

Every Sunday in the Summer I would go to the BV after a swim and have a Ramos with my breakfast. now as a mature adult I may just have the Irish sans Coffee. Curious about the Tadish Grill Sandy. That was one of my favorites along with John's Grill for lunch. I will renew my SF excurision this August. Thanks for pumping me up.

ncounty,
Thanks :-) As to the roast pork, it was good, but I was trying it for the first time. My husband had it last time we went there, and he doesn't like pasta.

Sandy

Suz,
I will have to try the Pearl Oyster Bar next time we go to New York :-) I'd never heard of it!

Sandy

Kal,
You're very welcome :-) I know what you mean about the smells at Molinari's. Great!

Sandy

John,
You're very welcome :-) We enjoyed the Tadich Grill a lot -- we went there the first time we went to San Francisco, and it was one of the places we wanted to be sure to return. We weren't disappointed.

Sandy

Thanks for calling my attention to the Frida Kahlo exhibit at the SFMOMA. We'll be in San Francisco later this month and have reserved tickets to see the exhibit. I probably would not have been aware of it if it were not for this post.