Back to the big city!

Sunday – Calistoga to San Francisco!

Hello!

Whew!  What a change of scene – from bucolic Calistoga where we had our own little cabin in the woods overlooking a wash and set among huge oak trees, to busy, chaotic and NOISY downtown San Francisco!  Wow!

Up this morning about 6, and we decided to picnic for breakfast, to take care of some of our excess foodstuffs.  It was great – bread, salami, cheese and apples – who could ask for more?  Robert has done a fantastic job of getting things organized and loaded into the car; we are carrying a great deal of “stuff!” 

Out of Calistoga and on the road about 8 a.m., and decided to head due west until we ran out of road – i.e., Hit the coast and Highway 1!  We had a lovely drive – sometimes through fog, sometimes through blue sky, as we followed the Russian River as it meandered its way to the Pacific.  There are definitely some rather eclectic communities along the way – we even saw some tie-dye dresses and shirts for sale!  We always wondered where the hippies went – those who didn’t move to Bisbee AZ, I mean!

Turned south at Jenner in lovely sunshine; it was a beautiful Sunday morning!  We stopped at Point Reyes for lemonade and coffee – would have had sandwiches, but it was ‘breakfast only’ until 11:30 – and it was only 10:30…so, on we went!

Hit San Francisco a little after noon – and talk about traffic and congestion…one of the more interesting things that we’re dealing with is that while there is a toll taking the Golden Gate Bridge from Marin County into San Francisco, there are no longer any toll takers – and you must somehow figure out how to pay the $6.00 toll.  Robert tried several times to pay on line (we have 48 hours to get this done…) but apparently it wasn’t working properly…so now I think we’re going to have to hunt down a physical “place” tomorrow and take care of it!  What do people with no computers who don’t speak English do here?  Amazing!

Got to our hotel – The Cornell Hotel de France, which was recommended by Anne Vaughan.  We found parking out front, and were able to (making multiple trips) divide our stuff into three piles – things that we wanted in our room; things that the hotel could store for us (cases of wine), and things we left in the parking garage across the street (dirty laundry; books, etc.).  Dropped the car off, and then decided it was past time for lunch (and check-in time at the hotel is 1 p.m.).

Just across the street from the hotel is a restaurant called Roxanne’s.  Robert had a bowl of New England clam chowder and a plate of marinated, grilled shrimp, which was wonderful!  I had their Cobb Western salad – served in a taco shell, it had organic greens (a great selection!), bacon, egg, turkey and avocado with a blue cheese dressing; it was excellent! 

Then back to the hotel for check-in, as it was now 1:30 p.m.  The Cornell is a lovely hotel – very French, and reminiscent of hotels we have stayed in in Paris!  We’re on the 5^th floor, room 502.  Great elevator!  Nice-sized room with claw-footed bathtub; very fun!  The ceilings are very high, and beautifully painted.  We got settled in, and I managed to take a short but nice nap on our very comfortable bed.  Then … out to see some San Francisco sights!

The hotel is located just two blocks from Union Square, and we headed in that direction.  At the Walgreen’s on the corner, we were able to get transit passes.  From there, we were actually able to hop on the passing cable car, as it was making its way down to Ghiradelli Square.  Very crowded, but we did find seats inside – would much prefer to hang on outside, but sitting was good at this point!  Rode all the way to the end of the line, then headed to Fisherman’s Wharf.  

We couldn’t even remember the last time we’ve stayed in San Francisco – it has definitely been years!  But not too much has changed on the Wharf – it was its normal zoo, especially as it was a Sunday, AND, Ghiradelli was celebrating their annual chocolate festival – but we MISSED it by getting there too late!  Oh well…We got sidewalk seafood cocktails – R getting crab; I got bay shrimp – YUM!  Fortunately, those haven’t changed at all!  We then walked over to Ghiradelli Square, but things there we closing up – we were a bit surprised, as it was just a little after 6 p.m. but it looked like things were really winding down.  So, decided to head back to the hotel.  However, the cable car line was, quite literally, around the BLOCK – unreal!  So, as I’m traveling with Mr. Bus-Line, we were able to find a municipal bus map, and made our way first up Van Ness on the 47, to Post Street.  Off there, and cross Van Ness to pick up the 2, which got us directly to Union Square!  Simple; you just gotta have the knowledge!

As Robert didn’t have a huge lunch, he decided to get some sushi, which, fortunately, was able to be boxed up for take-out!  Back to the hotel and we’re now in for the night!  Still need to figure out what we’re doing tomorrow!

Much love,

m

xxx