Updates to the family from Peter and Ali in Cali....

Thursday, May 31, 2012

May 31, 2012 - First Week in SF

Flying across country...

Someone still has snow.

SF bay area.

Our gorgeous stay at the Hotel Monaco in SF... thank you Marco & Sumiko!
The staff sent us a bottle of celebratory champagne, chocolates, and even supplied Sushi with a kitty litter box & new toy.


Pier 39.  Mega touristy.

Crisp colors of a fruit stand on the pier against the cool water & mountain backdrop.



Fat seals in a floppy nap pile.




This building looks indestructible.

Shiny treats

Ghirardelli chocolate being made at the factory, on it's way to the bottom of my ice cream sundae.

Bay view overlooking Alcatraz.

Exposed trusses above a gallery.

I've never seen a painting on a map background.  Pretty clever.

Nice colors.

Topographic relief of San Francisco.

Wood neighborhood map of San Francisco.

California does not like pale skin.  Pink Alison.

Glowing structural glass DeBeers building at night.



Illuminated stairs & wall feature at a retail store.

Beautifully lit Westin St.Francis building on Union Square

Uplighting on the rustication & patina-ted cornice.

We got our mexican fix at Maria Maria next to the actual Walnut Creek creek.  
Chips & wicked good salsa, along with a skinny margarita & Chopped Mexican Salad with jicama, corn, roasted red pepper, cotija cheese, avocado, and agave-lime vinaigrette.

A little Walnut Creek shopping.  

Our spa & dinner evening at the Claremont Resort, overlooking the SF bay.

Best meal yet, eaten at the Paragon Restaurant:  
Berkshire Pork Chop with a side of quinoa, mint, toasted pine nuts and topped with grilled fruit relish.

Live music & a view at Paragon.

Farmer's market cherries.

Even the cookies here have avocado in them.  Avocado replaces the egg & butter to keep the mixture together to make a soft cookie, and you don't taste the avocado. 

Pretty hills of seaside Sausalito.

Mexican on the radar.  We need to come back to this taco shop.


Lunch at Taste of Rome in Sausalito:
Veggie Delight Panini with marinated eggplant, mozzarella, roasted red pepper, and avocado. 


Boats in Sausalito.


Doors at Armani.

Textured copper cladding at Herzog & de Meuron's de Young Museum.



The best SF views from the de Young Muesum tower.  I had no idea a city could be so foresty.




Looking across the park to the grassy mounded roof of Renzo Piano's California Academy of Sciences.

Creepy snake.

 A jaw-dropping coastal drive on Highway 1 from SF to Monterrey and on to Big Sur.



Cool barrel bar stools at a Monterrey wine tasting room.


That's it for today!

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