"A Rare and Blistering Sun...

...shines down on grace cathedral park".  Okay, I had to search for this one.  It's sung by the Red House Painters, an alternative rock group formed in 1989 in San Francisco.  I haven't heard the music for Grace Cathedral Park but I like some of their other songs.

Tuesday morning we had breakfast together in the hotel as Glen decided to forego the morning sessions (there's a theme here).  We then headed out to find another letterbox.  This one hidden at Grace Cathedral which was a couple of blocks away.  I opted for what I hoped was a gentle slope as the cathedral is perched high above the Hilton on Nob Hill.

It was cool as we began our walk but we soon shed our jackets when we reached the cathedral.  The sky was very blue and the sun blistering, just as the song suggests.  We had been to the cathedral before when Meg's singing teacher recommended we walk its labyrinth so many sites were familiar.

The cathedral seems to draw people to it so, even though it was mid-morning, there were people doing tai chi, stretches, and one woman practiced a fan dance.  I walked part of the labyrinth (here are some pics on Pinterest) and felt a sense of calm wash over me.  However, I stopped when I had the opportunity to find the letterbox.  In the end, Glen found it (I don't seem to have much luck actually finding these things) while I took photos of the cathedral's gardens.

After stamping, we entered the church which was founded in 1849 during the gold rush.  It was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake whereupon, the Crocker family donated the land on Nob Hill for the cathedral.  We gave a donation (they suggest $10) and proceeded to explore this episcopalian cathedral.  The walls are decorated with modern murals (one depicting the earthquake and subsequent fires) and sculptures.  The stain glass windows were inspiring.   As we exited, I had to admire the brass replica of Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise.  I'd seen the original years ago in Florence, Italy.

Across the street is the park mentioned in the song.  It had a fountain in its centre which attracted people and dogs.  To one side was a kid's park which was a very busy place.  The sun was blistering so we enjoyed the shade for a few minutes then it was off to find lunch.  We'd already checked out of the Hilton so didn't need to worry about going back there.  I wanted to take some cable car photos so we wandered down to Powell St., passing the famous Fairmont hotel.  We then headed to the Moscone Conference Center stopping at Lori's Diner for lunch.  Glen had a hot dog while I had a veggie chop open-faced sandwich.

Glen's former grad student was to stand by their poster answering questions from 1-3:00 pm so we arrived in time to support her.  Glen then did some more networking before we left to catch the Super Shuttle to the airport.  Actually, networking is the main reason Glen goes to this meeting as he can touch base with people all over North America.  Next year it's in Denver so I guess it's a given we'll be going to that one.  

Our shuttle bus driver was very Russian and it turns out he drove a tank in Afghanistan during their war.  He said he still prefers driving a tank.  What a character he was!  It would have been neat to sit down and listen to his stories.

He let us off at the International terminal but we soon found out this was the wrong place to be.  Calgary is considered a domestic city in San Francisco.  The United Airlines desk clerk checked in our bag then directed us to the correct terminal.  We went through a very short security line then headed to Gordon Biersch for supper.  We each had their Czech Pilsner and Swiss mushroom burger.

After stopping at the Ghirardelli store to buy chocolate, we arrived at our gate.  Tanis soon joined us.  The plane arrived late so we didn't tumble into our own bed until 2:00 am Calgary time.

I Left My Heart in San Francisco

Tony Bennett first sang this song in the premiere San Francisco hotel, The Fairmont ($350/night), in 1961 and recorded it a year later.  It became his signature piece and perhaps the most famous song about San Francisco.

But I wasn't feeling like singing when I woke up Monday morning.  Not sure what I ate to make me so bilious but I couldn't get out of bed.  Glen had a breakfast meeting so he left me to sleep until 10:00 am.  After a shower, I felt well enough to touch base with Jennifer.  We'd made plans to go to Sausalito which I had cancelled earlier.  Neither of us was up for a ferry ride so we decided to do a 'walk about'.  She wanted to show me the theatre district where she used to come into town as a teen to see plays and musicals.  We then did a quick tour of Chinatown before heading through Union Square.

That's where I saw the heart (see photo).  I'd seen a few around town but thought they were much like the cows in Edmonton or orcas in Victoria where local artists decorated statuary to raise money for charity.  Not so the hearts of San Francisco.

A talented artist, Tony Bennett donated these and each bears one of his paintings of San Francisco.  Under the name, Tony Benedetto, he has exhibited his works in many galleries around the world.  He was the official artist of the 2001 Kentucky Derby and the United Nations also commissioned him to do a painting for their 50th anniversary.

Beyond Union Square, we found ourselves in the financial district where we discovered a quaint sandwich/coffee shop called Bread & Cocoa.  My stomach was still rocky but needed food so I ordered a roasted vegetable sandwich and a ginger ale.  Jennifer went with chicken on a bun and Coke.  Half a sandwich was an option offered which I took and am glad I did as the sandwich was substantial.  The place was small so we were lucky to grab a table for two but most customers worked in the office buildings and took their lunches to go.  The soups looked delicious but I wasn't sure my stomach could handle them.

Jennifer and I returned to our hotels so I could go back to bed but sleep eluded me.  I guess I'd recovered.

That evening Glen was happy to dine with just me and we decided to eat near the hotel.  After perusing his Open Table app, we concluded a Southern restaurant was for us.  A five minute walk got us to Biscuits and Blues.  The place was empty except for another couple but we were ready for a quiet evening so it was perfect.  The minute I opened the menu, I knew I wanted fried green tomatoes.  Then I saw the deep fried pickles and I knew I'd found my restaurant.  Glen and I shared these appetizers then I had southern fried chicken and he had crab cakes.  We also shared an incredible bread pudding for dessert.

As we ate, the place began filling up until there were no empty seats.  The band set up and began to play.  We enjoyed our dessert listening to Pro Jazz Jam with Mike Olmos.  It seemed a fitting end to the day.

"I'm Sitting on the Dock of the Bay...

I guess the theme of this trip can be defined by songs about San Francisco.  I can certainly see how the city can inspire.

Being a peninsula, SFO is surrounding by the sea and so one is never far from the 'dock of the bay' but I must admit, I didn't do too much sitting this day.

We slept in on Sunday morning as Glen figured he could miss the first sessions of his conference.  We had a leisurely breakfast at Lori's Diner.  This is a 50s style eatery with fantastic food and great music.  Ed told us how his grandmother loved corned beef hash for breakfast and since it was on the menu, I decided to try it out.  I didn't realize it came with two eggs as well.  However, it seemed to slip down and was tasty.  Glen had sourdough french toast with strawberries and declared it very good.  Ed enjoyed a spinach omelet and Tim, a taco one so despite all the food at dinner the previous night, we all had appetites.

We dropped Glen off at the convention centre for his lunch meeting (not sure how he ate it but he said the salmon was good), then Tim, Ed, and I headed for AT&T ballpark, home of the San Francisco Giants.  It was built in 2000 to replace Candlestick Park in an area that once housed old, abandoned warehouses.  Ed, who had lived many years in SFO, had never seen the park except on TV so both were happy to take me there to find two letterboxes.

The first thing I noticed, though, was not the ballpark but the bridge.  It was the same one used in the James Bond movie, A View to A Kill.  Called Lefty O'Doul's Drawbridge, its counterweights crush a few SFO police cars in the movie's chase scene.

AT&T ballpark hugs China Basin, also called McCovey Cove (named for Willie McCovey and not really a cove).  To reach the letterboxes, we walked along the basin's 'dock of the bay'.  Embedded in the sidewalk were brass plaques to some of the great Giants' players.  Some I even recognized like Willie Mays and Barry Bonds.  During the Giants' games, boats choke the cove as many home run balls exit the park to land in the waterway.

Our first letterbox was at the Willie Mays gate and Ed easily found it.  He'd read about letterboxing when I told him of my hobby but didn't understand how thrilling finding one was.  The second box was dedicated to Brian Wilson who grew a beard (which he dyed black) during the 2010 World Series and opponents were told to "Fear the Beard".  After much searching, we had to admit defeat as we could not find the box.  Disappointed, we headed back to Union Square for lunch at the top of the Macy*s store.

The Cheesecake Factory restaurant there offers great views of Union Square.  The temperatures were pleasant in the shade so we opted to sit outside.  We had a 20 minute wait but after our large breakfast, this was not a problem.  Tim ordered the avocado eggrolls to start and they were delicious.  I then enjoyed my first Anchor Steam beer and had shrimp summer rolls for my main.  I ordered off their Skinnylicious menu which offers lighter fare.  Apparently in California, every restaurant must provide patrons with the calorie count of each dish as well as its nutritional details.  Tim had a Santa Fe salad while Ed enjoyed a Greek Farro Salad.  He wanted to know what farro was and since I had seen it mentioned in the Food & Wine magazine, I was also curious.  He declared it much like quinoa even though the former is a grain and the latter a seed.

After lunch, we returned to the hotel.  Tim and Ed had to head out to the airport.  Tim was off to Guatemala City while Ed was going home to Newport Beach.  It was hard to say good-bye but we're hoping to connect again in Florida next January.

Glen arrived back at the room not long after and we got ready for dinner.  He had made reservations (gotta love the Open Table app) at a restaurant at Fisherman's Wharf.  We met up with Neil and Jennifer then walked down to the cable car which would take us there.  Union Square is a terminus for the tram and it had a long line of people waiting to board.  After doing the math, we figured we'd miss our reservation time if we waited for a cable car so hailed a cab.  Having ridden in a SFO cab before I wasn't surprised at the speed hills were ascended and descended but Jennifer was not happy.  Both she and Neil had lived part of their lives in the city but I guess never had gone anywhere by cab.

We arrived early at Alioto's Italian Seafood restaurant perched on the 'dock of the bay' but they sat us anyway.  We then enjoyed a decadent meal of clams/mussels (me), crab cake (Glen) and garlic barramudi (both).  I've never had barramundi (often called Asian sea bass) but it is a delicate white fish.  Unfortunately, it was slightly overcooked so not as tasty as it might have been.  Dessert was chocolate fudge cake (Glen), strawberries (me).  Jennifer indulged her love of scallops while Neil had salmon.  They shared a cannoli for dessert.

Since both gentlemen had to rise early the next day, we headed back to our hotels then had a night cap before turning in.

"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."  So go the words of an old 60s tune and so went we.

Glen had an ASM conference in SFO from June 16th to 19th and I wasn't sure I'd attend until I learned many of my friends would be there.  Three of them having roots in the city.  So we rose early Saturday morning and had an uneventful flight south.  As we approached the city, the plane headed out over the ocean so we had a perfect view of the Golden Gate bridge.

San Francisco was founded in 1776 by the Spanish who established a mission to St. Francis Assisi (hence the city's name) there but it was the gold rush of 1849 that really put it on the map.  Now, many visit to see its incredible architecture, cable cars and Chinatown which is the oldest such area in North America (Victoria has the second oldest Chinatown).

Our plane landed early so after getting our bag, we waited for our friends, Tim and Ed.  They took the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) to meet us and it was great seeing them again.  Although we had enjoyed Tim's company in Maui, we hadn't seen Ed in two years.  They led us through the maze that was the airport to the BART station.  This is a cheap and convenient way to travel to and from the city but it often breaks down so factor that into your travel plans if you wish to use it.

The stop at Union Square was not far from the Hilton where we'd booked a room.  Ours wasn't ready so we stashed our bags in Tim and Ed's room then headed out.  First stop was lunch.  They had not had breakfast and ours had been at 3:30 am so we were all hungry.  Ed, who spent many years living in SFO, suggested we go to a sandwich shop near the convention centre.  This would allow Glen to get his name badge etc, after we'd eaten.

The Grove Cafe Yerba Buena was a busy place so while Ed staked out a table, we ordered lunch.  I had pastrami and Glen opted for a 3 cheese, grilled cheese sandwich.  Both were excellent and we washed them down with Fat Tire (Colorado) beer.

Afterwards, Glen headed to the convention centre and we toured the Museum of Modern Art gift shop.  Tim wanted me to see the photos of Diane Arbus which were supposed to be on exhibit but we'd missed the show so checked out one of her books instead.

Glen met us in a park a few minutes later since there were no lines to get his information.  We then headed to the Saturday market at the ferry terminal.  We, with Meg and Geoff, had taken the Sausalito ferry from here when Geoff was still at UC Irvine.  The stalls of food were a feast for the eyes but the prices were not cheap.  Artichokes being much the same price as what we pay in Calgary despite being grown locally.

We then wound our way through Chinatown which was also alive with shoppers hunting for a bargain.  By this time, we were hot and sweaty.  San Francisco was having a heat wave and everyone was suffering.  Tim spotted an Elephant and Castle pub where we had a couple of beers.

While we cooled down, Ed tried to get us reservations for dinner with his friends and several choices were vetoed because they were booked up.  The PGA's US Open was being played in San Francisco so there were more tourists in town than there'd normally be.  He finally got us at a table at the Beretta, deep in the Mission District.

On our way back to the hotel, we bumped into Neil.  He and Jennifer are dear friends and so we wanted to coordinate an evening out with them.  That done, we headed back to the hotel and I had a micro-nap (15 minutes) before getting ready for dinner.

We took the BART to "Mission".  As the name suggests, it's where the Spanish mission still stands.  At this time, the area is undergoing a renaissance.  There are many fine dining restaurants but the surrounding neighbourhoods are poor.  Ed said it's an area where you walk in a group or not at all.

Just as we entered the restaurant, May, Steve and their son, Nate arrived.  We were lead downstairs to a small, quiet dining area.  This disappointed Tim who wanted to be where the action was but it was more conducive to talking.  The restaurant serves a traditional Italian dinner with multiple courses but the food is very Californian.  Ed suggested we each order an antipasto and share as we'd do if eating Chinese.  This turned out to be an excellent way to sample the menu.  Everyone's favourite was fava (broad) bean bruschetta although an eggplant dish I ordered was delicious.  Glen wanted chicken liver bruschetta which was also tasty.  We followed these with two types of vegetarian pizza, two wild mushroom risottos and a saffron rissotto.  By this time we were full but the sweet tooths (or is it teeth?) decided gelato would serve as dessert.  I don't usually indulge but vanilla gelato drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt sounded intriguing.  It was a taste sensation!

We then wandered through Mission looking for an alleyway with murals done by local artists.  Everyone was 'out and about' enjoying the warm evening.  It reminded us of summer in NDG, Montreal where my aunt used to live.  After viewing the murals, we said good-bye to Steve, May, and Nate then headed back to the hotel.