Paul and Kate's visit
I haven’t blogged for a couple of weeks, so there’s a lot to catch up on! Last weekend was a bit of a partying one – we went to an interesting cocktail gathering at a colleague’s apartment in the Mission district on Friday night, then attended the North Beach Festival in our neighbourhood on Sunday. The festival’s most amusing feature was the pet blessings ceremony at the Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi. Imagine a church full of dogs – with their people – and you have the idea. There was also someone who had brought his hamster in a little cage. The dogs seemed to behave pretty well as the priests passed down the aisle throwing holy water. After the festival, some friends came back to our apartment and we put away a couple of good bottles of wine!
I’ve also seen a couple of very different San Francisco films recently: the Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill and The Bridge. I’d read the book that arose out of the former – it’s the story of a hobo who befriends the local wild parrot population, which is ultimately his salvation. It included lots of lovely scenes of North Beach and Telegraph Hill. The other was a less happy tale – it was a documentary about the fact that the Golden Gate Bridge is the most popular suicide spot in the world, with someone throwing him or herself off on average every two weeks.
Last Monday, our friends from Hoddesdon, Paul and Kate, arrived on the last leg of their round-the-world tour. Kate’s parents were also in town on part of their holiday. We enjoyed a few evenings of meals out and also took them up to Top of the Mark for cocktails one evening. The weather was incredible – baking hot almost every day, which is unusual for San Francisco. On Friday evening, we began the weekend with a lovely dip in the pool and a few beers.
Next day, we set off for Russian River, about 70 miles north across the Golden Gate. We hired canoes for the day and set off down the river from Forestville. Much of it was very gentle with barely any paddling required. However, there were a few tricky bits with easy “rapids”, then the river widened and the paddling got rather harder! However, we had plenty of breaks for picnicking and swimming in the river. There were lots of other people out and about in various contraptions – it was a real holiday atmosphere. At the end of it all, we rode back to our car in a converted yellow school bus, then headed to Guerneville, where we stayed in a motel very handy for the restaurants and cafés. We didn’t stay out too late, though, as we were all exhausted from a string of late nights and a few miles of canoeing.
On Sunday, we went to nearby Korbel Champagne Cellars to do a champagne tasting. Not a bad way to start the day. It was another gorgeous, warm morning, but by the time we reached the coast, 12 miles west of Guerneville, we’d hit the fog! We drove down the coast, but didn’t tarry long on the northern stretch because of the fog. However, by the time we reached Tomales Bay, it was beginning to clear, so we enjoyed a nice picnic at Bear Valley and a sunny wander along the earthquake trail, which runs along the San Andreas fault and gives info about the plate tectonics at work underneath! After that, we headed to the southern part of Point Reyes and strolled along the coastal path. Down at one of the beaches, we had the good fortune to see an osprey up close as it rode the wind and thought about diving for fish (but ultimately didn’t bother!). Then it was over to Coast Café in Bolinas for a great dinner, before heading down the coast along Highway 1, taking in the vista from the viewpoint above the Golden Gate (by which time it was freezing!) and finally back to San Francisco.
Kate and Paul have now gone off to Yosemite for a couple of days. Mind you, I’m not sure anything can beat their trip to Alcatraz, where they bumped into Posh and Becks, of all people!
I’ve also seen a couple of very different San Francisco films recently: the Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill and The Bridge. I’d read the book that arose out of the former – it’s the story of a hobo who befriends the local wild parrot population, which is ultimately his salvation. It included lots of lovely scenes of North Beach and Telegraph Hill. The other was a less happy tale – it was a documentary about the fact that the Golden Gate Bridge is the most popular suicide spot in the world, with someone throwing him or herself off on average every two weeks.
Last Monday, our friends from Hoddesdon, Paul and Kate, arrived on the last leg of their round-the-world tour. Kate’s parents were also in town on part of their holiday. We enjoyed a few evenings of meals out and also took them up to Top of the Mark for cocktails one evening. The weather was incredible – baking hot almost every day, which is unusual for San Francisco. On Friday evening, we began the weekend with a lovely dip in the pool and a few beers.
Next day, we set off for Russian River, about 70 miles north across the Golden Gate. We hired canoes for the day and set off down the river from Forestville. Much of it was very gentle with barely any paddling required. However, there were a few tricky bits with easy “rapids”, then the river widened and the paddling got rather harder! However, we had plenty of breaks for picnicking and swimming in the river. There were lots of other people out and about in various contraptions – it was a real holiday atmosphere. At the end of it all, we rode back to our car in a converted yellow school bus, then headed to Guerneville, where we stayed in a motel very handy for the restaurants and cafés. We didn’t stay out too late, though, as we were all exhausted from a string of late nights and a few miles of canoeing.
On Sunday, we went to nearby Korbel Champagne Cellars to do a champagne tasting. Not a bad way to start the day. It was another gorgeous, warm morning, but by the time we reached the coast, 12 miles west of Guerneville, we’d hit the fog! We drove down the coast, but didn’t tarry long on the northern stretch because of the fog. However, by the time we reached Tomales Bay, it was beginning to clear, so we enjoyed a nice picnic at Bear Valley and a sunny wander along the earthquake trail, which runs along the San Andreas fault and gives info about the plate tectonics at work underneath! After that, we headed to the southern part of Point Reyes and strolled along the coastal path. Down at one of the beaches, we had the good fortune to see an osprey up close as it rode the wind and thought about diving for fish (but ultimately didn’t bother!). Then it was over to Coast Café in Bolinas for a great dinner, before heading down the coast along Highway 1, taking in the vista from the viewpoint above the Golden Gate (by which time it was freezing!) and finally back to San Francisco.
Kate and Paul have now gone off to Yosemite for a couple of days. Mind you, I’m not sure anything can beat their trip to Alcatraz, where they bumped into Posh and Becks, of all people!
1 comment:
Wow, amazing pictures, love the ones with the moose antlers! :)
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