Entertaining

We’ve had Andy and Sarah Catherall to stay for just over a week. It’s been lovely to have friends from home. They went off to Yosemite for a couple of days at the end of last week, then returned in time for a big night out on Friday (dinner at the Empress of China, followed by beers in the San Francisco Brew Pub, then more drinks at the Savoy Tivoli), which resulted in me feeling pretty rough on Saturday. In full tour guide mode, however, I didn’t let this deter me, and subjected them to a gruelling day’s sightseeing, beginning with the farmers’ market at the Ferry Building (in which we ended up buying some flavoured olive oil and a piece of original artwork – a wire sculpture of a gorilla!), followed by snapping the Painted Ladies on Alamo Square, then on to hippy-spotting and CD-buying on Haight Street. After that, we jumped onto a random bus, which by chance took us exactly where we wanted to go – the Castro via the foot of Twin Peaks – for a quick look around there and then a stroll past Mission Dolores to Valencia Street.

It was then up earlyish on Sunday for another whirlwind tour: over the Golden Gate Bridge and on to Sonoma Valley for some wine-tasting. We made a quick stop at the viewpoint on the way, but quickly retreated to the car as we found ourselves in the vestiges of the previous day’s rain – yes RAIN! The first we’ve had since April. We visited Benziger Estate and went on a little guided tour around the vineyard, before tasting their lovely wines. Our ticket also entitled us to a tasting at their twin winery, called Imagery, because they commission artists to do paintings for each individual label. Afterwards, we drove across the hills to Point Reyes and showed our visitors the little Earthquake Trail, which passes along the San Andreas fault. It was then on to lovely Bolinas, for a stroll in the early evening sunshine by the lagoon and a hearty dinner at Coast Café. Finally, we zipped over to Stinson to watch the sunset from the beach before driving back to the city via the precipitous Highway 1, stopping to admire the moon reflected on the Bay just before crossing the Golden Gate again.

Andy and Sarah left today. I think they had a good time. It’s hard not to like San Francisco. Take today, for example. I woke up to a stunningly beautiful day and admired the view over the Bay to Alcatraz and Mount Tamalpais during breakfast, enjoying the sounds of the wild parrots chattering in their morning flight, the sealions’ barking carried on the wind and the jingling of the cable cars. I took a cable car to work, occasionally catching glimpses of the Bay Bridge and beyond it the Port of Oakland, whose cranes were the inspiration behind the At-At walkers (monsters) in Star Wars. I then changed onto a bus that took me over Nob Hill past Grace Cathedral and the stately Edwardian homes of Pacific Heights. I then (sadly) had to settle into a morning’s work, but strolled out at lunchtime to have my sandwich in Alta Plaza park, with its views over the hills and landmarks in the south of the city. After a tough afternoon’s work and a trip to the gym, I returned to the flat and an unusually balmy evening, enjoying watching the twinkling lights over the water. Not a bad life!

A quick blog!

I’m a bit late with my blogging this week. Didn’t really do a lot at the weekend other than help a friend move flats (from South of Market in San Francisco to the Lake Merritt area in Oakland) and get ready for the visit of friends from the UK. One of the biggest excitements of the week was when Jon hired a Rug Doctor and we (or rather he, if I’m to be honest) cleaned our carpet. He really got into it because it involves lots of technical stuff and a whole host of chemicals. Anyway, the results were absolutely amazing. Our rather disgusting, very marked carpet has been transformed into one that looks almost like new!

Our friends, Andy and Sarah, arrived on Sunday afternoon. We went out for dinner to a local Italian, then showed them the delights of our favourite, rather Bohemian bar, Vesuvio. The last couple of nights we’ve eaten in, but enjoyed hearing stories of their adventures out and about. They’ve actually just come from Witchita, Kansas, where they were staying with a distant relative of Sarah’s that she had met over the Internet. It sounds like they had an interesting time there – it’s right in the Bible Belt of Middle America!

I heard from Mum on Monday morning that Dad had been taken into hospital for a hernia operation. Apparently he’s OK, but obviously it was quite a shock. He’ll be in for about a week. It’s pretty awful that I can’t visit. All the best, Dad – can’t wait to talk to you!

I also had quite a shocking week at work last week, but it’s calming down a bit now. The fog seems to have gone, which is great, but along with the bright sunny days we also have cooler temperatures, although I believe that’s due to some odd Arctic front that will hopefully go away soon!

Beachcombing

Had a busy week at work, albeit a four-day one! It was, however, punctuated by a night out on Thursday: my friend Gami celebrated her birthday at the San Francisco Brew Pub. Having suffered the trauma of being the only bloke among nine women all night, Jon craved a bit of male company, so suddenly announced a wish to go and visit his colleague, Ollie, who had been off “sick” (read: got drunk wine-tasting in Napa Valley and fell off his bike – admittedly causing quite a severe knee injury), so we promptly headed off to his place for another couple of hours, getting to bed very late for a “school” night!

On Saturday we headed up to Point Reyes, and did a rather foggy hike to the beach. It was such a shame that everything was so grey, because it’s a beautiful area. Still, the deer and pelicans didn’t seem to mind! Afterwards, we had an early dinner in hippy Bolinas, before heading to Stinson Beach and a holiday home belonging to my friend’s parents. Stacey – a friend from Shanti – had found out that there had been a late cancellation (the house is rented for much of the year), so organised a barbecue without further ado. We knew we were going somewhere special when we were greeted by a guard ready to take our details at the end of the road. We later found out that the writer, Danielle Steele, and the former mayor of San Francisco have properties here. The houses are strung along a narrow spit of land with the ocean on one side, and a large tidal lagoon on the other. There is even a second spit sheltering another, smaller lagoon. Stacey’s parents’ place was located opposite this small lagoon, directly on the beach, with steps leading down the dunes onto the sand. (Click here to see the location.) It was a gorgeous house. Four bedrooms and three bathrooms, all set around a planted courtyard with a huge kitchen-diner and living room looking out over the ocean. We had a lovely room with small windows facing the hilly backdrop and a little skylight directly above the bed. The next morning, we all took a walk down the beach to the village – a good mile away – to get that all-American essential, coffee. Then it was back to the house and a swift assembling of food for some 50 guests – children and dogs included. The rest of the day was spent eating, drinking, chatting, dog-patting and hoping that the sun would come out, which it eventually did in the late afternoon, and bathed the sand and mountains in golden light. We finally took our leave and headed back to the city down stunning Highway 1, which hugs the rugged coast for a good few miles before crossing to the other side.

I was still restless when I got home, so decided to go for a little walk. Headed up Telegraph Hill to Coit Tower and joined the tourists watching the sun set over the Golden Gate Bridge – the peace disturbed only by the barks of sealions – before strolling down to Washington Square, past music-filled restaurants, the lovely St. Peter and St. Paul Church, old Chinese ladies out on their evening walk and the odd tramp settling in for the night. The good and the bad – mostly good – it’s all part of the fabric of a city I’ve come to love.

From Mountain Wonderland to the Wild West

We’ve just enjoyed a three-day weekend, as yesterday was Labor Day. Not being ones to stick around in one place for very long, we headed to Yosemite and the Eastern High Sierra. We’d decided to concentrate on a different part of the park, specifically the eastern end along the Tioga road, near Tuolumne Meadows. With its highest point at almost 10,000 feet above sea level, the Tioga Pass is covered in snow for much of the year and only open for about four months. We did one serious hike: a long (14 mile), but not too difficult trek from Tenaya Lake to Cloud’s Rest, which affords fabulous vistas in every direction, including a view straight down Tenaya Canyon into Yosemite Valley . On Monday, we did a couple of shorter walks – one through lovely alpine meadows to the naturally carbonated Soda Springs, and one up through the forest to Elizabeth Lake. We sighted lots of chipmunks and deer (including a doe with two fawns), but no bears! Part of me wants to see one and part of me would be terrified, but they’re so elusive! In summary, I was delighted with this area of Yosemite: a stunning landscape with lots of lakes and far fewer crowds, resulting in a quasi-religious communion with nature.

The other part of our trip was spent beyond the park gates on the eastern side. The Tioga Pass emerges near the weird and wonderful Mono Lake. Dubbed the “Dead Sea of California” by Mark Twain, it is 2.5 times as salty as sea water and lies in a huge desert-like basin at six and a half thousand feet elevation, sporting bizarre limestone formations on its shores called tufa. We had visited it on our big California road-trip back in 1999, so it was a bit of a blast from the past for us: we even stayed in the same motel and ate at the same diner, which isn’t hard given that the only inhabited place is barely a village with some 300 odd residents and seems to live entirely off the passing summer tourist trade. We marvelled at the tufa and swam – or rather floated – in the lake, experiencing the added buoyancy the salinity affords, but not liking the thick layer of salt it left on our skin!

On Sunday we also took a trip a short distance north to the ghost town of Bodie, 13 miles off the highway, three of them dirt. Bodie came about and enjoyed its short-lived heyday in the 1870s, when gold was discovered in the arid hills surrounding it. Declining yields and two major fires led to its demise, and it was finally abandoned for good in the early 1930s. Bar some necessary restoration, the remaining buildings are left pretty much as they were, crumbling in the elements and strewn with the detritus of departure. Quite amazing to think that it was once a lively Wild West town with regular shoot-outs together with plenty of drinking, gambling and opium-smoking in its saloons. Still, it must have been a tough environment, with its isolation, dry summers and snow-bound winters.

So, we had a wonderful escape – the only down-side being the discovery that my nose is prone to bleeding at high altitudes! Surprisingly, we had a good – if long – journey back (approx. 240 miles from Mono Lake). Of course, we’ve returned to busy times at work and the problems associated with transferring the mortgage on our house in the UK (the main one being that everyone involved seems to think it’s okay to charge you absurd amounts of money for doing practically nothing). However, with a weekend at the beach to look forward to, staying in my friend’s parents’ holiday home, it’s not all bad! Photos are available here: http://public.fotki.com/EllenHardwick/labor-day-weekend/ (Password: moocow)

In vino ... corpulens

I discovered recently to my horror that I seem to be gaining weight, in spite of all the sport I’m doing. Could it be muscle mass? Unlikely. So what could it be? All the eating out and drinking, perchance? Well, living in a foodie city like San Francisco, I’m not going to give up eating out, which left only one thing: cutting back on the drinking. So, let’s see how that went in my first week of abstinence…

On Monday evening I had my Italian class. Normally, we have it in Candida’s office, but she invited us around to her place to meet her new pug puppy, Kathmandu. I took a bottle of wine for the hostess and so did Gami. We spoke Italian, ate nibbles, played with the pug and – oh – drank wine. Tuesday went rather better – went to my step class in the evening and didn’t drink any wine afterwards. But I did cook the chicken with wine – does that count? Wednesday came around. There was an open bottle of wine in the fridge – I’d used it for cooking the night before. I’m afraid I had a glass. It had been a hard day, OK?! On Thursday evening, the engagement celebration for Al and Sarah, a chap that Jon works with and his lovely Australian fiancée, was being held at a cool pub-cum-jazz bar in Berkeley. I went along, of course and – er – drank beer. Friday: eighties night at the Great American Music Hall, a truly fabulous venue. Listened and danced to three bands: Cure and Duran Duran tribute bands plus another group delivering up a range of classic hits. Also watched people bopping around in their eighties costumes (there was a “prom” theme), and enjoyed lovely old-fashioned music hall style table service. So of course, ordered a cocktail – and a beer.

The weekend at last! Had a few chores to do on Saturday, but was able to enjoy the afternoon on the terrace of Caffè Sapore and in the pool, as it was such a gorgeous day. We stayed in that night – and had a bit of wine. Today I went for a run in the morning, then met up with some friends (Gami from Italian class and others) to go on a hike in Napa Valley. Failed to consult the hiking book sufficiently and got lost among the redwoods. On returning to the car, was more than ready for the wine tasting at the vineyard down the road and appreciated the “bonus” dose of Zinfandel port we were given. Having more or less skipped lunch, we headed for the princely California Culinary Academy for dinner and sat on a terrace overlooking the vineyards and hills beyond. Spotted the delectable Trefethen Riesling, which I’d tasted before, on the wine menu and ordered a glass to enjoy with the sumptuous – albeit rather meagre – dinner.

So how did I do in my “dry” week? Not very well, it would seem! At least I can console myself with the fact that I’m burning lots of extra calories trekking up and down the eighteen flights of stairs to the flat, with both elevators having been out of action since Wednesday.

Life's a beach (when it's not foggy)

Got the weekend off to a good start on Friday night with a Chinese dinner out followed by drinks in Vesuvio, my favourite bar, with its retro décor and literary connections (it’s where Beat movement authors used to hang out). It’s been a fantastic weekend weather-wise, so I tried to get out and about as much as possible. Went for my habitual run to the beach at Crissy Field and back on Saturday morning – fortunately it wasn’t as painful as last time, as I’m a bit more back into my training now. We then headed out to the Marina district for an al fresco lunch, before wandering back along the waterfront and doing some reading on the little beach near us, which happens to have views across to the Golden Gate as well as to Alcatraz. It was idyllic – except for the wind, which kept whipping up sand and getting it everywhere – up your nose, in the cracks between the pages of your book… etc. etc. Jon continued his lazy afternoon at Caffè Sapore, while I took the BART (metro/train) to Berkeley and headed for the Au Coquelet Café, where a nice coffee and slice of blueberry torte awaited me, for my German conversation group. I hadn’t been in several months, but it’s quite fun to get together and enjoy a couple of exclusively Germanophone hours. We had an evening in (not before I’d stopped off to do a spot of clothes shopping on the way back home, as the shops are open pretty late) and sat down for a bit of a San Francisco film fest. I’ve recently watched Dirty Harry, which features lots of scenes in North Beach, and had been intrigued to spot our apartment block in a helicopter-flight scene. This time we watched Bullitt, which I’d seen before, but wanted to see again to find out how much I could recognise. The answer is, quite a lot. Although the famous car chase scene isn’t geographically accurate (one minute they’re heading along the marina and the next they’re out of the city on some perilous coast road), we were interested to see that places like Bimbo’s, a music venue visible from our balcony, were already in existence in 1968, when the film was made, and were then highly amused to see our apartment block from the back (we didn’t even realise it was built then).

Today we headed out to do a hike. There was much deliberation about whether to go north to Marin (which is more beautiful), or east to avoid the fog. We’d decided on east and were heading out over the Bay Bridge, when we realised that we could see Mount Tamalpais in Marin from there, and more importantly that it was fog-free, so we did an about-turn on Yerba Buena Island – snapping a couple of pics of San Fran from there as the views are so great – and made our way to the Golden Gate, which was completely shrouded in fog, even though it was bright and sunny on either side. We did a 7 mile hike on Mount Tam, which offered some good views north, but was mostly in woodland. We narrowly avoided stepping on a couple of snakes (admittedly rather small ones, not rattlers), but managed to evade the mountain lions again! From the car park on our return, we headed west to check out the view, which ended up being spectacular – all the way back to the city and beyond to the south and out to the Farallon Islands to the west. Having gorged ourselves on the vistas, we set off to Stinson Beach to gorge ourselves on some food.

I’d only passed through Stinson before on our way to Point Reyes, but it’s a lovely place, although very popular of course. We had a great dinner out on the terrace of Parkside Café beneath the foothills of Mount Tam, then took a stroll onto the beach itself, which is a huge crescent of fine sand backed by a tidal lagoon. It was stunning – and for once, reasonably warm. The evening fog forming a short distance off the coast only served to add to the drama. Contented, we set off back to San Fran, intending to take the spectacular Highway 1, clinging to the cliffs above the ocean, but had to turn back and opt for the not-bad-as-a-second Panoramic Highway instead, because there’d been an accident on the 1.

Morale boosting

If I’m to be honest, I’ve been feeling a bit down over the last couple of weeks. I attribute it to having to say goodbye to family and friends in the UK again, missing my old teaching job and returning to a fog-filled fortnight in San Francisco. While we had an exciting time in Yosemite last weekend, it was also pretty stressful, so ultimately didn’t help to improve my mood.

I was glad, therefore, when the weekend finally came along and with it some sunshine at last. On Friday night, we went to a party at Mark and Tom’s flat, not far from us in North Beach. It was lovely to see a few friends we hadn’t seen in a while, and a good time was had by all, playing Wii and throwing stuffed sea creatures from Ikea out of the window at unsuspecting passers by. We also had a bit of a Friends moment when we went up on to the roof, then got locked out (Friends fans will remember the same thing happening to Ross and Joey). Luckily, someone had a cell phone with them and could call down to the rest of the party below! This avoided the need to dice with death and leap onto the next roof to find a way down.

Saturday was the day of the Data Connection/Metaswitch company outing or “morale boosting” event (yes, they really do call it that!). It turned out to be very appropriately named. The event took place at Teatro Zinzanni, which is located in an opulent array of circus tents on one of the piers. We had to dress up for it, which was nice, and were able to enjoy free cocktails on arrival. We then took our seats in the main tent, which was lavishly decorated and attended by costumed waiters and waitresses. We were served a delicious five-course dinner over about three hours, whilst being entertained by a mixture of burlesque comedy, opera, cabaret and acrobatics. The acrobats were world-class and it was amazing to see them twirling around, almost literally above our heads, in such a small venue. I had a truly wonderful time and am only sorry I don’t have any pictures of the show, but photography was, understandably, prohibited. A plan was hatched to continue the evening at the Savoy Tivoli, a legendary bar in North Beach, and we were just debating how to get there, when we spotted a limo, ready for hire, right outside the Teatro. The driver agreed to take us to the Tivoli for a mere $5 per person (granted, it isn't far), so we couldn’t really refuse. It’s the first time either of us has been in a limo. We only had one drink at the bar, but someone in the party (think it was Oli) ordered a round of Fernet for everyone. This has become the signature San Francisco drink (not sure why): a shot of Fernet - a truly disgusting Italian liqueur - served with a small glass of ginger beer. Believe me, one is enough: I’d almost rather drink mouthwash!

Today we went for our customary run along the waterfront, which was more difficult than usual, as I hadn’t done it for nearly a month and a half for one reason or another. Afterwards I wanted to go on a hike (much to Jon’s disappointment, who just wanted to relax and do nothing). I’d bought a new hiking book and was keen to try one out in Marin. However, the traffic heading to the Golden Gate Bridge was so bad (it’s been getting gradually worse as the Summer has progressed – I blame tourists!), that we decided instead to do a hike on the San Francisco side, along the coast west of the city. It’s a hike we’d done before – in the fog – but this time we were in luck and had glorious weather. The walk takes you past some great viewpoints, through some wild spots, then the ridiculously wealthy Seacliff area to Baker Beach. Last time we did it, we saw dolphins, and I was stunned and delighted to see them again today. However, this time, there were a lot more – we saw them from the cliff top as well as frolicking in the water just off the beach, often followed by low-flying pelicans. So, overall, a good weekend for cheering me up!