"MEN AT WORK!My hotel was just 1/2 a block from the Chinatown gate, and one of my fave restaurants,Cafe de la Presse. The hotel I liked alot - all the guests were very friendly and always struck up a conversation in the ONE very old slow elevator. The only caveat I have is that it did not have air conditioning...which was needed for the unseasonable warm weather they had. In the picture below, I'm looking out on the backside of the Chinatown gate at one of the pretty window displays..the restaurant is on the other side of the street in the background. I bought something for my new nephew at one of the quirky tchotchke-crowded stores...
Tourists!Hmmm, the Cafe had some great tomato soup, blissful chocolate & strawberry gelato, and a great steak! Plus there are lots of magazines and books (in many languages too..so you can brush up on your French or German) to read while waiting for your meal. Mostly my friend and I walked around downtown, went window shopping and talked - alot! We also had a Dim Sum lunch down near the waterfront with another friend...very good! It's always great to catch up with someone who you're not able to see often enough...speaking of window displays - here's another one that caught my eye. Don't you just LOVE the colors on this lamp!
I want this one in my dream house!We also saw a live version of the Rocky Horror Show, which was tons of rolicking fun! We met a cute French guy who was taking two girlfriends to the show....even though it was technically "sold out", they managed to get tickets-Yay!. The play is a little different than the film, but I liked seeing what the Victoria Theatre did with it...and OMG the shoes! They were the highest stilletto fetish heels I've ever seen (mostly red instead of black this time around); I was contantly afraid some actor was going to get a terribly sprained ankle or land flat on his/her ass!...(it nearly happened once..the entire audience audibly went "aaaaggghhh"!).
We also visited a newer shopping mall (mostly for the temperature factor), The Westfield Centre, right on Market st....it's got a beautiful dome, 5 floors of shopping, a movie theatre (saw Quantam of Solace..). It's a bit on the chic spendy side...did find an interesting Japanese tea shop Lupicia, (link takes you to a short review)...bought some Pommier for a gift too!
Finally I'll leave you with an early morning pic out of my hotel window of "The City" on the day I had to leave (sob!).
Coit Tower & ChinatownPS. I can't say enough about BART and MUNI...the FANTASTIC public transportation is one of the main reasons San Francisco is such a joy to visit.
9 comments:
It looks like a wonderful trip. I am glad you were able to go and catch up with friends and have some ME time.
Great photos. Back before Woopi Goldberg became famous (before Sister Act) she was doing stand up at the Victorian Theater. At the time that was a pretty scary neighborhood and she was bringing in crowds of people to see her show.
Keith..it didn't look too "healthsome" when we were down there either...but I wasn't afraid or anything. Lotsa teens hangin' out by the BART station...
We lived in Glen Park, close to the BART station at the same time. It was not unusual to have gangs around the BART station there also. When we left in 2002, it had become a yuppie hood.
What a wonderful trip you had!
Never been in that part of the world, but maybe someday....
Happy Thanksgiving!
:)
Thanks so much Hill & Keith...I REALLY love "The City"...I have so many good memories when I went to college in the Bay area...and had only enough to take the Caltrain up..and wander around Chinatown for some cheap thrills...I'll always love it!
Happy New Year's Eve
Happy New Year. I sure do miss Hill's place.
Me too Keith...
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