I know I don't look a day over 53, but yesterday was my 54th birthday. Zari planned a little outing to San Francisco the results of which can easily be duplicated in your own vacation laboratories.
I got back from six days in Dallas at about 1:00 p.m. on Friday and by 4:00 p.m. we were in the car heading for the Stanford Court on the corner of Powell and California. It never ceases to amaze me that, the more expensive a hotel is, the fewer gratis in-room amenities they offer. I do quite a bit of Holiday Inn Express and find everything one needs from breakfast to a mircowave and a fridge in every room. The moment I step up a class, I need to start digging into my pocket. Guess I'm just cheap. In any event, we get the employee discount at the Marriott so the pain was mild ... except for the $41.00 we had to pay to park at the hotel.
We dropped off our things and walked about 15 minutes up Powell to Green where we turned into the Club Fugazi to view Beach Blanket Babylon. If you like musicals with a lot of outrageous costumes, then this is the show for you. I don't like musicals, but I had a hoot all the same, especially when the Village People imitators started singing Matzo Man to further Snow White's quest for her prince. Their open wine choices were Round Hill, Round Hill, and Round Hill, so I went for the Merlot and, for the first time in a long time, sipped my wine from a plastic cup. They also had splits of '98 Dom Pérignon for $190.00 a pop and that came with your own flute. Glass didn't seem that important to me.
We then wandered around North Beach and had some Italian pastry. I didn't note the name of the little cafe, but we had sfogliatelle, a.k.a. "svoo-ya-deal," reminiscent of the good stuff back home in New Jersey. Their anisette cookies were wonderful, too.
Back in the room, we opened up a bottle of '03 ESJ Rocks and Gravel.
This morning we drove on over to the Cliff House for breakfast in The Bistro. Even though it is a tourist joint, it is quite nice. The food isn't bad. The prices are actually reasonable. The views of the Pacific are magnificent. We decided we needed to walk off the meal so we hiked along the nearby Coastal Trail. They have really renovated this area which is located up behind the Sutro Baths (Land's End). You can walk along the heights bordering the southern shore of the Golden Gate and, if you have it in you, get all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge. The Marin Headlands and the bridge are always in view. We exited at El Camino Del Mar and walked around mansions which make you wonder where you went wrong in life and then sat down for a while at China Beach before returning to the car and home.
Young lovers, wherever you are, this is something for you!
