1. It’s georgous weather and I didn’t get out for a hike!

2. Didn’t catch up on the 10 million phone calls that I need to make to friends and family.

3. Fell asleep before finishing my wine and wasted a whole glass of La Crema chardonnay (ok, this is a lame one)

3 Terrific Things about my Weekend:

1. Bought frames and hung a bunch of pictures from my traveling on my living room walls(I have been meaning to do this for months!).

2. Spent Sunday morning buying flowers and produce at the farmer’s market on California Street. Love it!

3. Had a nice dinner and great conversation with friends.

So, I need a rainy day plan. One that does not involve movies or t.v. I am way too thrilled to be staying in the city to stay in the apartment all day. I have been wanting to check out the De Young Museum for quite awhile now, so, maybe that will go on the list. I have been to the SF MOMA recently, for the Olafur Eliasson exhibit. It was incredible! But, that crosses the MOMA off of the list.

What are some great rainy day things to do in San Francisco?

3 terrific things about my weekend
Visited a friend in Santa Cruz and had a seriously amazing breakfast at Zach’s Restaurant.
Went for a beautiful hike in the Santa Cruz hills with heaps of waterfalls.
Saw a Gourds concert at Slims in the city…a band we love from back home(Austin)

When my alloted Ferry time came around, I clambered onto the large swaying boat, armed with my camera and a sudoku. I took a seat on the top of the boat with the sun beaming down warmly on my shoulders. It did get a little windy up there(lost my sudoku) but the ride was wonderful! Alcatraz is situated on prime real estate, right in the middle of San Francisco Bay. If only those prisoners had a room with a view!

Upon docking, I huffed up the very steep and long hill to the top of the island where the prison building sat. Along the way, I passed different buildings, some were homes to the prison guards and their families. I find it interesting that the guards all lived on the island with their families, children and all. These kids would take a boat onto the mainland for school, but, went home to the island each night. This is where they grew up! One of them should write a book.

The prison building is truly intimidating and spooky. It is cell upon cell and every sound echoes in the massive hall of a room. I took some pictures of an individual cell. They are extremely small, the cot just barely fitting inside. The prisoner had an option of sleeping with their head clanging into the bars or draped over the toilet. I am not really sure which I would choose!

I took the audio tour, which was excellent. I don’t usually do these, but, it has been rated one of the top audio tours in the country, so I gave it a try. The program was the right mix of drama and fact. I enjoyed it thoroughly and became so engrossed that I forget the people around me as I was led from room to room. I even stopped in one of the solitary confinement cells and shut the door to experience the darkness. From that moment on I promised myself to lead an honest life…or just never get caught. Yikes!

After I was done inside, I stepped outside into the sunshine(freedom!) and had a real treat. There was an air show going on in the Bay and the planes were buzzing right over Alcatraz. It was quite spectacular and I took lots of pictures. I would highly recommend the Alcatraz Tour for the great historical site as well as the beautiful scenery. It is yet another great spot in the fabulous city of San Francisco!

Well, now we are here, ensconced in a house that is twice the rent we were paying in Austin for the same size, and it is in a bad neighborhood.(by bad I mean dangerous). But, it allowed us to have our dog…one of the only places that would. When we want to go for a hike(which is most weekends) we have to pick one from our “Hiking the Bay Area with Dogs” book…because these hikes are few and far between. Just last weekend we drove over an hour to do a hike that was in our book. The four open space preserves that we passed along the way all prohibited dogs. We parked in a beautiful redwood forest, paid the fee, let Hollis out of the car(there is no turning back at this point, he knows that we are hiking and can barely contain his glee), and started walking, only to be greeted at the trailhead with a ‘no dogs allowed’ sign post! Somewhere between the publishing of our hiking book in 2007 and this last weekend, they decided to ban pets from the park!

The places that do allow dogs, only allow them on leashes. Now, I can understand this rationale in some places. Not all dogs behave well, dogs will go after some wildlife, and not everyone picks up their dog’s poop. However, anyone who doesn’t understand why there needs to be off leash dog areas, does not like animals! Dogs need to run, it is in their nature to do so and my sedate human pace, pulling him along with a leash tied to his neck, is not going to cut it! The space also has to be larger than a parking lot of dirt with a fence around it(aka ‘Doggy Park).

I have found some great places to take Hollis…like Fort Funston(though even here, they are talking about making it leash required). It is frustrating to be in a new area…one as beautiful as northern California, and have many of the natural areas closed to me. I could, of course, leave Hollis at home when I go hiking. But, that seems cruel and unusual. I look forward to the day when the new travel search engine, Kango, has added its pages for ‘pet friendly’ activities and things to do. I definitely could have used it last weekend!

The little guy is lucky I love him so much.

The cinema has the look of a tiny, old, dramatic theater with the stage removed. There is a bar and a restaurant with great food and a comprehensive New Zealand wine selection. Patrons can eat and drink before/during/after the movie. Once inside the screening room, you have your choice of sofas to sit on. There is even an old car, with comfortable seating, in the back. The sofas are all donations from locals and have that soft, lived-in feel, of a good couch. There is a great selection of movies playing throughout the week, from mainstream to art house. Documentaries and film festivals are often showing as well. I saw an intense documentary there called “Touching the Void”, about mountain climbing. Every movie has a 15-minute intermission. You can walk outside and stretch your legs, visit the bathroom…and my favorite part, eat cookies! During the first half of the movie, employees bake giant cookies(chocolate chip, white chocolate macadamia nut, peanut butter). As you walk out for intermission, they will have just come out of the oven, all gooey and warm. I would eat the saucer-sized cookie with a big glass of milk. And, no, there was no resisting them!

I live in Palo Alto now, and have spent many a rainy weekend watching movies and craving cookies. But, to date, I have not found a Bay Area ‘Cinema Paradiso’. Something to pine for, I guess!

We had a great dinner in the Mission on Friday night at a south Indian restaurant called, “Dosa“. It opened in 2006 and has the distinction of being the only Indian restaurant in San Francisco that focuses on southern Indian cuisine. I am far less familiar with southern Indian food, so, I have little to compare it with. But, we really enjoyed everything that we ordered. From the stuffed ,”crepe like”, delectable dosa (that inspires the establishment name), to the wonderful pepper chicken curry with lemon basmati rice, and the spicy, crunchy cabbage salad with walnuts and blue cheese. We also had a well-paired bottle of wine. I do feel that the service here deserves a comment, as it was very good. The restaurant was very crowded and we had to wait 45 minutes for a table. But, the bartenders were very attentive and once we sat down, our waitress was very friendly and knowledgeable. The atmosphere manages to be both modern and warm….with muted orange walls, large gilt mirrors, and wooden sculptures. I think that we will definitely return to Dosa, for the food, service, and atmosphere.

On Saturday night, we had tickets to a comedy show at the Eureka Theater, located right off of The Embarcadero and Broadway. It is a small, funky little theater which appears to get some great comedic talent. They sell wine, beer, and homemade chocolate chip cookies in the lobby and the stage setting is very close and intimate. The show we saw was very funny and included an up and coming female stand-up comedian named Maria Bamford. She has a refreshingly funny sense of humor and an extraordinary talent for voices.

It was a great weekend, proving to me the endless opportunities for dining and entertainment that the city has to offer.

What I really miss….is the food! Now, this is not to say that I am not overjoyed with the multitude of fabulous restaurants and farm fresh produce in the Bay Area. But, it is not just the food that I am missing…it is the memories that go with the delectable fare, the atmosphere of the restaurant, the location, the overall sensory experience.

I have a sneaking suspicion that this post might turn into one of many similarly themed posts on Austin restaurants, however, here is one that I have been pining for recently:

Whole Foods. Now, I know what you are thinking. There is a Whole Foods in every state in the U.S. and it is a grocery store, for pete’s sake. This is true. But, you obviously haven’t been to the Whole Foods (world headquarters) in Austin. It is located right in the middle of downtown….it used to be a five minute walk from my house. It is massive. It puts all other ones I have seen to shame, especially the piddly little one where I live. There are several outdoor dining areas with vine covered trellises and even a babbling brook(natural looking, not cheesy). And inside, I am never sure what I want to do first. I could grocery shop, glide my cart along EVER so slowly from aisle to aisle until I have racked up a bill that could pay for a plane ticket home. I could just pretend to look at the miles of delectable and freshly made prepared foods while I actually checked out the astonishingly good looking people all around me. ( expensive healthy food sure draws expensive healthy looking people) I could also order a scrumptious sandwich, each one designed and named after a local Austin landmark, sit and order fresh pasta or seafood and a glass of wine from one of several little restaurants set up inside, or get some awesome sushi. The list goes on.

One of my favorite things to do on a weeknight, was to walk down to Whole Foods and meet a group of friends. Everyone would separate and wander the store, picking up objects of desire and we would all convene on the upstairs patio with our plunder. We would share wine, and whatever else we had gotten…usually, cheeses, bread, olives, and fresh fruits. We would then visit and eat until we were just stuffed enough that we could still go back down and get a freshly made gelato from the gelato bar. The night would end with another five minute walk(or more if so inspired) back to my house, under the twinkling night sky.

thanks to wordridden for the great photo…nice looking Whole Food’s sandwich!

This was my first foray into Oakland. Not to offend anyone, but, I have not yet heard many positive things about Oakland. So, I wasn’t expecting much from this concert venue….I was definitely proved wrong!
The Paramount Theater is stunning! As you drive down the slightly run-down, but, bustling Broadway, you are suddenly greeted with a huge blinking sign advertising “The Paramount”. Upon entering, you feel as though you have been swept back in time. The lobby is what I would call both “grand” and “sumptuous”. I wanted to be wearing a floor length, clingy red gown, with a mink coat and a cigarette holder in hand….not the jeans and flats that I had picked out in such uninspired fashion.

The theater was completed in 1931 by renowned architect, Timothy Pflueger. The building is said to be one of the best remaining examples of art deco in the United States. There are old velvet settees and thick intricately designed carpets. The ceiling towers over you and there is a huge sweeping staircase up to the second floor. The women’s restroom has a lounge area with floor to ceiling mirrors on every wall. Once inside the theater, there is even more eye candy. The stage is lit with several crystal chandeliers and the gold design on the ceiling could be studied for hours. Ben Harper and his band gave a nod to their surroundings by all wearing old-school tuxedos and hats. It is home to the Oakland East Bay Symphony, and I can’t wait to go back for one of their concerts.

It was a fun night and I felt like I had stepped back in time. I wonder what other surprises Oakland might have to offer…

There is an ‘energy’ in the air that feels old and mystical. It is, in fact, the second oldest city in the United States after St. Petersburg, Florida. There are also heavy Spanish/Mexican/Native American influences in the buildings, food, and culture due to its long occupational history. All of the buildings in Santa Fe are subject to a strict building code and so everything is made from adobe and stucco. It has a charming and romantic effect.

Outdoor activities abound…there is skiing, snow shoeing, and sledding in the winter. There are also many natural hot springs you can hike to and a fabulous spa on the way down from the ski mountain, called Ten Thousand Waves. It is modeled after a Japanese Onsen and is very peaceful and relaxing. They have over 130 massage therapists on staff trained in a variety of modalities as well as many other types of treatments. There are also many public and private hot tubs and saunas for day/night use. It is the perfect answer to a day spent on the slopes or hiking in the mountains. During the summer, there is plenty of hiking to be done. Many hikes take you to a pretty waterfall or alpine lake. In the fall, the air is crisp and the Aspens all turn a deep yellow. The weather is very dry and almost always sunny.

In town, you will never run out of things to do. The picturesque plaza in the center of town has tons of high-end shops, most selling art, clothes, and gifts with a unique and southwestern feel. On Canyon road near the city center you have tons of great art studios and nice restaurants. There is also the stunningly situated Museum Hill..on top of a hill overlooking Santa Fe. It has a great Folk Art museum.

When you are done shopping and looking at art, you could attend a performance at the Lensic Theater downtown or at the Santa Fe Opera during the summer…a beautiful outdoor amphitheater right outside of town near the Flea Market(another fun place).

And, of course, there are the restaurants. Santa Fe is world renowned for its talented chefs and wonderful southwestern cuisine. It is rare that I find a restaurant that I don’t like. For breakfasts I love to go to Cloud Cliff Bakery or Pasquals. For a nice dinner it is hard to beat Geronimo or Santacafe. Last time I was there I sat next to Shirley Mclane and Parker Posey!

Santa Fe feels very much like it exists outside of time and place. It is a true escape from the real world and a terrific place to visit any season. I look forward to my next trip!