San Francisco treat

If I was forced to do play the "instant association" game with the phrase "San Francisco", I'd likely come up with:


- Rice A Roni (the San Francisco Treat)


- the place full of exciting high-speed police car chases over hilly city intersections


- expensive to live in





It was fun to see SF again yesterday with Andrew. Unfortunately we didn't get into the Ansel Adams exhibit...the museum was closed on Wednesdays. :-( However, we did check out the nearby Metreon, a mega Sony complex full of electronics exhibits, movie theatres, shops, arcade games, restaurants.


Andrew and I sat on the beach for a while, chatting and watching some kids play touch football on the sand. Out in San Francisco Bay, I could see the famous prison (or ex-prison) Alcatraz. I waded in the water just so I could say I did (how could I visit California and not put my feet in the ocean?), then we headed off to Ghiradelli Square.





I had visited Ghiradelli a few years ago with Andrew and Jeff. -Love- the chocolate-making exhibit, with its giant tubs of liquid chocolate, the big rollers and mixers and grinders, the chocolatey fragrance everywhere. Behind the counter, staff in Ghiradelli hats prepared chocolate sundaes and other delicacies. The shop is filled with every kind of Ghiradelli treat you could imagine (and some you can't imagine)...lacking luggage space, I restrained myself to a few small treats. If they don't fit, well, I guess I'll just have to eat them before I leave.





We had fun browsing through the rest of Ghiradelli Square. Gorgeous weather, as usual. We've had blue skies and sunny weather every day since I arrived. Andrew says it hasn't rained at all in October yet, and that this weather is pretty normal for this time of year. It definitely felt like summer as we strolled through the Square, listening to the saxophonist playing jazz tunes by a stone fountain. Lots of interesting craft shops...Allison, Jodi and I should try to find a way to get out here next August when we're around for Conchord.


My favourite shop was a hat shop called Hat Generation. It was more of a costume shop than a hat shop, really, with hats ranging from the regular type to the wild and fantastic. I picked up a fun head-band-type hat for the Interfilk auction at OVFF. I just hope I can find a way to fit it in my already tightly packed carry-on luggage! Maybe I'll just wear it on the plane. ;-)





Fell asleep in the car on the way home from San Francisco. My cold's not getting worse, but it's definitely making me more tired than normal. Andrew cooked dinner...pasta with a garlic-onion-rosemary-chickpea sauce than was VERY yummy, asparagus and carrots with tomato salad on the side. We watched Enterprise and the West Wing on Andrew's fancy-pants tv. We started watching West Wing late, but the TiVo service enabled us to watch the first part of the show WHILE the rest of it was still recording (!). Very cool.


Going to the Monterey Bay Aquarium today!


Today's Blatherpics:


- Display in the Ghiradelli store in San Francisco.


- My friend Andrew.


- Me with my feet in the ocean. Note that the bottom of my rolled-up jeans is in the water...it took hours for it to completely dry out again, but it was worth it. :-)


- Sign at the entrance to a parking garage.


- Ghiradelli shop.


Today's Poll: (Courtesy Andrew)


Do you regularly answer poll questions?