Today we began our trip into San Francisco earlier in order to explore the city by cable car a bit before having lunch. The trip in on the BART was again fun, as we had an interesting conversation with a college-age couple from Switzerland studying at Berkley. They were very fluent in English but found pronunciations challenging. She said they were looking for PO-WELL Street, which is Powell. Since Kristy and Tim have been living in Costa Rica and have mentioned language challenges, we struck up a lively conversation. 1HW thought that if we lived in the area they would probably be over for both Thanksgiving AND Christmas dinners. Alas for them....
After the BART we headed for the cable car turn-around at Powell Street, having decided to ride it up one way and back down the other before heading for lunch. More interesting people to talk with there, too! An Indian gentleman from Mumbai (who filled us in on the billionaire who built the 27-story home there) who works with Bank of America had all kinds of questions about the city which we were able to answer. Another nice guy also helped, and we had a great time talking until we got off to head for lunch, walking our way through the heart of Chinatown. We thought about getting a trolley but decided to walk, and it was fascinating. Once you have walked there, you wonder if you really have the need to visit China after all. Managing our way through the crowds shopping at the open-air vegetable markets, we headed for the North Beach Italian (and sometimes questionable area) of the city, where we found our son's favorite restaurant that we decided to try: The Stinking Rose.
The question is, would a rose by any other name smell as pungent? Not! This rose is the garlic, well-known and beloved by all Californians, especially in Gilroy, the garlic capital of the country (world?). Everything in this restaurant is totally loaded with garlic, and it is all wonderful, even if I clear the paths for miles away for weeks after eating there. Again, we were graced by a window seat, looking out over the corner of Broadway and Columbus (Italian section, right?), able to watch everyone go by... Fascinating!
The moment we were seated, we were served a heated plate of focaccia rolls and a jar of garlic "relish" to dip the rolls in.
The Stinking Rose Garlic Rose Relish is as follows:
1 bunch chopped parsley, 1/4 cup chopped garlic, 2 tablespoons vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt, and olive oil to cover. Mix parsley, garlic, vinegar, and salt. Add oil to cover ingredients and stir. Cover and store in refrigerator. Relish is good for 3-4 days.
1HW decided that too much garlic could wreck him for a few days and decided on a Caesar salad with shrimp, which he thought was good. Jerry had already recommended a dish which I love, mussels or/and clams cooked in a garlic, butter and white wine broth, served in a huge soup bowl. YUMMMMM! I had eaten so many of the same type of dishes in the Bordeaux area of France several years ago, and absolutely loved it. The broth was so delicious, just as was the cioppino last night, that one needs to soak up the last drop with the sour dough bread or focaccio rolls served. Our waiter brought us more rolls to thoroughly enjoy the meal, and we walked away needing some exercise.
As we walked back through Chinatown to catch the cable car, all of a sudden a funeral procession appeared, which seemed to take everyone local and tourist alike by surprise. It was like a Salvation Army Band, playing all sorts of familiar hymns, marching along in front of a hearse through Stockton Street in the middle of Chinatown. Amazing!
We caught the cable car and headed for the Wharf area again, thoroughly enjoying the sites of the Bank of America pyramid, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Lombard's curving street as we rode along. After a bit of walking around and shopping, we traveled by cable car back up to the top, switched cars, and headed for the BART to go back, still filled from lunch and beginning to be tired. It felt good to return to our "place" around 6, and Max was happy to see us.
Thanks, San Francisco, for another memorable trip! We leave a little bit of our hearts with you each time we visit!
Saturday, November 6, 2010
San Francisco, A Wonderful Place to Visit!
It is truly difficult for me to imagine many places more enjoyable to visit than San Francisco. I have visited that gorgeous city countless number of times, beginning when I was six months old and could not even begin to imagine how delightful a site it is. So when we began heading south from Friday Harbor, it seemed like the perfect time to revisit one of our favorites of past travels, even if for a short time, and it did not disappoint us!
Although we were off to a slower start than anticipated yesterday, the trip in to the city was still such fun, especially as we headed down to the Fisherman's Wharf area. We soon learned that after several days of driving, my back would not let me walk as many blocks as I had hoped, although I was willing to keep trying. That is when one dear, sweet husband found a bicycle rickshaw guy to drive us the remaining distance... which was much farther than I could have made it. The ride was as much fun as our carriage ride in Vienna. He delivered us right to the front door of Alioto's, one of San Francisco's oldest and well-known seafood restaurants.
How wonderful to be seated at a window overlooking the Wharf, the harbor, and the majestic Golden Gate Bridge, all shining in the sunset! Gorgeous! All of the food was delicious, but you cannot imagine the wonderful flavor of Mama Rose Alioto's famous cioppino. Even 1HW loved it and asked if I thought I could imitate it at home. After searching and Googling, I came up with enough recipes to make a go of it, including one on Bobby Flay's site that mentions an Alioto's name. YES!
Without a good map, we were left to our own devices to try and find a way back to a BART stop to go back to Vacaville where we parked the rig. After walking around a bit, we saw a bus, asked the driver if it went to Market Street, where there was a BART stop, and he said sure, he would let us know when to get off. You cannot imagine the various characters on the bus who would do justice to a Woody Allen script, all while we watched the scenes go by through and around all of Chinatown. Several wanted to chat with us, asking us where we were from (do you think we looked like tourists?), then immediately talking about "How about those Giants? They had HEART! Those Texas guys had skills, but they didn't have HEART!" Let me just say, it was a funny adventure, and we were quite thankful when we arrived at the downtown Market Street area.
Riding the BART is also an adventure, for sure. Like many other big cities, there are extremes: while some are loud and obnoxious, others do not make eye contact or conversation at all. One of my challenges is always to make sad-looking people smile, but I received very slight smiles, and even those seemed to be a little gift. One thing we discovered, as in places all over the world, is that people are nice and caring, and if one asks for help, they are generous. Certainly, yesterday we needed help, and we received it generously! Many thanks to the bus drivers, the BART fellow travelers who explained things, and the BART police and ticket people who helped us realize we had gotten off at the wrong station (it was NORTH, not CENTRAL! DUH!). It was a fun first day trip!
Although we were off to a slower start than anticipated yesterday, the trip in to the city was still such fun, especially as we headed down to the Fisherman's Wharf area. We soon learned that after several days of driving, my back would not let me walk as many blocks as I had hoped, although I was willing to keep trying. That is when one dear, sweet husband found a bicycle rickshaw guy to drive us the remaining distance... which was much farther than I could have made it. The ride was as much fun as our carriage ride in Vienna. He delivered us right to the front door of Alioto's, one of San Francisco's oldest and well-known seafood restaurants.
How wonderful to be seated at a window overlooking the Wharf, the harbor, and the majestic Golden Gate Bridge, all shining in the sunset! Gorgeous! All of the food was delicious, but you cannot imagine the wonderful flavor of Mama Rose Alioto's famous cioppino. Even 1HW loved it and asked if I thought I could imitate it at home. After searching and Googling, I came up with enough recipes to make a go of it, including one on Bobby Flay's site that mentions an Alioto's name. YES!
Without a good map, we were left to our own devices to try and find a way back to a BART stop to go back to Vacaville where we parked the rig. After walking around a bit, we saw a bus, asked the driver if it went to Market Street, where there was a BART stop, and he said sure, he would let us know when to get off. You cannot imagine the various characters on the bus who would do justice to a Woody Allen script, all while we watched the scenes go by through and around all of Chinatown. Several wanted to chat with us, asking us where we were from (do you think we looked like tourists?), then immediately talking about "How about those Giants? They had HEART! Those Texas guys had skills, but they didn't have HEART!" Let me just say, it was a funny adventure, and we were quite thankful when we arrived at the downtown Market Street area.
Riding the BART is also an adventure, for sure. Like many other big cities, there are extremes: while some are loud and obnoxious, others do not make eye contact or conversation at all. One of my challenges is always to make sad-looking people smile, but I received very slight smiles, and even those seemed to be a little gift. One thing we discovered, as in places all over the world, is that people are nice and caring, and if one asks for help, they are generous. Certainly, yesterday we needed help, and we received it generously! Many thanks to the bus drivers, the BART fellow travelers who explained things, and the BART police and ticket people who helped us realize we had gotten off at the wrong station (it was NORTH, not CENTRAL! DUH!). It was a fun first day trip!
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