MAY 2002

I had the great fortune of spending Memorial Day weekend with two of my favorite people in one of my favorite cities doing a bunch of my favorite things. I highly recommend it.

Friday

April's and my flights landed within a few minutes of each other early Friday morning, and we made the long trek through the airport to get my luggage and find a shuttle downtown. We were on our own, as Debi's flight wasn't expected until later in the afternoon.

We were able to check into our hotel (The Argent, we liked it!) and then ventured out to scrounge up some vittles and experience San Francisco.

Breakfast: Sears Fine Food
Pictures of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferrigno, and Tony Bennett grace the walls of this San Francisco institution. It was 10 a.m., so the lines were mostly gone and we were seated within a few minutes. Although our blue-haired waitress seemed to have trouble getting our beverages right, the food was good and filling.

April and I wandered around the Union Square area and were pleasantly surprised at how warm it was, especially because recent weather forecasts were not promising. We went to the new Crate & Barrel store and I bought neither a new set of dishes nor a punch bowl (this relieved Victor greatly).

We both felt tired, having gotten up at 4 a.m., so we headed back to our room for a nap but ended up chatting the afternoon away. Debi arrived around 3, sporting a short haircut and big smile! Now that we were all together, our vacation could really begin.

Dinner: Rose Pistola
We had reservations at Rose Pistola, an Italian restaurant in North Beach. The food was interesting, and although portions were small it was really delicious. We were embarrassed to find several things on the menu we couldn't identify but were brave enough to try them and were glad we did! WINNER: BEST ICED TEA EVER.

Beach Blanket Babylon
Hilarious! Bawdy humor, lots of old political jokes, but some great song parodies and an all-around good show. It really is a San Francisco must-see.

When we got back we were feeling a little hungry after eating a not-so-big dinner, so we went to the restaurant in the hotel for drinks and dessert. The environment was piano bar-like and nice, and we enjoyed just sitting around talking for a while. We were surprised and more than a little irritated when the check came, as it cost more than our dinner had! No more dining there.

Saturday

Three girls. One bathroom. Showers began early. There were no catfights.

Breakfast: Mel's Drive-In
We were headed to a recommended spot in the Tenderloin, but the hotel concierge suggested this place and because it was nearer to our hotel, we went for it. Mel's Drive-In was the hangout in the film "American Graffiti," though the particular location we went to was not the one they filmed at. Want an American style breakfast? Mel's your guy.

Next on our agenda was a visit to the Golden Gate Bridge. The hotel concierge told us how to get there by bus, and his instructions sounded simple enough: catch the 30 Stockton across the street, transfer to the 28. A very crowded bus, three lost girls, four missed busses, an ass of a bus driver, and six very sore feet later, we got to the visitor center at the bridge. We didn't like what we saw there: about 50 cops in riot gear, preparing for a protest that was headed across the bridge.

The group was protesting a few different things, but mostly stuff that had to do with Palestine and George Bush. One particular woman was whining to anyone who'd listen, "The cops are violating our right to free speech and won't let us on the bridge because we have musical instruments!" I wanted to say, "Honey, that ain't a musical instrument... it's a bucket and a stick."

Not wanting to get stuck in front of all them sillies, we waited around until they were gone before we got on the bridge ourselves. We got some great pictures from the mid-point, and even though it was a gray and windy day, it was still a pretty amazing view.

Here's an amusing news piece on the outcome of the protest.

After a long wait for a cab, we finally made it back into the city and headed straight to North Beach.

Lunch: Fior d'Italia
This was yet another restaurant we would definitely go back to. Thanks to Debi's friend Kim for the fine recommendation! Food was delicious and even April liked the coffee, although the ambience was reminiscent of every mob movie we'd ever seen... just a teensy bit scary!

We walked down to Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf for some souvenir shopping, then got a cab back to our hotel by late afternoon.

Dinner: Embarcadero Cinemas
Mmmmmm... popcorn and Junior Mints... We were able to get into a sneak preview of "The Importance of Being Earnest" at the last minute and didn't have time to grab dinner first, so we filled up on theater food. Actually, we partially filled up. April and I spilled our "dinner" on the floor halfway through the movie.

The movie was good. For me and April, it was just nice to be able to go to one. For Debi, who's been in school for the past few months, it was a treat to spend an evening doing anything but studying.

Sunday

Brunch: Postrio
This was the restaurant I was most looking forward to, and it did not disappoint! Although Wolfgang Puck himself was not there to prepare our meals, they were still absolutely delicious. We chose our appetizers well, and all three of us had the sourdough waffles with fresh berries for our entree.

For the next couple hours, we walked off our big brunch wandering around Union Square. The weather was perfect--not too warm or cold--though a little windy. We were just thankful there was no rain.

We headed down to Ghirardelli Square to do some more souvenir shopping, and wandered up to Fisherman's Wharf afterward. We then tried to get a cab to take us to Coit Tower (we were exhausted by then) but when a streetcar came by, we hopped on it instead. This experience was an awful lot like the bus ride from the day before, and we were glad when it finally let us off. We were no closer to Coit Tower, we realized, just on the other side of it. We eventually found a cab to take us up the rest of the way, and it was worth it. Again, the gray day limited our view some, but it was still beautiful.

Most surprising, though, was our walk back down Telegraph Hill. April and I had done Coit Tower on a previous trip, but we must have taken a different route down, because we had no memory of the Filbert Steps. They are gorgeous; another San Francisco must-see. We were in awe of the variety of huge flowers in bloom, manicured gardens, and overall beauty of this hidden jewel.

Dinner: Cheesecake Factory
As usual, there was a long wait, but it was a good excuse to shop in Macy's for an hour (April found a very cool pair of sandals!). Food was delicious and there was way too much. We took our cheesecake slices to go.

Back at the hotel, we flopped on our beds and checked in at home, watched some TV, and debated going to another movie. We were all completely worn out by then, and opted to stay in and eat our cheesecake. Good decision.

Monday

We checked out of the hotel and headed to Starbucks for coffee, then went to wander the Metreon. It was mostly boring--it had changed a lot since my previous visit--but we did go into the Digital Solutions store to send e-postcards with pictures of ourselves. No one we sent them to has received them, but it was a nice idea anyway.

Stopped to get some sourdough bread for gifts, walked around the San Francisco Shopping Centre, and then headed back to the hotel to get our bags and go to the airport.

We had one last meal together at the airport, which might not have been too bad if the terminal we left from had a decent place to eat. It was a really bad way to end a mostly perfect dining vacation, but ya can't have everything.

Home again

We each summed up the trip this way:

What were your favorite activities?

April: Golden Gate Bridge and protest - guy with the "$#%@ Bush" shirt, and the guy with the unicorn tied to his bike's handlebar; eating cheesecake in bed Sunday night; Friday night - BBB - the whole experience of 'eating and going to the show' in the North Beach area

Debi: BBB, Coit Tower and the walk down the Filbert Steps (sooooo pretty), GGB and protest

Jen: What is with those girls? I thought the protest sucked! I loved the food at the delicious restaurants, and the fact that we walked so much we couldn't have gained a pound if we'd tried; the Filbert Steps; and generally just being in San Francisco with two of my favorite people. Oh, and I loved having three nights of quiet--no crying, no snoring, no obnoxious neighbors mowing their lawns at 6 a.m.

What were a few of the most memorable moments?

April: popcorn and Junior Mints on the movie floor, cab ride over Nob Hill and the grumpy driver, making fun of 'smokin' Jen' (Jen: long story, I'm not going to explain it except to say I have very strange dreams)

Debi: pretty much the same as my previous answer.

Jen: Definitely the protest. As big an annoyance as it was, how many times does this kind of stuff happen in little ol' Portland? Also won't forget the cab driver who told us about how many times he'd broken off his side mirrors, and when he told his passengers he was color blind so he needed them to yell out the traffic light colors--it was funny and scary all at once!

What sucked?

April: crowded bus and streetcar, trying to transfer to the GGB bus, Jen's early flight on Friday (actually, once I was on the plane and could relax, it wasn't that bad and it gave us a few extra hours of shopping)

Debi: waiting for the bus at GGB, trying to chase after the bus and the mean bus driver, Mr. Smelly (he had just about the worst BO I've ever smelled. I was 4 rows away from my seat when I began to smell him. The flight staff were giving him a difficult time about not being able to find his luggage. He went up front to find out what was going on, and everyone around me gave me the most mortified yet sympathetic looks. The lady across from us said "Oh, it's HIM!" and the guy sitting next to her said "Did you think that was ME?!?!? No wonder you wouldn't talk to me!!!" If I hadn't been so overwhelmed with nausea I would have laughed.) And oh yeah, lunch at the airport was lacking, especially after all the yummy food we'd had the previous few days. I wished it had be a little clearer for the GGB and Coit Tower visits so the views would have been more awe inspiring.

Jen: the bus and streetcar rides brought back memories of Europe and how people behave in crowds; I hated that. The bus driver who was so rude when we were so obviously lost could have really ruined our day. And again, I could've done without the protest.

What was your favorite meal/restaurant?

April: Tie between Rose Pistola - best food and iced tea, and Postrio - nummy spinach salad and waffles

Debi: Probably Postrio, then Fior d'Italia

Jen: Definitely Postrio, but Rose Pistola was an epicurean delight!

General comments

April: Confucius say, Choose not hotel lounge when need to quench thirst or satisfy hunger, instead visit house of Walgreen. (Translation - When you're really thirsty or hungry don't plan to spend a lot of time and dough at a hotel lounge, save money and shop Walgreens instead.) Be alert, keep back to wind, eyes focused on horizon and you will find your way. (Translation - When windy, either cut your hair short, braid it or wear headbands or else you won't be able to see where the heck you are, or it might just be the fog...)

Debi: It was LOVELY! I had the best time ever!

Jen: We were SO lucky the weather was decent the whole time we were there! Even though I'd already seen and done most of the touristy things in San Francisco, I still had a fabulous time finding new things to adore about the city. It was one of the most fun trips there I've ever had, and April and Debi deserve most the credit for that--I couldn't ask for better traveling companion girlfriends!

What was the best thing about getting back home?

April: Getting to see Emma again (oh yeah, and Jim). After meeting Jim and Emma at the airport, I wanted to hold her all the way to the car so Jim had to lug all my bags and the stroller. :)

Debi: Getting away from Mr. Smelly, and how my kitties were so lovey to me. Realizing I missed my husband more than I thought I did (because he was in LA when I got home).

Jen: Seeing the kids, definitely. Passing out souvenirs to Katie and Vic, and how giggly Jack was when he saw Mommy.

postcards from san francisco
OUR DATE ON THE GOLDEN GATE