A Grand (Rainy-Almost-Sunny) Day Out

Just about lunchtime on Thursday, Dave and I head out to explore as his meeting has finished.  Near our hotel is Chinatown, but we divert first for some lunch and other sights.

A little church, tucked away on a side street.

My kind of perfect.

Chairs on Claude Street--closed to traffic.  I loved these chairs (you'll see them again).

 Lunch was three side dishes, shared: butternut squash soup with truffle oil, cauliflower and potato gratin, and a beet salad (even though it looks like bacon pieces).

Reminded me of my sisters and I.  We always look like this when we're relaxing.

Dave at our table.  They had the heaters on and the day wasn't really too cold, so we ate outside.

Back at the gate.

 

 "Son, Observe the Time and Fly From Evil."

(The placard underneath the clock)

Given that Tangerine Tango is the hot color this year, I loved seeing the front of this market.

These red lanterns are everywhere on this street.  Because this shop had the most, I imagine Mr. Peking Bazaar going to a neighborhood meeting, proposing the idea and saying "I can get them for you--cheap!"

Loved the interior of this shop, with the aquamarine ceiling.

Dried scallops.

While it's hard to see, in the corner of the window above, it reads:
Chinatown Memory Shop.
If they helped with memory I would imagine that they would have more than just a few customers, but even from studying the shop window, I can't quite tell what they sell.

And what's your first clue that we've crossed into North Beach (the Italian section of SF)?  Here's your second: 

Because I fixate on pattern and repetition a lot in quilting, when I see those in real life, I'm always whipping out my camera.  I also love the "old-timey" feel these tiled half-walls give to this street, as if someone will come out and offer me a sarsaparilla or something.

A narrow, gated doorway--the door set at a 45-degree angle to the street.

One of my goals was to ride a cable car.  It's just one of those things tourists do when they go to SF, like riding a gondola when you go to Venice, Italy (which I've never done).

 We're back to Union Square.  We had all three kinds of weather today: overcast, but not raining.  Drizzly.  What's the other one?  Coming up: stay tuned.

 Union Square Photos.  We're such tourists.  But I have to say that whenever I visit my home town's Mission Inn, I'm always taking photos of that, too, and I live there.

I think I'd like to plant one of these trees in my front yard--those yellow bell-shaped flowers are really beautiful. 

Cherry Blossoms!  I'd been thinking of Washington DC's cherry blossom time, and here we found some in Union Square.

And here's the third kind of weather: sunny!  We decided to walk to dinner, since we were having sunshine.

The flower man was out with his blooms, whereas I hadn't seen him before. We ambled up about a block and yep--here we are in the Tenderloin area of San Francisco.  In the old days, no one would walk through there, but now it's a little more tame.  Even so, I kept ahold of Dave's hand as we strolled past many people gathered on the streets, just hanging out.

Things got a little better through this area, near City Hall.

We both thought the climbing row of balconies was interesting, on the Golden Gate Theater.

We ate at Zuni Cafe, and yes, we ordered the Caesar salad and waited our hour for the roast chicken. 

We ate until we were stuffed, and enjoyed it immensely.  I only wish we could live closer, then I would have only eaten one serving and taken the rest home for the next day.  I loved the bread "salad" that comes with it.

Home on the streetcars--I love riding them.

Britex Fabrics bids us goodnight.