Wednesday, March 05, 2008

San Francisco - Day One

Whew! It is amazing how long it takes to recover from a trip. I have been trying for the past week to post a bit about our trip to San Francisco. Well, here it is, at least part one.

We had a WONDERFUL time! It was short - only 3 1/2 days total fun time (we arrived Monday and left Friday), but we sure packed a lot in. It was a much needed winter break and the time spent with the Feller was so good and we enjoyed our time together so much. We still have a few more months of him working out of state. It makes our time together now so much more precious. (Thanks for a wonderful trip, Sweetie!)

Here is what we left - Columbus, Ohio: (Click pictures to enlarge)



Once the clouds cleared, I saw the Rockies. Yes, they brought tears to my eyes. I am always moved by the beauty and majesty of our lovely world and stand amazed at what God created. How can you see this and not feel wonder at such power and strength?









Can anyone tell me what this might be - there in the middle of the picture? This was near or just before the Great Basin. As you can see, the terrain was mountainous. But look closely...there is a perfect square outlined, even with a mountain rise in it. We couldn't figure out what it was or how it was created. The gentleman sitting in front of me had entertained me the whole flight with his Garman GPS unit, telling me where we were, how fast we were flying, how high we were, etc. Even he was stumped at this odd vision.





San Francisco is beautiful! And oh my word, we had PERFECT WEATHER! Not a single rain drop the whole week, rather mild temperatures, hardly a cloud to be seen, and gentle winds. PERFECT! We could not have ordered better conditions!




We had a room just a block or so from Fisherman's Wharf and took a hike there as soon as we left the airport and had traversed the BART train, the MUNI bus, and a bit of walking (a lot of walking, actually. We didn't quite have our public transport map figured out) :)

This is my cheesy self just after arriving in California for the very first time. The wind on the train station platform was making me have some cute hair, huh?



We made a fast trip down to the wharf as soon as we checked in and unpacked.





Look at this Dungeness crab! Oh my...I love crab and my mouth watered at the sight of these in open air kiosks. I actually didn't even get one until our last day there.




We grabbed a Boudin sour dough bread bowl with clam chowder and sat under the Fisherman's Wharf sign and shared it. So good after a long day of traveling! I could eat that chowder every day of the week! (But my hips would suffer for it!)




This fellow enjoyed a bit of Boudin bread too. We watched him for a while. He had a dilemma...his bread was too large and tough to eat easily and too many of his buddies wanted in on his picnic. He just raced around with it in his mouth, trying to keep all the other gulls and pigeons from stealing it. Not sure how he finally managed but I could hear the "Finding Nemo" seagulls in my head chanting, "Mine! Mine! Mine!". :-) {Naturally it caused me to go into a silly mimic session of them, much to the delight of Feller.} ;-) ;-)



We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering along the waterfront, poking into interesting corners, taking pictures, enjoying the sites, and planning our tentative agenda. Both of us were rather tired from getting up at 4 a.m., driving and flying all day, a bit of continental jet lag, and then settling in so we decided to grab an early dinner. Alioto's was having half price dinners in honor of their anniversary so our choice was made...Alioto's "Nonna Rose" was our pick.
"The History of Nonna Rose:
1933 turned out to be a hard year for Rose Alioto. After losing her young husband Nunzio, she was left with a family to provide for and a modest wholesale fish business to run. She became the first woman to own a business on Fisherman's Wharf. With Nonna Rose (as she later became known) at the helm, their unpretentious fish stall saw many changes over the years. Now, the Alioto's boast one of the country's most well know successful destination dining establishments.
Grandson's Joe and Nunzio Alioto, initiated this newest undertaking with their Nonna's highest standards and loving memory in mind. This continues their finest family traditions with 16 family members operating and maintaining the highest standards that would make their Nonna Rose proud. Enjoy the finest seafood and service that this region has to offer with years of tradition brought to your table."


Yum, yum, and more yum!!




My delicious shrimp salad:



A nice glass of white zin - loved the little fish on the glass:



All bibbed and ready to dig in!



A WHOLE steamed Maine lobster with drawn butter! *mouth waters*



The Feller's scrumptious bowl of Nonna's Famous Crab Cioppino,(their specialty and the inventor of this world famous dish) shellfish stew, with crabs, clams, mussels and shrimp in a spicy tomato sauce - the best I have ever tasted.
He added my rice to it after he ate the shellfish and it made for a nice thick soup sort of dish...perfect after a long, tiring day.



Dusk and the end of a great first day. This is a view walking back to our hotel, to rest and prepare for a vigorous next day!




Thanks for coming along for our first day.

More to follow!

1 comment:

Musings of a Housewife said...

Looks like FUN! And that crab... YUMMO.