San Francisco!

This trip, my dears, was the best.  We went with our friends, Josh and Liz and they, as luck would have it, are fabbity fab travel companions ;).  Yay us!  We did lots and lots of San Francisco-y things.  Things that you must connect with your nerd to do.  I do not have a hard time doing this as I am really nerdy.  I am shameless.  Almost.  This trip was also our practice trip for Europe.  To see if we can leave our kids for extended periods of time.  We can.  

This first picture is at the bottom of Lombard Street.  You know the one?  Crookedy Crooks?  It hurts the knees to walk down.  Okay, not really.  It has some of the most beautiful houses on it but man, would I hate living on that street.  People walking and driving and Segwaying (see later pics) at all hours!  Nachtmare!  

Steve and I @ the bottom of Lombard

So our first full day there we decided to go the whole hog and do a 3 hour Segway tour, walk hither and thither all over the hilled city, AND do Alcatraz.  Whatevs.  It was fun, but we got v v tired.  

The Segway tour was one of the greatest things ever.  Really.  If you are ever in a city that offers one, please do it.  Set aside your pride and do it.  It was a blast.  We wheeled around like Gob from "Arrested Development" for 3 hours with people taking pictures, laughing and just outright staring.  A great time was had.  We even got heckled by teenagers.  

Here we are at the Palace of Fine Arts.  Happy as clams!

AND, here we are with the Golden Gate Bridge behind us.  You get to remove your helmet if you get off the Segway.  Lucky us.  

AND, here we are after the Segway tour and Alcatraz at the stupid Ferry Building where everything was closed and we were starving to death and so tired we could scarce sit up straight.  I would recommend NOT a 3 hour tour and Alcatraz in one day unless you have definite plans for dinner.

  So when Steve and I came here a couple of years ago I bought a couple of years ago I bought some coral necklaces from these lovely street vendors in Union Square.  They have the loveliest jewelry and I simply had to have some more.  It's all made of natural stone and is such a great price.  At least I hope it is ;).  

Here I am purchasing earrings to match a necklace I bought two years ago.

Several years ago we  bought a dog.  An adorable Spinone named Giovanna.  She was a sweetheart but our other dogs hated her guts.  She seemed to be a fiasco fit for our family.  Let me tell you all that we are NOT the kind of people to buy a dog and get rid of her.  We do not believe animals are disposable at all but this little puppy was just not working.  It so happens that when we contacted the head of the Spinone Club in the US, she told us about a man who was looking for a Spinone that was not a puppy (which Gio happened not to be at the point when we decided to find her another owner).  We figured she would be much better off as an "only dog".  She is.

She now lives with Jules.  The greatest dog owner in the universe.  She goes everywhere with him.  EVERYWHERE.  Including pilates.  She is the Princess of San Francisco.  We miss her and have visited her twice now in the 3 years she has been his dog.  Jules is always very obliging.  We go to dinner or lunch with him and visit Gio and have a grand time.  He really is a wonderful man and we're so grateful to him for being the perfect owner for Gio.  

This is me with Gio.

This is Jules with Gio.  Just look at how she looks at him.  She is in full smit!

Jules is one of the owners of a place called "The Candy Store".  Yes, that is the real name.  It's basically a "Gentleman's Club" for really rich guys who collect vintage cars.  I don't care one whit about cars but this place was unreal.  I was gobsmacked.  

  

This is the entrance of the club.  Amazing.

Jules is slowing down now (as he is around 87 year old), but the last car he restored completely on his own was this gorgeous Hispano-Suiza.  It's made mostly of wood and was a total wreck when he bought it.  The detail in the restoration is unbelievable.  He has tires shipped from England or has them custom made.  No cutting corners.  It's pure craziness.  He's auctioning it off in a few months.  

Here I am with Jules and his girlfriend Barbara in front of the Hispano-Suiza.

The interior of the Hispano-Suiza.

And one last look at the candy.

It was kind of a last minute decision to go on the trip.  I'm so glad we decided to go, it was so great.  We had a wonderful time with our friends, tried tons of new things (if you need restaurant suggestions, let me know!), had a great time with Jules, Barbara and Gio, and spent some much needed time together.  Couldn't ask for more :).