The Time Changing Powers of San Francisco

The last two weeks have felt like one month (in a good way).   It seems like a lifetime ago that we arrived at Santa Cruz to start our honeymoon.  However, SF has had the opposite effect and I cannot believe that we have had our allotted three days here already.  Time has flown by (hence the distinct lack of blogging).

After our first night spent eating more than I care to mention at Plant we used the following day to explore SF a little more.  As this is our second visit here we have already seen Alcatraz, taken a bike ride to Sausalito etc so this freed us up a little just to soak up the SF atmosphere (although as some of you reading this will notice that doesn't mean key aspects from our first trip weren't revisited..). 

After hitting Union Square (which may involve seeing shops) we headed up to Fillmore, which has a really village-y feel to it.  Lots of independent shops (granted not sure you can call Marc Jacobs independent but that is the exception rather than the rule) and great eateries.  We had lunch at the Grove (ahem revisit number 1 from the previous trip) and generally mooched around in the sunshine.  Having spent the previous day/that morning wondering why frozen yoghurt was such a big thing (why don't people just eat the real thing we asked) we also found a frozen yoghurt place that provided a vegan option.  So now I see what all the fuss is about; so good (and yes we did go back the following day specifically to get the yoghurt).  Now feel like something of a hypocrite..

We also visited some new areas (Mission, Castro to name but a few) and found some incredible shops, selling very artisanal products that the owner/managers had scoured the US (and Japan it would seem) for.  It was really lovely to meet people so passionate about what they do and with a clear eye for design as these pictures show.  I would definitely recommend this place (The Common) as being well worth a visit, for the decor if not the clothes (but the clothes are definitely worth the visit too).  Drats this being a men's clothing store.

Dinner was the lovely (vegan) Millennium (yep, revisit number 2) and much to my delight the tempura mushrooms remained on the menu and largely identical to the dish three years ago, which is a relief otherwise I think I would have been somewhat put out.  Other than the mushrooms we generally ate ourselves silly only to take a cab back to the hotel to be pulled over by the police as our driver was on his mobile.  The drama! 

Yesterday was a fairly similar day with the added benefit of going to see the seals, a walk to the Golden Gate bridge (further than we thought) and lunch at Freshii (of Toronto fame - the memories). We also went to see City Lights bookstore, set up in 1953 and famous for its decision to publish Ginsberg's 'Howl' notwithstanding that it lead to an (unsuccessful) attempt to prosecute the store's owners for publishing obscene material.  Today, the store is protected as a landmark for its contribution to the development of SF literature and culture and is full of pictures of various events, including clippings from the Howl trial.  It is also crammed full with the most amazing selection of books that you could get lost discovering.  

Today we are going to try to see Mrs Madrigal's house (of Tales from the City - a series of books set in SF that I love) and then off to Carmel.   I cannot believe we are in our last few days, but less of that and more on working out how to pack... 

Until the next post (if I have wi-fi), AD xx