San Francisco 2019

I use Pinterest for trip planning. I just put everything on its own board and I can access it at the destination. I don’t have to remember ANYTHING! Ba ha ha!!! Pinterest

We love taking public transportation when we travel. Not so good at it at home but when it comes to driving in an unfamiliar area or taking the bus, we find some cultural richness in mass transit. The downside is, it can take exceptionally longer. This trip didn’t have us trying to pack every moment so transit time was just fine. We started by taking the world famous BART from the airport to the city for $10 (actually a bit less but you put $10 on your re-fillable card so it may as well cost $10)We got off at the Embarcadaro, the south/east end of the tourist district. From there, we worked our way west. Start at the Ferry Building on pier 1(odd number piers go west, even go east) I’ll just go ahead and compare the Ferry Building to Pike Place, if Pike Place was slicker and roomier. Try Blue Bottle coffee and Dandilion Chocolates. I hear good things about Gotts but we just looked at the menu and didn’t eat there. It looks like affordable American food, great for families. Across the street at Embarcadero center we happened across some arts and crafts vendors, my favorite type of souvenirs! We had ice cream and a cookie at Under the Moon, which was really good. We heard Paramo Coffee was really good. Follow the Embarcadaro past all the piers for the tourist experience and don’t miss In N Out, a quintessential California experience. If you do nothing else, do this.

Naturally, Golden Gate Calls. If you haven’t spotted it yet, keep on wandering westward to Aquatic Park (Maritime National Historic Park on some maps) Stop at the Cable Car terminus to buy your tickets if you haven’t already. A three day passport includes all the buses you can take plus the cable cars.

Walk out on the Municipal Pier (if you’re geocaching, snag this easy one) Ogle the bridge and Alcatraz Island from here.

(Keep going west to visit the Presidio, which we didn’t this time but it’s a nice walk. You can walk all the way down to right under the bridge) From here we went to Ghirardelli Square for the most amazing overpriced sundae we ever had. We went for the $13 caramel/hot fudge and it was worth every penny and big enough to share. If you visit a different Ghirardelli, be sure to ask for your sundae “for here” or you’ll get your ice cream in an ugly paper or plastic cup, which is not as nice an experience.

Grace Cathedral on Nob Hill gives you a mini-Notre Dame feeling. It’s Episcopalian with a coexist mentality so we loved it. They have two labyrinths and people use them every day as the spiritual mediation they’re meant for. But also for fun. Yield to those having a more spiritual experience than you.  

We wandered up to North Beach for dinner. This is San Francisco’s Little Italy and authentic, delicious Italian food abounds. We chose Piazza Pelligrini for their house made pasta and gnocci but every place looked just as good. I like that they placed the outdoor seating towards the street like a theater-it’s how it is in lots of places in Europe. Like Europe, we sat at the table for a good long time and never felt rushed to move on.

Way on the west side of the city there is a lot to do, including Golden Gate park which includes botanical gardens, boat rentals, bison farm, etc. It’s on our list but with our blissfully slow pace, we couldn’t make it happen this time. We did make it to Land’s End Labyrinth. We made our own botanical appreciation walk on the trail as all the spring blooms were popping. Wild calla lilies?? 10 foot tall Echnia!! Plus great views of Golden Gate Bridge and pelicans flying over, I loved this steep little hike.

We stayed at this air B&B in Potrero hill which is a bit outside of the city. City miles are really long so it took a long time coming and going form here. But I absolutely loved the neighborhood. Best coffee was Farley’s-enjoy local art while you sip-and Plow was really good breakfast but they’re getting famous so you’ll be waiting for a table. A couple blocks up for a faster more casual breakfast, try Provender. They serve in hand made looking ceramic. Coffee=good but the scene stealer was the avocado toast. It’s life changing. (link) Don’t miss Goat Hill Pizza made with sourdough crust. Amazing! Potrero has a ton of indy shops and restaurants. We could’ve just spent the weekend right there and ignored the Golden Gate and other famous things. It was awesome! I think my favorite part of this trip was our private little backyard garden.

Qs go to Paris

Paris

Quick tips on public transportation: Other blogs tell you to buy your metro tickets by the carnet, but I didn’t see that word anywhere. I did see T+ which I only saw once in my research. So buy those by the 10s which was about 14euros and didn’t come out as a booklet like I expected. Don’t use your last ticket to get back to your hotel; not every stop has a vending machine and you’ll want that ticket in the morning.

My favorite day in Paris: We got up before sunrise to beat the crowds to Notre Dame. The payoff was huge. The square was empty and the sunrise was dramatic. The tours don’t start until later though, so after walking around the cathedral taking in the warm early light, we found a café on the a corner in view of Notre Dame. Café’s in Paris situate their outdoor seating theater style so the people watching is easy and natural. And like much of Europe, it’s perfectly acceptable to occypy a table for a couple hours with just a cup of coffee. We enjoyed watching commuters and workers naviget the intersection along with luggage laden tourists. Bicycles, scooters, cars, and trucks using 2 lanes, merging easily, threading where necessary and allowing others the right of way. It was beautiful chaos. This was my favorite Paris experience. A couple hours later we queued with other tourists to see the inside of Notre Dame, which was breathtaking. Use Rick Steve’s audio tour to easily learn and appreciate some otherwise overlooked details.

To climb the tower, queue on the north side of the building. Use the recommended app and wifi provided at the kiosk there to make your reservation, which, at your appointed time, only gets you in to the gift shop, where you purchase your ticket to climb. You won’t see the gift shop again, so do your shopping now. A flaw in the experience, in my opinion; I like to get my souvenirs on the way out. You climb at your own pace, there is no guided tour or anyone to keep up with. There is a prescribed route and the occasional worker, ostensibly to make sure no one misbehaves. You’ll climb many stairs and at one point you can choose to go down or continue up. If you have a fear of heights, this might be a turning point for you. I pressed on and was rewarded. At the top, I stood near a lightning rod as it started to rain. Pretty exciting! The views though…

There are lots of famous sites in Paris and that was our focus for this trip so next was Pont Neuf. Walk under to see the many faces carved into the bridge. A detail that is often missed.

Montmartre attractions include Sacre Cour and the art market. We arrived at Sacre Cour before sunrise. The funicular opens early. Buy a transit ticket for this. There wer several runners and a few photographers on the hill early. We got our pictures with a bland sunrise then hit a café for breakfast. After the magical morning at Notre Dame, this was all pretty bland. Montmartre was definitely more interesting in the middle of the day. But early, on the steps of Sacre Cour, overlooking the whole of paris, a young german man asked me to take a picture of him and his girlfriend. They posed, I snapped. Then he knelt in front of her and brought out a classic little ring box. As I continued snapping, she said yes. Beuatiful! What an honor to be part of their moment. 

MontMartre, known for its part in the impressionist movement, is still home to a thriving art culture. Lots of talent and unique souvenirs. The art market continues to grow throughout the day as artists arrive and set up. Most speak English and sell small and/or packable pieces. They know their clientèle. 

Ready for another tower climbt? At Sacre Cour, you must go down to go up. Theres like, a moat around the cathedral and you go down there for entrance to the climb. Like other towers, this climb is loaded with tight stairs, amazing architechture and views.

From here we had to visit one of Paris’ large and famous cemeteries. We chose Pere Lachaise, famous for all the trees. It was like walking in the woods with dead people. We got out from under the trees the trees quickly because of the chestnuts trying to fall on our heads. The mausoleums are amazing, uniquely designed and beautiful.

During our visit there was this immersive Klimpt/Hundertwasser thing at Atelier Des Lumier (they're going to have Van Gogh in 2019). Wow. Do it. It felt like a collective experience we were having with everyone else in the room. Even though we didn’t actually interact with anyone. (look for video to see how amazing it is)

Obligatory wine and cheese picnic under the tower complete with romantic picture. I hope you enjoyed hearing about our Paris experience. Please comment and ask questions, I could talk about it forever!

Qs do the Squires Lake Loop Hike

This trail is located at the border of Whatcom and Skagit counties in WA. It's a county park, so no parking pass is required. Trail is 2 miles with 200 feet elevation gain (WTA.org)

I usually prefer to hike slow. It's not a race; the one who enjoys it the most wins. But today I speed walked Squires lake. 2 miles in 38 minutes. (Very fast for me) Good cardio. From the trailhead it's 1/3 mile to the lake. Turn left to go clockwise around the lake, taking the path to the right whenever there's a choice, even the one pictured that looks like the wrong way. Other trails are good for a longer hike. Squires has a little ice near the outlet and the trail is damp but not muddy today. It gets pretty slick when wet.