Just Life| Bonjour Golden Gate Bridge

Last Sunday, I had to drop off my dad at the San Francisco airport. After that, my daughter and I drove 20 minutes to the Golden Gate Bridge.

We got lucky and found a parking spot right underneath the bridge.

We paid for two hours of parking and headed toward the bridge. 

We walked to the end of the bridge and back. It took us more than an hour to do it. 

We stopped many times along the way to admire the view and to try to locate a great white shark under the bridge...no luck.

It was a beautiful sunny day and there were plenty of sail boats on the water. 

The last time I walked on this bridge was about 15 years ago with my husband.  Now I was walking on that same bridge with my daughter.

On the bridge, we came across this odd fellow with a sign that read: " Free hugs." 

Since we didn't want to give or receive any free hugs from a stranger, we kept walking faster and faster to outrun the guy.

To my surprise, I saw at least two women who stopped and gave that guy some hugs. They were very generous if you ask me.

Then we ended up spending an hour on the beach under the Golden Gate. 

There was a gift shop on the beach and I got the coolest coffee mug. A mug with a white shark inside. How cool is that?

There is a white Shark inside my coffee mug

Then it came the dreaded drive back and my stupid phone GPS took us to Zambia before showing us the way to Stockton. It took us two hours to get home. I tell you, I prayed a lot that night.

The whole time driving, I was hoping that we won't cross paths with any crazy cannibals roaming around the wilderness looking for chubby preys like us. :)

Finally, around 8:30 pm, we finally landed in Stockton. I almost kissed my driveway.

Anyway, to all you fellow adventurers:

If you are planning a trip, keep in mind that you can find plenty of travel books at your local library...hold the free hugs. ;)

Here are a few examples of what you can find in your library:

Top 10 San Francisco 

Fodor's 2013 Walt Disney World

Italy

Signing off until next Monday- Panteha

The Wanderlust Librarian | The Ferry Building - My forever friend

The Ferry Building is lively at lunchtime! 

Golden Gate Park. 

The beach. 

Cable Cars.

Everyone has a different relationship with San Francisco. My relationship started with food. My parents had friends in the City and they made delicious Indonesian food. While tagging along with her mom in the City, this young Bloggess enjoyed Japanese sponge cakes, Chinese almond cookies, Pad Thai, and distinctly Asian smells while shopping for groceries on Clement Street (luckily, not all in the same trip!).

The ceiling is stunning in the
Ferry Building

As I got older, I discovered scrumptious cakes at Schuberts, artful (and tasty) Dim Sum in Chinatown, Golden Boy Pizza in North Beach and new flavors of ice cream at Humphrey Slocombe. But in all of my City expeditions, nothing says ambiance and food like the Ferry Building.

Built in 1898, the Ferry Building was a place where people coming to and from the East Bay would enter or exit their ferries. Today, there are still ferries that come in and out throughout the day from places like Sausalito, Alameda, Oakland, Vallejo, and South San Francisco. The schedules are available here.

Not only is the building visually stunning from the outside, the inside is something special to behold. On the Ferry Building website, the historical pictures of the inside of the building aren't much different than how it looks today. The architects used the bones of the building to construct something modern and unique while maintaining the grandeur of the original structure. 

Today, when people come off the ferry, they are greeted by shops and stalls full of wonderful things. When I visit, I always get something special from these three stalls (click on the stall name for more information):

• The Cowgirl Creamery: Cheese upon cheese upon cheese from everywhere you can imagine. Cheesemongers will help you find your favorite! (I love the Mt. Tam)
• Blue Bottle Coffee: One of the best in the City! Roasted locally, this coffee is bold, smooth and heartwarming. It's like a hug. A hot cup of coffee on a foggy San Francisco day is fantastic!
• Acme Bread Company: The smell alone lures me in like a trap. It's heavenly. The bread is fresh and the taste is divine.

The bookstore looks out onto the
Ferry Building indoor sitting area

Tucked away behind Peet's Coffee shop, there lives a lovely little bookstore called Book Passage. The store is not very big but the charm lies in the high shelves with the ladders leading up to the ceiling. It's not a "sit down and watch people "bookstore, but a "comfortable browsing nook". They have a fun, eclectic mix of books and it's always fun to find a treat there! 

What would a gorgeous waterfront marketplace be without a view? Depending on the time of year that you visit, your view could be the Bay fog rolling in, ships lolling in the water, or the lights of the Bay Bridge twinkling to your right. Life isn't too shabby sitting with a cup of coffee by the water! 

My lunchtime view

When you feel you'd like to stretch your legs around and take a walk, go West down the wharf and enjoy the sights!  On my walk I found a number of lovely, quiet sitting spots and BYOC (bring your own chess/checker) tables. There are always a lot of joggers and tourists, but I've never felt overwhelmed by people. It's a casual kind of busy that I enjoy being a part of. 

There is never a bad time to visit. The City has a personality and shine all its own. If you want to take transit, just stop at the Embarcadero BART station and look towards the water. The Ferry Building's clock tower will show you the way.

A small piece of advice: take your time and enjoy your experience. 

Have a relaxing and delicious adventure!  

One of my favorite stalls

Mountains of cheese dominate my dreams.

Blue Bottle coffee calls to me

Miette makes my heart happy with
perfectly tasty sweets! 

This classic trolley car
looks like so much fun to ride! 

This is a chocolate factory.
It smells amazing AND gives free tours! 

The bread is called a Pain Epi. You can break the segments
off to enjoy rolls of goodness. I also bought my favorite
Gruyere cheese! 

from Ferry Building website

The Wanderlust Librarian| A Taste of Paris in the Bay Area (Throwback Thursday)

One of the things I miss most about my time in Paris (albeit short)  are the croissants. Many people told me that there are no bad patisseries in Paris. Lizzie and I tested that theory on our first day in the City of Light. We went to a patisserie across the street from our hotel. A huge window looking into the shop betrayed its contents. Inside was a warmly lit shop with a glass case full of pastries. As the door opened, there was a soft tinkling of a bell announcing our arrival. The smell was beyond intoxicating. The sweet scent of sugar and fresh baked bread air pushed past me in a dizzy blur.

My first French delight was a Pain au Chocolat (chocolate croissant) and a spot of Earl Grey tea. As I took my first bite, I was surprised at the crunch. I was accustomed to soft pastries. I savored every bit of butter, flaky, chocolaty goodness before I started my adventures in Paris. During my 3 day visit, I ingested many croissants (plain and chocolate!) and made sure to document every flavor in my brain.

Coming back to the United States, I was dismayed at my croissant choices. They were nothing like France. I longed for the cloudy mornings where the air was thick with history and charm. I wistfully looked out of my bedroom window and sighed.

That is... until I saw a show called The Best Thing I Ever Ate on the Food Network. A chef had talked about the Double Pain au Chocolat at a place called Tartine in San Francisco.  Did I hear this right? A DOUBLE Pain au Chocolat? I was on a new quest to find this miracle. I found it... and it did NOT disappoint. It met all of the rules on the "Proper Croissant" list. 

Here are the (non-official) rules that my friend (who studied in France for a year) and I made to designate a "Proper French Croissant" or PFC. The pictures are of Tartine Bakery's croissant that is as close to PFC I can get without hopping on a plane to Paris

1. The color: A PFC is a deep dark, striped affair. During baking, the top layer takes on a gorgeous mahogany hue. 

Stripey, crunchity, goodness

2. The bend: A lesser croissant will bend easily and let off a few flakes. A PFC will bend, but will shatter a million croissant flakes. It should make bread confetti. 

There were more flakes on my shirt and table.

3. The insides: PFCs take a long time to make. A lot of time is necessary to prep the dough with an insane amount of cold butter to make those gentle layers. When you break the croissant open, there should be folded layers of pillow soft dough.

Look how wafer thin and delicate those layers are!
I can't wait to dig in!

4. The Taste: PFCs should be buttery and rich...and crunchy. It should be like a soft piece of bread that's been buttered generously. It's satisfying to have croissant crumbs on my shirt and on the floor. It means that I enjoyed the croissant fully (and that I'll need to invest in a bib). 

I know that this is another "before" picture, but I think
that the full appreciation of the outside layers deserves
a second look. 

Book Bucket List | San Francisco

I've been feeling antsy lately, so I've decided to take a day trip.  Luckily, I'm only a short drive away from the Bay Area, where I know I can find something interesting to take up my time.  So this week I'll be featuring some of our SF area travel guides and maybe I'll find something to go do this weekend.

Hidden San Francisco & Northern California features a lot of places that wouldn't be considered "touristy".  Ray Reigert focuses on restaurants, hotels, and places that are frequented by locals and are not as well known.  He highlights a lot of walking tours that features places full of local interest and history.  This would be perfect for someone, like me, who is familiar with the area but is looking for something new.

San Francisco : America's guide for architecture and history travelers really focuses on the major cultural and historical landmarks of the city.  Coit Tower, the De Young Museum, and obviously the Golden Gate Bridge are all featured with the other "must see" landmarks in the city.

If you're into gardening, pick up The garden lover's guide : San Francisco bay Area.  Everything from parks and gardens are featured, along with the best nurseries, supply stores, and even gardening bookstores in the area.  It also gives information about joining gardening clubs,  contests, and gardening shows.

Though I'm tempted to catch a ballgame, I'll be using some of these to find something new to do in the city.  We also have a ton of other travel books about local and more exotic locations that will help you plan your next trip.

Constant Curiosity | A Spot of Tea

Years and years ago, in almost another lifetime, I went to England with my mom and my sister.  We had afternoon tea at Harrod's, after a long, chilly tramp around London, and at the Pump Room in Bath, (and discovered that Bath buns referred to a type of roll and not a condition resulting in taking the baths...) and came home with a fascination for and an addiction to "having tea." This resulted in our having tea for any excuse whatsoever--Mother's Day, a new tea room to try, or just as an excuse to get out the bone china teacups.

 I've visited a lot of tea rooms, but tea at the Empress in Victoria, BC, sticks in my mind, because we visited during a very warm July, so...proper attire being required in the tea room, it looked sad for a moment until the hostess found an unoccupied dining area and the day was saved for my friend and me, as we had tea in lonely shorts-clad splendor. 

Afternoon Tea in Victoria

Another memorable afternoon tea was at the Ritz Carlton San Francisco after the Bay to Breakers race (we walked...all 9+ miles over hill and dale and along Castro St., a story for another time.)  My friends and I were all cold (very foggy day,)  and starving and still in our walking clothes when I decided tea at the Ritz would be just the thing (I never said I didn't dream big) and although there was a fancy party going on, the very gracious hostess found us a table and we had a lovely tea.  Talk about hitting the spot! 

I have also been treated to a fabulous birthday tea at the Ritz in San Francisco; you may be surprised to learn that I was in my best bib and tucker that time.  One of my fondest dreams is to have tea at the London Ritz at Christmas time.         

There is something inherently comforting and oh, so cozy, about sitting around a fragrant, steaming pot of Earl Grey tea, (my fave, oil of bergamot adding that little extra,) milk and sugar at the ready, beautiful bone china cups and saucers arranged just so on a tray or tea table, silver spoons, lacey linens and a tier of scones, cucumber sandwiches, cake, tarts, lemon curd, strawberry preserves and Devon cream.  High tea, with more substantial fare, can be a fine meal all by itself. 



If you have just come in out of the cold, say, after tramping the moor, a good, strong cuppa can be as bracing as a shot of good Scotch whiskey.  Not that I'm a devotee of Scotch, but I have a good imagination and a gift for hyperbole.

 

If the tea table is near a fireplace with a crackling fire going, and one has friends to share the tea with, there's no better place on earth.  This is especially nice during the holidays, because unless you live in the southern hemisphere (not southern California,) December can be oh so dark and dreary. 

So, if you suffer from that mid-afternoon "sinking feeling" (as the Duchess of Bedford said) and you're interested in having your own tea party and not sure where to start, visit your local public library:

Afternoon Tea Book

This blog is dedicated to my dear friend Laura, who is a brilliant tea companion and with whom I've murdered more than a few cups of tea.





The Wanderlust Librarian | Grace Cathedral Hill

The holidays are coming up fast! It's already November and I've got a lot of shopping to do! Take advantage of the season and explore the cities you shop in! 

Last year for Christmas, I was gifted with an overnight stay at the San Francisco treasure, Fairmont Hotel. It's a beautiful hotel on the crest of Nob Hill. It shares real estate across from the iconic Mark Hopkins InterContinental. 

Fun Fact: The Penthouse suite at the at the Fairmont was featured in the Nicolas Cage movie, The Rock (1996).

Sad Fact: My room was not the Penthouse suite.  

Nob Hill also shares space with Grace Cathedral. It is the subject of a song by The Decemberists. I wax nostalgic about San Francisco when I hear it!  

It's amazing just how quiet San Francisco gets on Christmas morning. I was stunned by the silence when I went to take a walk that morning. Since most everything was closed, I expected to take a hearty jaunt to Van Ness Street to search for a moderately priced breakfast but was pleasantly surprised to see the Cable Cars working! Added bonus: the cable car stopped right in front of the hotel. The rides normally cost 5.50 for a one way trip, but that morning... it was FREE! I rode for FREE! (yes, while I do like to travel... I am also a sucker for an amazing deal!) Being the information hound, I went and checked out San Francisco's Cable Cars by Joyce Jansen so I could learn the story behind this historic transportation system.  

If you ever get the chance, enjoy the City on a Sunday and listen to the world wake up.  

As a bonus to my loyal blog readers, here's a video of my room at the Fairmont! Enjoy and happy travels! 

-Rena 

The Wanderlust Librarian | Wandering Through the City

Traveling doesn't have to be far away. In fact, there are some eclectic and great neighborhoods to explore in San Francisco. I try to research one or two different neighborhoods that I'm really interested in and put them in a little notebook that I carry in my purse. I call it my "commonplace book". I adopted the name after I had started reading the Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 1: The Bad Beginning . There's a big plus to having a notebook to jot things down, write down suggestions from locals... or, in my case, write down books I want to read.

While I don't always make it to the neighborhoods I've researched, I know that the information is always there in case I need it. I like to take tips from friends, family, television shows and magazines.Do you want to get a flavor for the different neighborhoods in the City? Check out Walking San Francisco. This books shows maps of the neighborhoods and tries to capture the personality of that area!



Some things I like to jot down:

• Name of neighborhood and location
• Shops, addresses and descriptions (who knew that a store called Karikter carries Tintin books and toys?)
• Restaurants & cafes (with address and description)
• Places of note (libraries, picture opportunities, historical places)

Without research, I would have never known that this was the Richmond Branch Library! 

 Another fun tip is to theme out your excursions. Some of my San Francisco wanderings have included:

• Cupcake-palooza - visiting cupcake shops around town 
• Let's go to the movies - famous sights in San Francisco that were in different movies
• Pretty Woman - trying on expensive clothes at swanky stores
• It's a (tourist) trap! - visiting various tourist spots and capping the day off at the Yoda fountain at the Presidio

These little lists do not give me an excuse to get bored when I'm in the City. In fact, it gives me freedom in choosing the activities and sights I want to see! The library is your best friend in helping to plan and execute a fun, spontaneous visit to the city or anywhere your heart desires!

Adventure is out there!  - Ellie from "Up"