How much do I love thee, San Francisco?

 

The "commute" to Sausalito

We love the Bay Area so much that we almost moved there in 2000. We came so close. I was house hunting and school shopping; our house in Bethesda was on the market. 

And then we bailed. There were too many high magnetic fields keeping us in place, like our house, the neighborhood, the schools, our perfect babysitter, and my job at NIH. But every time we go there is no diminishment of attraction. We never say "Whew, glad we didn't move here."

Franky's art show flyer

Our son Franky came here three years ago and never left.  Now his brother Peter has the Bay Area bug. When he comes from Brooklyn to stay with his brother on sunny Panoramic Drive in the Berkeley Hills, he wonders, as I always have, “why doesn’t everyone live here?” So he and his girlfriend are going to try it this summer, while Franky moves to India for three months. We came to see Franky off and to attend his oil pastels art show, Violet Wrist. Find his work here.

 Sather Gate, UC Berkeley

We stayed at the Berkeley Residence Inn. Despite its newness, it was still a Residence Inn, inn-different service, inn-termittent housekeeping, and non-working laundry rooms. But great location, just down the street from the entrance to UC Berkeley. The lobby is at all times filled with people on Berkeley business--visiting scientists, visiting orchestras, large bands of high school students. 

Franky took us straight from the airport to Taqueria Talavera for Mexican food. It was winningly authentic. That night we had drinks with our niece Stephanie at Residence Inn’s rooftop bar Study Hall. I give the Study Hall a D. Enormous chairs at the bar and tables designed to keep you apart. Plus they were "out of" essential items like Sauvignon blanc and French fries, early in the evening.

Franky and Peter with Harichan Das

The next morning we had tea with the boys’ spiritual teacher Harichan Das. We brought divine pastries like corn cherry scones and lemon ricotta tea cakes from Cheese Board.

Abbondanza! Berkeley Bowl

After that we focused on art show preparation: Blick for supplies, and Berkeley Bowl for refreshments. We had lunch nearby at Standard Fare, I had a delicious roast beef sandwich on focaccia with chimichurri sauce and cheese. 

Ewa roll at Tane Vegan Izakaya, enoki tempura smoked beef aiolo, yazu seaweed pearls, truffle salt

Walking the academic tightrope at Berkeley

We had a long walk on the UCal campus, watching brainiacs in their various areas of interest – playing Frisbee and spikeball, walking on tightropes, and sitting in circular study groups on the lawn. Peter and Franky are both vegetarians now,  so we had a variety of international cuisines, Japanese vegan sushi one night, and momos (dumplings) the next at Cafe Tibet. 

The makings for "ants on a log" and apple slices with PB

The day of the art show we spent shopping, cleaning, cooking, watching Franky mount all of the artwork on canvas in the living room a few hours before the show, and do installation barely an hour before the doors opened. Some people thrive on deadline pressure I guess. Nonetheless, the art show came off beautifully and was a big success. 

Franky measuring the canvas

Just before installation 

One of the reasons we considered moving to San Francisco is that it is rich with friends. And we invited all of them to the art show. Plus the California Beisers--Aunt Jane, her grandson Dean, and nieces Laura and Jolene drove all the way from La Jolla for the show. 

Traveled-farthest-distance Aunt Jane, and SF local Daniel Daniloff

With Barb Kinney at the Violet Wrist 

  

We had friends, we had relatives, we had beautiful artwork that sold, and we had appetizers conceived by the artist himself. In addition to ants on a log, there were Ritz Crackers with cream cheese and olives, Ritz crackers with cream cheese and jam, vegan chocolate chip cookies, and the most violet fruit we could find, blueberries and grapes.

 

Cellblock at Alcatraz

Busy Broadway in Alcatraz

The next day we were free and full of survivor rush. So I decided we should go to prison. I was hell bent on going to craggy, creepy Alcatraz and took my family as captives. I have a morbid fascination with prisons, and this tour fully indulged it. There’s an audio narration by a crusty old prison guard who walks you through the Main Cellblock, chilling bit by chilling bit, the Birdman’s cell, solitary confinement, and tells stories of escapes and murders.

We met the Beiser team for lunch in North Beach at Don Pisto’s. They should call it Don Pissed, because everyone there was pissed, as in drunk. We unknowingly had walked into a bottomless brunch with rules noted on the menu:  "chugging = elsewhere, double fisting = nope, ordering an entree = a must. We reserve the right to slow your roll, table and drinks are yours for 90 minutes." Despite having to shout to be heard, we were rewarded by delicious fish tacos, big burritos, and huevos rancheros. 

In keeping with the noise theme, we next went to another very loud place, the Cable Car Museum, where you can observe and clearly hear the constantly running massive engines and winding wheels. 

Sunday we met the Beiser women for a send-off breakfast at Oceanview Diner which has no oceanview and very little space, but makes up for it with great food and service.  I had challah French Toast and a bottomless brunch more to my liking, in the form of endless cups of black coffee. 

View from Daniel and Susan's house in Sausalito

Darr and I took the ferry to visit our friends Daniel and Susan in Sausalito where the stunning never stops. I thought Franky’s view was good, but theirs is magnificent.

We had our bon-voyage dinner at Pizzaiolo in Oakland then the famous Curbside Creamery for ice cream. It’s so good that people line up in their down jackets and wool hats on a freezing Sunday night for a scoop. 

What's up with freezing weather in California?  Northern California wants to be different in every way from SoCal, and its chilly climate is not to be confused with sunnier points down south.  But the beautiful sky over the bay changes more than a lava lamp, from dark to light, from clouds to rainbows. Sometimes, like life, the sun is shining on some people and raining on others. It’s a beauty that will knock you off your feet from morning to night.

Berkeley Hills with the boys (Wait! I'm not that short.)