CALIFORNIA, Day 4, June 24, 2011
Hello to all friends and relatives! Sylvia beaming in. So far, no comments have been posted, though one of you said you tried to post one. If this is the first time you have ever tried posting a comment concerning a blogsite message, you might want to simply e-mail me at fraschini14@att.net, my usual e-mail address. I will then comment on your specific e-mail via another e-mail, and post the "global picture" of each day on this blogsite.
Well, another absolutely red-letter day today, with a foray into San Francisco itself, The high today in SF was about 65 degrees, and towards late afternoon the winds kicked up off the bay and the jacket I had with me felt good.
Our first venue of the day was the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park. In 1877, SF businessmen purchased the Conservatory from James Lick's estate and offered it to the Golden Gate Park Commission as a gift. In 1879, the Conservatory opened. In 1906, the structure survived the earthquake intact, but in 1933, structural instability closed the Conservatory down until 1946, when it was reopened. With the support of Hillary Clinton, the World Monuments Fund placed the Conservatory on the list of the 100 most endangered world monuments. $25 million donated in 1999 once again restored the building, and in 2003 it was reopened. It is a beautiful, lacy, white structure of glass and steel (painted white) that looks like some Victorian confection that could be found in Kew Gardens. It featured one room for potted plants, another for plants of the lowland tropics, then one devoted to the highland tropics, and another room for aquatic plants. A special exhibit of the horticultural rogues and assassins of the plant world was fascinating as well, and taught us that dieffenbacheas and ficus trees are not our friends! Fascinating! We spent a lot of time in the Conservatory, then walked around the splendid grounds.
Our next stop in Golden Gate Park was to walk the grounds between the de Young art museum and the California Academy of Science, which are separated by a wonderful planting of trees and fountains, and which also features a music shell on the east end of the quadrangle, devoted to outdoor concerts. We did not have the proper time to devote to the de Young, but there is an exhibit running until July 4 and featuring the haute couture of the Spanish fashion designer Balenciaga, which we are going to return to see when we have a bit more time.
We had a 3:00 appointment at Tal-Y-Tara, which is an equestrian and polo supply shop as well as a tea room. We ordered a full pot of Earl Grey, and the pot came surrounded by a tea cozy. Small sandwiches of egg salad with capers, cream cheese with lox, cream cheese with cucumber, cheese with chutney, ham and turkey, and fresh fruit were so welcome, as we were starved after our sightseeing labors. Family members of the owners came in with dogs, greeted each other and went in and out into the back garden as Maureen and I watched and enjoyed the hour spent in that unusual place, which also sported riding boots, saddles, and riding tack, among other things.
Our next stop was the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park. It is in a spectacular setting overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. Although there were three major exhibits showing, we wanted to walk the area around the museum. The pavilion of the museum is a replica of the 18th c. Palais de la Legion d'Honneur in Paris, France. The pavilion and the art museum honored California soldiers who died in France during WW I. The 3/4 scale replica opened on Armistice Day in 1934. It is a very serene space dominated by Rodin's statue of "The Thinker" and a prismatic centerpiece which reminds you of the I.M. Pei prism in the courtyard of the Louvre.
Of course the Golden Gate Bridge and an 18th hole golf course formed a wonderful setting in which the Legion of Honor was placed as a gorgeous centerpiece. Also, a George Segal Holocaust monument, tucked in the ramparts facing the Bay and the Bridge, formed a poignant reminder of the ever-present possibility of atrocity, with its white figure standing by a barbed wire fence and figures of men, women and children lying beyond him in a kind of circular, whirled pattern of defeat and death.
Looking out at the Golden Gate Bridge, with a view of Marin County and Hapag-Lloyd container ships plying their way into the Bay, the mellow sunlight dappling the water and gulls circling overhead created a setting of unforgettable beauty--a moment one wished frozen in time. But we had one more site to see before ending our cursory tour of today--the Palace of Fine Arts. Close to the Golden Gate Bridge, it is the last remaining structure of the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition. The original structure survived until 1962, when the Beaux Arts rotunda and colonnade were re-created in concrete from castings of the original ornamentation. The classically elegant palace is in a park with a lagoon where swans and ducks swim. Also in the park is a 1000-seat theatre. In spite of its being re-cast, it is a powerfully elegant structure full of dramatic intensity and grandeur. People were all about, riding bicycles, watching children play frisbee, lolling on the ground and enjoying the late afternoon sunshine.
On the way home we took a scenic highway down from San Francisco and along the Pacific coastline to Palo Alto, and from there back to Mountain View. Just a few minutes ago, Maureen prepared a cold supper of sandwiches and fruit, and in a few minutes we are going to enjoy the movie "Ladies in Lavender," which I have seen at least five times and still enjoy. Tomorrow, Maureen's son Randy, daughter-in-law Shu, and grandchildren Isabelle, Isaac, and Irei are going to meet us at an authentic Chinese restaurant for dim sum, and then they are coming over for swimming and other afternoon activities. There will be a temporary lull in sightseeing, but I haven't see three of them for at least six years, and Isaac and Irei will be total newcomers to me. Stay tuned for tomorrow's missive, which will probably be shorter than the ones up until now. Take care, all of you, and let me hear from you soon. Remember, if you don't feel comfortable answering the blog, just write me an e-mail at fraschini14@att.net, and I will answer you by the same method. As ever, Sylvia
Well, another absolutely red-letter day today, with a foray into San Francisco itself, The high today in SF was about 65 degrees, and towards late afternoon the winds kicked up off the bay and the jacket I had with me felt good.
Our first venue of the day was the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park. In 1877, SF businessmen purchased the Conservatory from James Lick's estate and offered it to the Golden Gate Park Commission as a gift. In 1879, the Conservatory opened. In 1906, the structure survived the earthquake intact, but in 1933, structural instability closed the Conservatory down until 1946, when it was reopened. With the support of Hillary Clinton, the World Monuments Fund placed the Conservatory on the list of the 100 most endangered world monuments. $25 million donated in 1999 once again restored the building, and in 2003 it was reopened. It is a beautiful, lacy, white structure of glass and steel (painted white) that looks like some Victorian confection that could be found in Kew Gardens. It featured one room for potted plants, another for plants of the lowland tropics, then one devoted to the highland tropics, and another room for aquatic plants. A special exhibit of the horticultural rogues and assassins of the plant world was fascinating as well, and taught us that dieffenbacheas and ficus trees are not our friends! Fascinating! We spent a lot of time in the Conservatory, then walked around the splendid grounds.
Our next stop in Golden Gate Park was to walk the grounds between the de Young art museum and the California Academy of Science, which are separated by a wonderful planting of trees and fountains, and which also features a music shell on the east end of the quadrangle, devoted to outdoor concerts. We did not have the proper time to devote to the de Young, but there is an exhibit running until July 4 and featuring the haute couture of the Spanish fashion designer Balenciaga, which we are going to return to see when we have a bit more time.
We had a 3:00 appointment at Tal-Y-Tara, which is an equestrian and polo supply shop as well as a tea room. We ordered a full pot of Earl Grey, and the pot came surrounded by a tea cozy. Small sandwiches of egg salad with capers, cream cheese with lox, cream cheese with cucumber, cheese with chutney, ham and turkey, and fresh fruit were so welcome, as we were starved after our sightseeing labors. Family members of the owners came in with dogs, greeted each other and went in and out into the back garden as Maureen and I watched and enjoyed the hour spent in that unusual place, which also sported riding boots, saddles, and riding tack, among other things.
Our next stop was the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park. It is in a spectacular setting overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. Although there were three major exhibits showing, we wanted to walk the area around the museum. The pavilion of the museum is a replica of the 18th c. Palais de la Legion d'Honneur in Paris, France. The pavilion and the art museum honored California soldiers who died in France during WW I. The 3/4 scale replica opened on Armistice Day in 1934. It is a very serene space dominated by Rodin's statue of "The Thinker" and a prismatic centerpiece which reminds you of the I.M. Pei prism in the courtyard of the Louvre.
Of course the Golden Gate Bridge and an 18th hole golf course formed a wonderful setting in which the Legion of Honor was placed as a gorgeous centerpiece. Also, a George Segal Holocaust monument, tucked in the ramparts facing the Bay and the Bridge, formed a poignant reminder of the ever-present possibility of atrocity, with its white figure standing by a barbed wire fence and figures of men, women and children lying beyond him in a kind of circular, whirled pattern of defeat and death.
Looking out at the Golden Gate Bridge, with a view of Marin County and Hapag-Lloyd container ships plying their way into the Bay, the mellow sunlight dappling the water and gulls circling overhead created a setting of unforgettable beauty--a moment one wished frozen in time. But we had one more site to see before ending our cursory tour of today--the Palace of Fine Arts. Close to the Golden Gate Bridge, it is the last remaining structure of the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition. The original structure survived until 1962, when the Beaux Arts rotunda and colonnade were re-created in concrete from castings of the original ornamentation. The classically elegant palace is in a park with a lagoon where swans and ducks swim. Also in the park is a 1000-seat theatre. In spite of its being re-cast, it is a powerfully elegant structure full of dramatic intensity and grandeur. People were all about, riding bicycles, watching children play frisbee, lolling on the ground and enjoying the late afternoon sunshine.
On the way home we took a scenic highway down from San Francisco and along the Pacific coastline to Palo Alto, and from there back to Mountain View. Just a few minutes ago, Maureen prepared a cold supper of sandwiches and fruit, and in a few minutes we are going to enjoy the movie "Ladies in Lavender," which I have seen at least five times and still enjoy. Tomorrow, Maureen's son Randy, daughter-in-law Shu, and grandchildren Isabelle, Isaac, and Irei are going to meet us at an authentic Chinese restaurant for dim sum, and then they are coming over for swimming and other afternoon activities. There will be a temporary lull in sightseeing, but I haven't see three of them for at least six years, and Isaac and Irei will be total newcomers to me. Stay tuned for tomorrow's missive, which will probably be shorter than the ones up until now. Take care, all of you, and let me hear from you soon. Remember, if you don't feel comfortable answering the blog, just write me an e-mail at fraschini14@att.net, and I will answer you by the same method. As ever, Sylvia
Hello Sylvia,
ReplyDeleteLoved reading your travels with Maureen. Will now keep up regularly and post to your blog site. I'm going to check with Alexandra as to how she can help me set up one of these, too. Best to you and Maureen
Dear Nancy,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the comment--you are my first "follower"--how exciting! E-mail Alexandra to see how you can set up your own blogsite. Look forward to seeing what it looks like. As ever, Sylvia
Those tea sandwiches and pot of Earl Grey sound divine. So so jealous I could not have enjoyed that with you two ladies!
ReplyDelete