CALIFORNIA, Day 7, June 27, 2011

Sylvia reporting in with my daily log this evening, at about 7:30 p.m., after a great afternoon of sightseeing.  This morning, Maureen and I first did some practical things like washing and drying clothes, doing dishes, etc. before leaving the premises for another shot at downtown SF.  Back to the Civic Center we went by BART, to see what kind of residual damage from the Gay Pride Parade was left as remnant (by the way, their motto this year was "In Pride We Trust"). 

When we came up out of the bowels of the earth at the Civic Center stop, there was a lot of trash that was being disposed of, and quite a few hippie-like characters were lounging all over the grounds in front of City Hall.  The city had a kind of bruised appearance in general, but by mid-afternoon things had gotten back to a more normal look.  

Our objective was City Hall, across from the grassy Civic Center Plaza, where Mayor George Moscone and gay Supervisor Harvey Milk were assassinated in 1978.  The recently restored gold plate dome is a very impressive nod to the Gold Rush days.  The Beaux Arts-style building is surrounded by architecturally stunning buildings that house the city's opera, symphony, Asian Art Museum, and other establishments.  

We got on the free tour around its interior, after having signed up at the Docent Desk.  A lady toured us for an hour, and there were about 15 on the tour, including a whole group from South Korea.  

An earthquake in 1906 destroyed City Hall, and they were only able to rescue a few things.  In 1915, the building was reopened, covered two city blocks, and had the fifth highest dome in the world.  Two "light courts" featuring skylights and marble walls provide, on one side, an exhibit showing a cutaway of the dome, a Victorian house front typical of the early 1900s, and a pylon of the Golden Gate Bridge; on the other is a restaurant where we had lunch after the tour.  The building's original marble staircase separates both courts.  The rotunda and the wall and window decorations were incredibly beautiful.  We were also able to go inside the mayor's anteroom, the Supervisory Council Room ( of beautifully ornate, golden-mellow Mongolian mahogany), and we saw the busts of Milk, Moscone, and Diane Feinstein, in whose arms Mayor Moscone died after he was shot.  Adjacent to the Mayor's anteroom was a room in which foreign dignitaries are received, and in the cabinets in that room, many a foreign gift was displayed.  Fascinating place.  We had lunch in one of the courts--a spicy thai salad, San Pellegrino water and a banana, before walking the Civic Center Plaza to the subway to go to the Embarcadero section of town to see the Ferry Building.  

Damaged in the 1989 earthquake but rebuilt and restored since then, the Ferry Building is at the foot of Market Street and was modeled on the cathedral tower of Sevilla, Spain.  Before the Bay Bridge next to it was built in the 1930s, it was the arrival point for 50,000 cross-bay commuters daily.  After decades of misguided modifications that resulted in colorless workspaces and a dwindling emphasis on ferry service,  it has emerged restored and sporting deluxe offices, an airy gourmet marketplace in its grand nave, and an increasingly revitalized commuter service.  We stopped at an artisanal cheese place and then at the Blue Bottle Coffee Company, where we both had cafe lattes and Maureen, who had stopped by the great Schauffenberg Chocolate place to pick up a delectable morsel of chocolate with cocoa nibs, supplied us with just the right dessert to go with what San Franciscans call the best coffee on the planet.  Truly wonderful!  

We walked on up from the ferry to almost the Bay Bridge, pausing to see "Cupid's Shaft" by Claes Oldenburg, a fine piece of public sculpture for which he is rightly famous, on the way.  Then we walked back to the subway and caught a train home.  We have just finished a dinner of leftovers from Sunday's repast, and are now getting supplies and gear ready for a visit to Napa, Sonoma, and Lake County wine country for the next two to three days.  We will be taking Maureen's laptop with us, so there will be no interruption in reportage.  Great day!  Hello to all, and take care!  As ever, Sylvia