August 3, San Francisco

What a good night's sleep I had, after going to bed at 8:30 p.m. and taking a Tylenol PM in order to induce sleep.  Reinvigorated, Maureen and I had a breakfast of yogurt and fresh fruit as well as English muffins and marmalade, as well as good strong coffee.  Then we made our way to The Nob Hill section of SF, specifically to see Grace Cathedral and attend the 11:00 a.m. Communion service there.  It is an Episcopal church descended from the historic Grace Church which had been built in the Gold Rush year of of 1849 and which was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake and fire.  SF's Crocker family gave their Nob Hill property, destroyed by the fire, for the building of a new cathedral.  Work began in 1928, and it was designed in the French Gothic style by Louis Hobart.  It was completed in 1964.  It is famed for its Ghiberti doors, labyrinths, stained glass, AIDS chapel, as well as its music.  It has become an internationally-known place of pilgrimage and home to a vibrant congregation.  The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Lech Walesa, the Dalai Lama, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have preached from its pulpit.  We were there at about 10:30 to walk around the nave, transepts, and apse, taking a few pictures as we went, then attended service at 11:00, complete with choir, incense, much pomp and ceremony, and about five rectors, including 3 women.  After church, we went to Nob Hill Cafe, and I had bruschetta and a wonderful vegetable soup in chicken broth, while Maureen had a make-your-own omelet, with 2 kinda of cheese, olives, and zucchini.  The dish came  with a corn muffin and rosemary potatoes.  After that we went to see several other buildings of note in the Nob Hill area: (1) the Flood Mansion, around whose west side are the manicured grounds of Huntington Park, designed and laid out after the 1906 fire and the site of Collis P. Huntington's home; (2) the Fairmont Hotel.  Along with the Flood Mansion, the hotel was another significant 1906 fire survivor.  After the fire it was essentially a burned-out shell, but its owners had architect Julia Morgan re-design it.  Work was finished in one year.  The flags in front of the hotel's loggia represent nations attending the 1945 meetings here that led to the formation of the United Nations later that same year; (3) a fleeting glance at the marvelous mosaics of the Nob Hill Masonic Temple, across the street from Grace Cathedral.  The main hall was closed, but we did see an astonishing window inside that I photographed as best I could.  We walked around the neighborhood, and that pace was perfect for noticing and photographing some unusual buildings and for taking away the charm of this great neighborhood and its steep streets and cable car presence.  We had an afternoon coffee and pastry at a small cafe before returning to Grace Cathedral to hear a recital by organist Paul Fejko.  Before and after the concert we took in more sites in the cathedral that we had missed in the morning.  We were even able to sit in the altar area, in the choir stalls, to listen to Mr. Fejko, who played Jean Langlais's "Incantation for a Holy Day," Bach's "Prelude and Fugue in b minor," Fejko's own composition, "Veni Emmanuel Paraphrase," Purvis's "3 Carol Preludes," and Ginastera's "Toccata, Villancico and Fugue on B-A-C-H."  Splendid 50-minute program.  After that we visited the AIDS chapel, with an altar designed and fashioned 27 days before the artist's death.  Very moving interfaith chapel.  Then we drove home, changed into more comfortable clothes, had dinner (a repeat of yesterday evening's fare and very good a second time), and now I am working at this blog while Maureen is planning several dishes for the future, such as gaspacho and strawberry-frozen yogurt.  All in all, a splendid day today.  Tomorrow, a Frank Lloyd building and Chinatown.  Looking forward to both!  Bye!