San Francisco, June 14
Dear Friends and Relatives,
Last night’s fog rolls swept in, and by the time I knew it, I was craving not only a covering sheet, but two blankets as well! The morning continued to feature fog rolling in and an increase in wind. Temperatures were to hover between 59 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the day, and I was grateful to don both a scarf and an outer jacket with lining. Nearly always, I am borrowing a jacket from Maureen when I arrive here. It can be almost 100 degrees inland, but if I am in SF, I must count on needing some warm clothing!
We had another one of Maureen’s wonderful fresh fruit/yogurt bowls for breakfast, as well as beignets we had brought home from yesterday afternoon’s coffee/beignet foray. After that we made our way to the Marina, a section of SF’s northern shore, known for the commercial strip, Chestnut Street, and its Art Deco architecture (both industrial and residential); shops and restaurants. Its point of reference is the Palace of Fine Arts, dating back to 1915, a neoclassical landmark. It sits on the site of the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, staged after the 1906 earthquake to celebrate the re-emergence of the city. Aside from the Palace of FIne Arts, all other buildings were demolished in order to create the current neighborhood. Quite a difference from its look in the 19th century, when the area consisted of bay shallows, tidal pools, sand dunes, and marshlands.
Chestnut Street is an attraction for locals and tourists, and is lined with a collection of stores, restaurants, bakeries, coffee shops, and bars. Our architectural historian who led the tour pointed out the facades of many buildings featuring Art Deco design motifs of “Zig-Zag Moderne” (vertical emphasis, straight lines, sharp corners, vertical steps, new materials such as aluminum and neon, typically found in commercial and multi-unit residential buidings); and “Streamline Moderne” (horizontal lines, rounded corners, little ornament, and applying to single-family housing). Art Deco was a dominant design motif for the period between WW I and WW II, and it utilized and glorified technology and the Machine Age. Have a look at some of the storefronts and residential examples of Art Deco included in my Facebook entries today. The only thing I could wish in all of the photos is a lack of cars—but that was not possible!
At the end of the almost 2-hour tour, Maureen and I got the car, reparked it further down on Chestnut Street, and then went to Lucca, an Italian deli the likes of which I have not witnessed in a long time. The front window displays were stunning and mouth-watering, and the interior was one long, densely packed deli space featuring salamis hung from the ceiling, giant dill pickles, tons of different types of olives and olive oil, gnocchi, ravioli, etc. etc.—a feast for the eye and the palate! While there, Maureen bought ravioli for tonight’s dinner, and then we crossed the street to have burgers and swirled vanilla/chocolate soft-serve ice cream in a cone. Any of you who know me know how much I love Dairy Queen’s soft-serve vanilla ice cream dipped in chocolate (in fact, I request it instead of any pie or cake for birthday celebrations!). This came close to being almost as good! By the way, if I might regress, last time I was in Galveston with Rusty, Debbie and Eddie, we went to an exhibit of DQ memorabilia in one of the art galleries on the Strand. We would have paid homage to the great ice-cream treat, but the nearest DQ was 30 miles away!!! Anyway, this soft-serve ice cream in SF was a very fine photo-finish in quality!
At this point in time, Maureen is picking up her granddaughter Isabelle, who has a three-hour rehearsal with the SF Youth Symphony (a force of over 100 players). Isabelle is a cellist, and the entire symphony orchestra and their sponsors will be leaving on a concert tour of Denmark, Germany, Austria, and Spain on Sunday, when we shall see her off. Meanwhile, they are giving a concert tomorrow at Davies Halldowntown, which Maureen, Randy, Shu, Isaac, Irei and I will attend. I can’t wait. Also going to the Walt Disney Museum tomorrow during the morning and afternoon. In fact, they will be playing “Bambi” there at 4:00 p.m. I haven’t seen that movie since I was about 5 years old, when I saw it in England and cried so hard when Bambi’s mother died that the usher had to ask my mother to escort me out of the theater!
Greetings from Maureen, and take care! Hope to hear from any and all of you! As ever, SV
Last night’s fog rolls swept in, and by the time I knew it, I was craving not only a covering sheet, but two blankets as well! The morning continued to feature fog rolling in and an increase in wind. Temperatures were to hover between 59 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the day, and I was grateful to don both a scarf and an outer jacket with lining. Nearly always, I am borrowing a jacket from Maureen when I arrive here. It can be almost 100 degrees inland, but if I am in SF, I must count on needing some warm clothing!
We had another one of Maureen’s wonderful fresh fruit/yogurt bowls for breakfast, as well as beignets we had brought home from yesterday afternoon’s coffee/beignet foray. After that we made our way to the Marina, a section of SF’s northern shore, known for the commercial strip, Chestnut Street, and its Art Deco architecture (both industrial and residential); shops and restaurants. Its point of reference is the Palace of Fine Arts, dating back to 1915, a neoclassical landmark. It sits on the site of the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, staged after the 1906 earthquake to celebrate the re-emergence of the city. Aside from the Palace of FIne Arts, all other buildings were demolished in order to create the current neighborhood. Quite a difference from its look in the 19th century, when the area consisted of bay shallows, tidal pools, sand dunes, and marshlands.
Chestnut Street is an attraction for locals and tourists, and is lined with a collection of stores, restaurants, bakeries, coffee shops, and bars. Our architectural historian who led the tour pointed out the facades of many buildings featuring Art Deco design motifs of “Zig-Zag Moderne” (vertical emphasis, straight lines, sharp corners, vertical steps, new materials such as aluminum and neon, typically found in commercial and multi-unit residential buidings); and “Streamline Moderne” (horizontal lines, rounded corners, little ornament, and applying to single-family housing). Art Deco was a dominant design motif for the period between WW I and WW II, and it utilized and glorified technology and the Machine Age. Have a look at some of the storefronts and residential examples of Art Deco included in my Facebook entries today. The only thing I could wish in all of the photos is a lack of cars—but that was not possible!
At the end of the almost 2-hour tour, Maureen and I got the car, reparked it further down on Chestnut Street, and then went to Lucca, an Italian deli the likes of which I have not witnessed in a long time. The front window displays were stunning and mouth-watering, and the interior was one long, densely packed deli space featuring salamis hung from the ceiling, giant dill pickles, tons of different types of olives and olive oil, gnocchi, ravioli, etc. etc.—a feast for the eye and the palate! While there, Maureen bought ravioli for tonight’s dinner, and then we crossed the street to have burgers and swirled vanilla/chocolate soft-serve ice cream in a cone. Any of you who know me know how much I love Dairy Queen’s soft-serve vanilla ice cream dipped in chocolate (in fact, I request it instead of any pie or cake for birthday celebrations!). This came close to being almost as good! By the way, if I might regress, last time I was in Galveston with Rusty, Debbie and Eddie, we went to an exhibit of DQ memorabilia in one of the art galleries on the Strand. We would have paid homage to the great ice-cream treat, but the nearest DQ was 30 miles away!!! Anyway, this soft-serve ice cream in SF was a very fine photo-finish in quality!
At this point in time, Maureen is picking up her granddaughter Isabelle, who has a three-hour rehearsal with the SF Youth Symphony (a force of over 100 players). Isabelle is a cellist, and the entire symphony orchestra and their sponsors will be leaving on a concert tour of Denmark, Germany, Austria, and Spain on Sunday, when we shall see her off. Meanwhile, they are giving a concert tomorrow at Davies Halldowntown, which Maureen, Randy, Shu, Isaac, Irei and I will attend. I can’t wait. Also going to the Walt Disney Museum tomorrow during the morning and afternoon. In fact, they will be playing “Bambi” there at 4:00 p.m. I haven’t seen that movie since I was about 5 years old, when I saw it in England and cried so hard when Bambi’s mother died that the usher had to ask my mother to escort me out of the theater!
Greetings from Maureen, and take care! Hope to hear from any and all of you! As ever, SV
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