Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Wow that's amazing……
Horrendous storms had shaken the building during the night so we were a bit apprehensive about the day ahead when we opened the blinds in the morning. Much as expected it was still cloudy and wet. However, over a leisurely breakfast a rainbow appeared and the skies began to clear. When we finally stepped outside the air was fresher but the skies were clear.
More bike adventures were definitely out of the questions as we were all waling in a John Wayne style, so we decided to amble into the heart of the city through Chinatown. The amble turned into a march as the younger son tried to put the smells of the fresh meat and fish markets behind him as quickly as possible. I was fascinated at the amazing variety of signature vegetables and dried goods which make Chinese cookery so interesting and had to be retrieved from a few doorways.
Within a few minutes of leaving Chinatown, the bustling markets were replaced with the stern clean lines of towering office blocks which sat on top of the glitterati shops of Prada and Gucci. The contrast was astounding.
We arrived at the square plainness of SFMOMA building with time to spare for a coffee and muffin before it opened at 11. The boys student cards came in handy and we managed to bag a good reduction.
The museum was inspiring to say the least. The great masters dominated the walls with colour and texture challenging the new vogue of the up and coming artists. Mexico was in full display in the form of a photo collection and an otherwise boring exhibition on the second floor was brought to life by a live blog projected on a vast white wall which randomly described the rooms visitors.
The roof terrace with it's modernist sculptures provided the chance for a café frappe and some welcome sunshine, not to mention a chance to capture the stylish angles of the office blocks which surrounded the museum.
We ducked into Chipotles for lunch, which was a revelation in Mexican fast food. Healthy and cheap with tasty margaritas. The franchise would go down a storm in France.
It was the first day of the baseball season and SF Giants were playing the Pittsburgh Pirates in the nearby AT&T park so we couldn't resist taking the opportunity to visit their home ground and soak up the atmosphere of the surrounding bars. They won 5-0 and the roar from the crowd adorning the metal bleachers vibrated through the surrounding streets.
By the time we walked back into the heart of the city to attack the Old Navy store for socks, jeans and jumpers we were flagging. Even a double expresso in Union Square didn't provide the cure so we hailed our first yellow cab and melted into the vinyl seats while our Spanish driver continued his phone conversation.
We revisited our favourite North beach Pizza take-away for our final night treat.
- comments