Pip's here! Yay!
Pip’s visit is off to a flying start!
Saturday morning I answered the phone to find only silence at the other end. I hung up & the phone rang again with an “unavailable number.”
“Hello? Hello? Is anyone there? Is this Pip? . . . . . I can’t hear anything.. . . .”
Beep, beep, be-be-be-beep!!!
“Oh! I heard the phone buttons. Um… is this Pip? Press twice for yes.”
Beep-beep.
“Are you calling about BART?”
Beep-beep.
“Are you coming on the 9:36 train?”
Silence…
“You missed the train?”
Beep-beep.
“So you’re taking the next one and I’m meeting you at Tully’s at 10:56?”
Beep-beep.
“Got it! See you there.”
Beep-beep.
From Tully’s we dropped her things off at home and headed into SF to North beach. After splitting fettuccini alfredo at Puccini’s, we wandered over to Coit tower to enjoy the view.
On the way down we dropped by Brian’s for a few minutes to see how the construction is going. His house is utterly amazing and making outstanding progress. After exchanging brief amounts of gossip (and allowing Pip to confirm that he is both very handsome and charming), we went on our merry way through Chinatown and back to Berkeley. We fixed dinner at home and watched “Little Miss Sunshine” with Gwyneth and two bottles of wine.
Sunday:
Though we had planned to witness the full craziness of Bay to Breakers, by the time we rolled out of bed it was too late to do more than witness the drunken stragglers meandering the streets in their outrageous costumes. The troupe of Care Bears ranked high on our list of best sightings, though the huge box of French Fries was pretty good too. We wandered the Haight, got Escape from New York Pizza, and strolled Golden Gate Park. We went to the Flower Conservatory and enjoyed the dynamically sublime and carnivorous-looking orchids as well as an educational exhibit on actual carnivorous plants.
We headed to the Inner Richmond to the distressing discovery that the Canvas has closed its doors! We got a dessert crepe at Crepevine instead and then went back to North Beach to meet Pip’s friend Eileen for dinner. We ate at the Stinking Rose, the infamous garlic house. The food was very good, the atmosphere quirky and pleasant, but the bill just a little bit more ‘ouch’ than I’d have liked. Still, very neat place and I recommend the prime rib. Back at darling little 104 we relaxed over a cup of tea before heading to bed.
Monday:
I managed not to be late to work and even obtained permission to shorten my lunch and leave early.
Pip and I made a dash for the 4:37 bus to Point Lobos and spent the early evening at Sutro where Pip made a very thorough investigation of the ruins.
We then enjoyed a long walk on the beach. We also dropped by the edge of Golden Gate Park to see the 1902 Dutch Windmill which was, in fact, pretty cool looking though no longer functional. We took the N Judah back to Noe and had dinner at La Med where, although the food was good, I was quite disappointed. The atmosphere is less congenial than the one in Berkeley and the prices are slightly higher. Not doing that again-if I crave filo karni or chicken cilia, I’m trekking back to Berkeley. We wandered down Castro and then through the Mission back to BART and from there home.
Saturday morning I answered the phone to find only silence at the other end. I hung up & the phone rang again with an “unavailable number.”
“Hello? Hello? Is anyone there? Is this Pip? . . . . . I can’t hear anything.. . . .”
Beep, beep, be-be-be-beep!!!
“Oh! I heard the phone buttons. Um… is this Pip? Press twice for yes.”
Beep-beep.
“Are you calling about BART?”
Beep-beep.
“Are you coming on the 9:36 train?”
Silence…
“You missed the train?”
Beep-beep.
“So you’re taking the next one and I’m meeting you at Tully’s at 10:56?”
Beep-beep.
“Got it! See you there.”
Beep-beep.
From Tully’s we dropped her things off at home and headed into SF to North beach. After splitting fettuccini alfredo at Puccini’s, we wandered over to Coit tower to enjoy the view.
On the way down we dropped by Brian’s for a few minutes to see how the construction is going. His house is utterly amazing and making outstanding progress. After exchanging brief amounts of gossip (and allowing Pip to confirm that he is both very handsome and charming), we went on our merry way through Chinatown and back to Berkeley. We fixed dinner at home and watched “Little Miss Sunshine” with Gwyneth and two bottles of wine.
Sunday:
Though we had planned to witness the full craziness of Bay to Breakers, by the time we rolled out of bed it was too late to do more than witness the drunken stragglers meandering the streets in their outrageous costumes. The troupe of Care Bears ranked high on our list of best sightings, though the huge box of French Fries was pretty good too. We wandered the Haight, got Escape from New York Pizza, and strolled Golden Gate Park. We went to the Flower Conservatory and enjoyed the dynamically sublime and carnivorous-looking orchids as well as an educational exhibit on actual carnivorous plants.
We headed to the Inner Richmond to the distressing discovery that the Canvas has closed its doors! We got a dessert crepe at Crepevine instead and then went back to North Beach to meet Pip’s friend Eileen for dinner. We ate at the Stinking Rose, the infamous garlic house. The food was very good, the atmosphere quirky and pleasant, but the bill just a little bit more ‘ouch’ than I’d have liked. Still, very neat place and I recommend the prime rib. Back at darling little 104 we relaxed over a cup of tea before heading to bed.
Monday:
I managed not to be late to work and even obtained permission to shorten my lunch and leave early.
Pip and I made a dash for the 4:37 bus to Point Lobos and spent the early evening at Sutro where Pip made a very thorough investigation of the ruins.
We then enjoyed a long walk on the beach. We also dropped by the edge of Golden Gate Park to see the 1902 Dutch Windmill which was, in fact, pretty cool looking though no longer functional. We took the N Judah back to Noe and had dinner at La Med where, although the food was good, I was quite disappointed. The atmosphere is less congenial than the one in Berkeley and the prices are slightly higher. Not doing that again-if I crave filo karni or chicken cilia, I’m trekking back to Berkeley. We wandered down Castro and then through the Mission back to BART and from there home.