Ellen Besso Coaching

I’m jumping the queue in my list of planned blog topics on this one!

We spent six days, (well, four really, as two were travel days),  in one of our very fav cities two weeks ago. Fisherman’s Wharf, Castro District, Haight Ashbury, Golden Gate Park, a Jazz Bistro, Coit Tower, you name it, we did it. Feeling energetic and being familiar with the town, we took full advantage of San Francisco’s stimulating atmosphere and alternative culture, and enjoyed a variety of meals that, without exception, were of excellent quality. This time I researched the guidebooks more, and zeroed in on some new sights, like the incredible murals spread across the city’s neighborhoods.

Our hotel, the Triton Klimpton, chosen as part of a package, was just a ten minute walk from the BART station, a 35 minute ride from the airport. It was a fun, artsy hotel, with friendly staff and an evening cocktail hour in “our living room” as they called it. On our second night the staff were celebrating the 30th anniversary of the hotel, and served an even finer red wine than the usual excellent fare, and champagne instead of white wine. The Triton was a good choice,  just outside the bottom gates of Chinatown, a few blocks from Union Square and the department stores and main trolley car line.  Our first evening, not wanting to splurge on an expensive bistro meal, we crossed the road, passed through the gates of Chinatown and found a popular upstairs family restaurant with a wide variety of food choices.

Our first morning we took the trolley to the hilly Castro District for breakfast; we had stayed in that area on an earlier trip, at a B&B run by a medical professor who attracted visitors from all over the world to his home. Here’s a photo tour of Castro showing it as it was years ago. We then moved on to Haight Ashbury, a short bus ride away (we tried to minimize excessive walking, since it usually involved going uphill; in this way I was able to walk for many hours each day). In my favorite Goodwill Store on the main street of Haight Ashbury I purchased two summer tops for myself; I hadn’t expected the 81 degree weather we encountered on landing in San Francisco. We then walked into Golden Gate Park for a short sit, then took one long bus ride from the Haight, as they call it, to Fisherman’s Wharf. (The transfers were good for four hours, and after noting Don’s grey hair the drivers charged us only 75 cents each to ride!).

At Fisherman’s Wharf, after walking to the end of a lookout wharf, we located Aliotos, founded in 1925 and the oldest fish restaurant on the Wharf, and went upstairs to their primo dining room overlooking the harbor.  Their crab in any form is a “must try” according to the guidebook.  One crabcake and a bit of salad cost $15; it was exquisite though, and the ambiance and service were great.  (On our final day we returned to Fisherman’s Wharf, it’s the best place to eat fresh seafood. This time we planned to sit streetside, for Aliotos cheaper food, but we were invited into their main floor restaurant, where we ate breaded scallops and shrimp along with french fries an salad, for a much lower price, but with the same ocean view).

Saturday, our second day, we breakfasted nextdoor, at the high quality restaurant that provides room service to the Triton, then took a bus to North Beach, the mixed neighborhood that is home to Coit Tower. To get to Coit without a car, we walked up a fairly steep street, climbed stairs for about five minutes, walked through the garden, then lined up for ten minutes awaiting the elevator that drops tourists two floors from the top. While waiting we had an opportunity to examine in detail the extensive murals that tell the story of San Francisco’s history. There was even a tall land surveyor mural, and I encouraged Don to take a picture of his ancestoral colleague. The view from the top was not as high as I’d expected, but it’s a 365 degree panoramic one, so worth seeing. We left Coit by the pathway at the back, and came out on a quiet, upscale residential street in upper North Beach, with a view of the water. The energy there was very tranquil, it felt like a power point.

After Coit we spent about an hour at City Lights Bookstore in Lower North Beach, a friend from home had suggested this. City Lights is a landmark building, independent bookstore, founded in 1953, with a wonderful poetry reading room upstairs complete with rocking chairs. We sat there for a long time in the peaceful, sunny room; who knew we enjoyed poetry that much! After a tasty lunch, we walked back downhill to our hotel through Chinatown, about a 20 minute walk.

After a rest and a glass of wine, we went off to Le Joulins Jazz Bistro, for a special night out. Known for its jazz music, it’s beef and seafood, it is a favored tourist hangout. The place was almost empty when we arrived at seven, so the service was excellent. Don enjoyed shrimp pasta while I had an incredibly tender beef shishkabab; our veges were excellent. I could have done without the extra wine we ordered after already attending the Triton’s cocktail hour, and I definitely went too far when I ate a large piece of chocolate cake; I felt a bit uncomfortable for the next few hours! The jazz band was good and we were pleased to see that the bass player was a woman. The band leader/singer was an older guy from “the other side of the tracks” as he put it, who regaled us with detailed information about the background of each old standard performed and every composer. It was almost as if he had known them all personally. 

The best music we heard during our visit to San Francisco was at Glide Memorial United Methodist Church Sunday morning, always a highlight of our trip. In early 1978 we met a resident of Pacifica, an oceanside town north of San Francisco, at my brother’s home in Vancouver, and visited her a few months later. This woman took us to Glide Church, then to Hamburger Mary’s for lunch afterwards, an uplifting experience. Life intervened and we did not return to Glide for many years. I recall on that next visit Maya Angelou walked onto the stage looking very striking in a red jacket and pencil skirt. I didn’t know who she was at that time; my daughter explained that she had been part of President Bill Clinton’s inauguration celebration and is Oprah Winfrey’s mentor.

On this visit to Glide we felt shivers run through us as the volunteer band, clearly professionals by trade, and the 100+ choir struck the first notes of the opening theme song. The service went by quickly, too quickly, with several gospel hymns, two guest singers the likes of which I’ve seldom heard, a short inspirational message from a Glide member who found meaning and a drug-free life through Glide, a short sermon by a guest minister from the East Coast, then finished with a two-verse congregational rendition of We Shall Overcome.

The experience at Glide was a bit of a hard act to follow, and the rest of our day was spent quietly, resting and doing a little shopping. On our final day, Monday, we took the trolley along the main route again to the Mission District to view more murals. We found a great breakfast place, then followed the directions I’d marked out to a back lane with every available wall space covered with murals. Unlike tagging, these street murals are adjudicated and approved by a mural association. Press this link to see some fabulous mural pictures taken on Balmy Street by Heather. Our very favorite murals, three stories high, were on the Womens Building, whose purpose is to provide economic security, community and social change for women and girls.

Our trip back to the Sunshine Coast the next day went smoothly. After an early breakfast nextdoor, we checked out of the Triton and dragged our suitcases back to BART, where we rode back to the airport, then took our two and a half hour flight to Vancouver. When we reached our ferry terminal in West Vancouver we were between ferries, so we waited the hour for the 5:30 commuter ferry. Our friend, on her way home from work on the North Shore, drove us right to our door from the ferry terminal. Our days in San Francisco were full and rich, we thoroughly enjoyed each hour of our time. Of the five trips we’ve taken to the city, this may have been our most enjoyable trip.

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