With Elena and Erin
Friday, April 30, 2010
In the Mission
This is a great urban pocket park found in the Inner Mission. It seems like parks like this are all over San Francisco. And so are murals. We went on a walking tour with Precita Eyes Mural Arts, a mural organization over 30 years old.
We saw a few murals that cover whole buildings, even their facades. Architectural details? No matter. I was especially impressed with the mural above on front of The Women's Building.
Unrelated but it's not often I come across a pinata delivery!
Monday, April 26, 2010
Arrr...826 Valencia!
Seeing this place was a must during my visit to San Francisco. I am a big fan of Dave Eggers and love his writing and the 826 Valencia programs. If you aren't familiar with 826 Valencia, check out their website. They host workshops and tutorial programs in 7 different cities, but the Mission was their first location. And it doesn't disappoint. This place is the whole package beginning with a mural on the facade by cartoonist, Chris Ware, the exceptionally clever pirate supply storefront and the impressive room in the back which is basically off limits to the public, where all of the real magic happens. The store though is very fun and interactive with trunks where you can leave a boot, or take a boot, and lots of occasions to barter. You may for instance choose to barter for a cup of lard. And if you aren't sure why you might need a cup of lard, they provide you with a helpful list of uses.
These can all be purchased
An impressive sand collection
San Francisco Botanical Garden
This amazing place is also located in Golden Gate Park. It is 55 acres of planted paradise. They actually have plant curators and registrars on staff so basically it is a plant museum with living collections. Oh yes, and of course they have docent-led tours. There is a perfect mild Mediterranean climate here which many plants thrive in so it's ideal for conservation. One could spend a lot of time here discovering new plants. There are over 8000 varieties.
Incredible ferns in the primitive gardens
Lilly Pilly in the Austrailian garden
In the California native gardens, notice the lovely Ceanothus. It is the bluish, purplish bush and it seems to grow everywhere.
Rhododendron in bloom
Japanese Tea Garden
This lovely place is located in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Erin and I visited twice. It is the oldest public Japanese Garden in the United States. A lovely place to enjoy a walk as well as some tea and mochi.
We were lucky to visit in spring. Camellias, Cherry Blossoms, Azalea and Rhododendron were all breathtaking in bloom. I'm sure it's lovely in the fall as well.
California, Part Two
Oh yes, there's more. Colleen headed up to wine country to visit with friends after our family trip in San Diego. Poor Ando headed home to start his last quarter of grad school. Here are a few more pictures from the beautiful west coast. The road to Orr Hot Springs above. Old vines in Sonoma County below.
Here vines grow impressively over the entrance to a cave which houses the wine tasting room at Bella Vineyards. But it was Schramsberg that really amazed us with over 2 miles of caves that were dug out of the earth in the 1870s now housing over 2 million bottles of sparkling wine. Here's a picture of Paul to give an idea of scale. Those walls are stacked bottles. Holy Moly.
Two very adorable cats, Salvador and Turtle Bean. I just love them. They live at lovely Preston, another favorite vineyard.
Our very sweet house that we stayed at, nestled in the woods outside of Healdsburg, a great jumping off point to explore Alexander Valley, Dry Creek Valley and the Russian River Valley.
Aw... good friends. A photo of Erin and Bean
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Lia's New Chicks
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
