Beautiful San Francisco

I was taken away with San Francisco the other day. The weather was perfect, I had ten, yes, ten hours off the ship, and I hit the streets walking which I am utterly convinced is the best way to really get to know any city. Get ready for the barrage of pictures.

I took a left turn out of the port and came upon the fanciest of diners were I had clam chowder (with the clams still in their shell!) and cheddar biscuits with apple cinnamon butter spread.

I made another left out of the diner and came upon the loveliest of little parks...

Made another left, then a right, and came upon cascading flowers on the side of a street...

Another right and a staircase appeared through the flowers and lush green...

So naturally I climbed....

And climbed...

And climbed...

And climbed...

The view from the top...

But that was not high enough...

So I ascended a few more staircases to the Coit tower...

These Coit Tower murals were part of the Public Works of Art Project, the first of the New Deal federal employment programs for artists.

The Symphony and Alcatraz. Home, and glad it's not home. ;)

There a few days in life that are so perfect time seems to stand still. California has a way of doing that to me .

Between the sun, flowers, cottages on the side of a hill, an deco tower, local coffee houses, and a stuffed baked potato made for a very memorable Cali day.

Beth's Babes

Beth and the Tait family came to my rescue last weekend when I needed a place to stay and a way to get back to the ship after flying home. It is always good to see them and gets me dreamy eyed about having a perfect little family such as hers. She and Adam make such beautiful babies I have decided they should make more. ;) Our mutual friend from CLOC is starting her photography business and took these amazing pictures of them. In the meantime you may browse my non professional quickies I took right before we all ran out the door. Love this family!

Transition

With Baba's passing I felt like one era ended and a new era began. In order to welcome any new era  I sadly must say goodbye to huge pieces of the old. Hope this post isn't too sad, it's not meant to be, I just wanted to do one more post to close the chapter. A book I can always open and read again, but needs to go on the shelf under history. I am actually having the most fabulous of days in San Fransisco, and the past couple of days, years, and especially couple of weeks have made me realize even more that life is truly beautiful.

Goodbye little kitchen where Baba made thousands of meals but mainly thousands of pyrohy.

Goodbye dining room where she served those meals and where I vividly remember her letting me win countless boardgame nights as a child.

Goodbye living room where our Christmas tree stood every year, were I practiced endless hours of piano, voice, and flute, took prom pictures, and had countless family memories.

Goodbye little green house I grew up in.

This last picture is not meant to be morbid. It is actually quite beautiful to me because a cloud fell around us as we went to the cemetery on our way back to New York City to say one last goodbye. The dense fog that enveloped us quite literally made me feel like she was all around. 

Goodbye Baba. I feel you around me always.