Mom's Day in SF

Our second day in San Francisco was planned by mom.  She didn't plan on eating for some reason so we had to build that in. :-)

Mom and Rose breakfasted in the hotel restaurant. Paul and I walked to the Taylor Street Coffee Shop which is famous for their 'millionaire's bacon'. It was impressive to watch the staff working so efficiently in the space available. Food was both ample and good. I tried the famous bacon - baked with brown sugar and chili pepper - it was as amazing as you'd expect!

After breakfast we headed out on the bus to Golden Gate Park. The first thing that mom had selected to do was tour the De Young museum. I am always struck how when visiting the de Young Museum, one may travel to an assortment of distinct lands without having to step foot on an airplane. Thousands of artifacts and international talent are on display that paints a picture of worldwide proportions.

After wandering the collection we walked to the Japanese Tea Garden - the oldest such garden in the United States, created for the 1894 California Midwinter International Exposition as part of the fair’s Japanese Village exhibit. The garden’s lush, harmonious landscaping pays homage to the traditional Japanese art of the garden. Paths wind through its five acres of carefully chosen and manicured plants, including Japanese maples, towering stands of bamboo, an ancient wisteria, and cherry trees that put on a spectacular flowering display in March and April. Among the garden’s other trees and shrubs are pines, cedars, azaleas, magnolias, camellias, and a superb collection of bonsai and other intricately shaped plants.

Our next stop was the Academy of Sciences, home to an aquarium, planetarium, and natural history museum, is a groundbreaking research and educational institution. Devoted to studying and sharing the diversity of life on the planet, the Academy’s mission is to explore, explain, and protect the natural world. Its stunning home in Golden Gate Park, designed by architect Renzo Piano, combines innovative “green” architecture with inventive exhibits, including the four-story Rainforests of the World dome, the world’s largest all-digital planetarium, the Philippine Coral Reef, Water Planet, a “living” roof garden of native plants, podcasts, live penguin cams, and more.

We had lunch in the cafe and then wandered the exhibits.

Having filled up on art and science we headed back to the hotel. This proved more of an adventure than we had expected as the busses were backed to the gills with music festival goers and people returning from a day at the beach. There was another bus route 2 blocks away so we headed there, waited for the next bus, and zipped downtown.

When we got back to the hotel we had time to rest before we headed to the Slanted Door for dinner. On each visit to San Francisco, I never miss a meal at The Slanted Door. This is great and creative food. Don't miss the Dungeness Crab with silver noodles if it's on the menu. Ditto the shaking beef.

The Slanted Door, where classic Vietnamese food gets a modern rethinking by owner and chef Charles Phan, was named the nation's most outstanding restaurant Tuesday by the Beard Foundation.

Mom and Rose had never eaten Vietnamese food before. We decided to order a variety dishes and share them family style.

(cardomom cotton candy for dessert - MMMMM)

After dinner we enjoyed the new lighting on the Oakland Bay bridge. The Bay Lights is a site-specific monumental light sculpture and art installation on the western span of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, designed to commemorate the 75th anniversary of its opening. The installation by light artist Leo Villareal includes 25,000 individual white LEDs along 1.8 miles (2.9 km) of the cables on the north side of the suspension span of the bridge between Yerba Buena Island and San Francisco. The installation is controlled via a computer and displays changing patterns that are not meant to repeat.

Comments

[Kayte]

What a day! You all had so much fun and learned so much every single day! What a wonderful trip. So nice that you do this with your family...such great memories.

[JDeQ]

It was an amazing day - we were so happy that mom had planned it.