Tony Bennett that is. I definitely left my heart in San Francisco, which is appropos since I was there for a romance writers' conference. I've been to big cities all over the world, but none have ever impressed me as much as the city by the bay.Trolley cars, the Golden Gate Bridge, Chinatown, giant redwoods, Fisherman's Wharf, Alcatraz -- there was so much to see and do, and we still didn't get to do it all. And while Alabama was suffering from 100+ degree temperatures, I was bundled in multiple layers of t-shirts and polartec fleece and wearing a hat and gloves. Someone was right when they said the coldest winter he ever spent was a summer in San Francisco (this is often attributed to Mark Twain but Snopes says it ain't so).
I'm exhausted after a week of conference and touring. I'm sure if they hooked me to an EEG, my brain waves would be close to flat. I've had long days, walked STEEP hills, danced til midnight, braved strong winds coming off the bay, but by damn, I left my heart in San Francisco and want to visit again.We missed all of y'all while we were gone and appreciate you keeping Angel company. Many thanks as well to our awesome team of guest bloggers; you're da bomb. Heck, my mother even sent me something to use for today if I was too tired to blog. I actually wrote this longhand in the Oakland airport so all I'd have to do was type it in. Anyway, we have a San Francisco treat for our guest bloggers, and it ain't Rice-a-Roni. :-)
If you've never been to San Francisco, I highly recommend it. It has a little something for everyone.If you have been, what was your favorite part??
P.S. And what would a Playfriends' trip be without chocolate?????
P.P.S. A couple of the Playfriends found stones in Chinatown with the symbols for "Write Books" carved into them. I was not one of the lucky ones, but I did find a website with Chinese characters and according to the site, this symbol means "writer."
16 comments:
I love San Francisco. We did all the touristy things. We drove down Lombard Street. It was exciting but pretty scary because you had to be sure the brakes we're working fine. I think my favorite part was heading to Pier 39 and watching the seals. Driving over the Golden Gate was fun, too.
Hello PM! A lovely post--and it brought back severe longing. I lived in San Francisco 21 years ago-on the Persideo, before it closed. I was going to language school there (but that is another story for another time)
My favorite places are Russian Town, The Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman's wharf (at night) and pretty much all of San Fran...Oh, and you musn't forget the parks and fun little places you stumble into.
There are darker places...but I am saving that for a story. :)
See what's happened? You've created a monster...LOL
Welcome back and thanks for the beautiful photos!
I have never been to SF (never been too far from home actually), but it is on my list of places I want to see as soon as I can afford to do some traveling. LOL
Your pics are gorgeous and, as usual, I'm envious of all of you. :) Especially about the 'write books' stones! That is so cool!!! :P
Welcome back to the Heat- er-Heart of Dixie! Who needs the Golden Gate Bridge when you have the Sidney Lanier Bridge (Google it)in your back yard. It sounds like you and your Playmates had a fantastic week in San Francisco.
I don't guess San Francisco is on my agenda at this stage of my life, but you and I enjoyed Amsterdam and Vienna together. My favorite b-i-g city is London.
We're all home! Yay!
I loved SF--so much to see and do that I would definitely go back.
Loved, loved, loved it! My only complaint was that I didn't have enough time there. :(
The farest I've been west is Mississippi. I'm pretty much a homebody here in AL and I really don't mind. Thanks so much for sharing your pictures and thoughts.
robertsonreads
I'm home. YEAH!! I missed y'all. However, I'm jet lagged, my internal clock is 2 hours off, school started this morning and we didn't even have milk in the fridge. On the up side...I'm home!! :-)
Instigator
Welcome back PM! I've never been to San Francisco, but sounds like I need to plan a trip. I'm actually saving to go to DC for RWA next year right now, but will put SF on my list of places to visit.
I guess Chicago is my favorite "big city" I've ever visited. There is so much there and no matter how many times I visit, I always see something new.
I didn't go to work today. I'm so bad. I just couldn't...
I loved SF and was fortunate to have my son's friends take me on a private tour and eat in a local restaurant.
Thrilled to have seen the playmates..I mean playfriends again and look forward to our annual breakfast in DC.
I either have caught someone's cold or my sinuses are just trying to get used to this climate again.
Yeah, my mom and I took the train from Frankfurt to Amsterdam together and took in all the sights. While getting on the train back, two guys got between me and her and lifted her passport case from her purse. Fortunately someone found it in the trash on the train and returned it (we didn't even know it was gone). We suspected the guy who returned it was also the one who stole it, thinking there was cash in it as well. Sorry, Charlie. No cash, just her passport and a couple small traveler's checks.
After we got home from Amsterdam, we drove to Vienna and met up with the DH who was working at the Embassy there. He managed to score us tickets to see the Lippizan stallions at the Spanish Riding School. That is seriously good entertainment.
I feel awful. Ugh.
Yes, I'm seriously jealous of seeing the San Fran sights, almost more than actually attending conference. It just looked like a cool place. Oh well. I'll just have to settle for seeing pictures. And y'all will be happy to know that the Playfriends remembered to use their cameras and took plenty. Yay!!!
Jolie, like you I'd never ventured too far from home until my first RWa conference in NY. It wasn't a place that was on my dream list of destinations, but I loved it. Washington should be interesting too. But it will take a lot to top my trip to Scotland!
Angel
Welcome home PM! Glad everyone is home safe and sound.
San Fran sounds wonderful. Loved the pictures! We don't travel much. My darling daughter gets extremely car sick. I thought she would grow out of it, but at 17 I guess it ain't happening.
Like Liza I'm saving up now for DC!
PS. Your mom is a hoot!
For those of you who want to see pictures of the Acheron signing and video, Barbara Vey has it posted on her blog! Just follow the link for Barbara Vey on our main blog page.
Angel
Sherry W.
My daughter (PM) use to get carsick also...now look at her traveling all over the world...even on the back of a motorcycle. Hang in there, your daughter will outgrow it eventually and there is always Dramamine. Seriously, we found that if PM rode in the front seat she was not as apt to get carsick.
Ultimately she could ride in the back seat without becoming ill.
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