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22nd Oct 2011 - 25th Oct 2011 - USA - Again
Spectacular Mt Tam and a busy Sunday Drive
Doing a lot of nothing at the moment, as I patiently (?) sit here in San Francisco waiting for some official paperwork for my house here, before I can head home. I am chomping at the bit, however, I know that it is definitely worth the wait to get it all sorted out properly. On the work front, have re-applied for my North Shore Private appointment in Sydney and will start to see patients when I get back again. Should be something I can do on my own time schedule so will continue to allow me flexibility to get into the other crazy things. My Personal Concierge (www.mypersonalconcierge.com.au) is set up now, with my own series of personalised emails and am busy organising business cards and brochures in my down time here. The web-site is looking better and I am now number 3 on google.au search engine, so that is an unexpected bonus. Check it out and do me a favour by sending it to all you friends and relatives. You never know who will want to use the service one day. Meanwhile, San Francisco has really turned on some great weather in the last week or so - we have had lovely sunny days and the temperature actually hit 75 during the weekend - in the city - so what a treat. I caught up during the week with Steven, my realtor and friend, for a great Thai meal and on the weekend, Deb Faust was back in town, so we had a lovely, if not exhausting, Sunday Drive. We did not set out that way, but the day just kept on moving along. I met Deb at Grace Cathedral in SF - the episcopalian cathedral, which reminds me (sadly) so much of St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney. I had a bit of a flashback as the architecture was similar but quite spectacular. But I sat quietly in contemplation and with my memories, while Deb attended the service in the Sanctuary. Then we wandered around the cathedral, with some gorgeous stain glass windows and beautiful 'art' in the form of the United Nations Panel and also the lovely AIDS Inter-Faith Memorial Chapel The photos just don't do any of it justice. After that, we decided to head for breakfast in Union St - mimosas and eggs as the city woke up - it was very quiet then all of a sudden, everyone came out around 11am and the Union St Shops day really started. We regrouped at home and then headed on the drive to Muir Woods, via the usual Vista points (most of you have been to them with me!) The view from the Marin Headland was great as the sun was shining and the skies were clear. When we got to Muir Woods, there was no parking to be had at all, and this is where our day really took a wonderful meandering turn. I was determined to see Redwoods and so, we just followed the road to where we could see them. We just explored different turns and came across the Panoramic Highway heading up to Mt Tamalpais (or Mt Tam as it is called). Absolutely spectacular - and I apologise that none of my photos do it any justice. The sun was brilliantly shining and the sky was indistinguishable from the sea, the clouds could not be picked out from the small amount of fog that was rolling in. The visuals were simply breath-taking, with the city way out to the distance some 40 - 50 miles away, and yet we had the winding road immediately below us. We could not believe how beautiful it was and took a small walk to enjoy the redwoods, picking up acorns along the way and just generally soaking in the peace and the feeling of sun on our faces. I definitely need to go back another time as I can only imagine that the hiking trails there are simply amazing and I just know Chris would love it there. It was so clear with the sound traveling that we could hear the conversations of the people a couple of ridges away from us. From there, we meandered back down the mountain through redwoods, the even eucalypts, and even stopped at an Open For Inspection house along the way, to check out the views again. A very strange house, with 5 properties in one, all hand-carved, up in the trees-tops, but an interesting little side-adventure. The Audi is made for this kind of driving through the bends back down the mountain, with every corner bringing yet another spectacular vista and once we got to the bottom, we headed for Sausalito. Early dinner there and again, we were so lucky at Scoma's where they gave us a table right on the water. Absolutely wonderful and so relaxing to while away the sunset hours with a glass of wine and a wonderful prawn, avocado and pear salad. The walk back through all the shops proved to be fun as we came across a gallery with some really interesting and beautiful 'paintings' of hummingbirds, done with silver and gold foil, lacquered. I was totally taken with them and the girl took us upstairs to a room with all the artist's works. The artist, Eon Burchman, who is a musician in his other life, covers the canvas with sand then lays the gold and silver foils on the canvas. He then adds lacquer layers until the foil appears to have a depth of light coming out of the work. There are not many pieces that he has done as it is very time consuming but I am going to go back during the week and will definitely be bringing one home. Very unique and really lovely, in all lights. Stay tuned on that one. After that, took Deb back to her hotel in Burlingame and then on to watch the Amazing Race at Gilbert's, who lives close by to her hotel. I love that show and this week they were in Thailand in all its glory. Finally, after a well deserved and needed cup-o-cha, drove myself home and fell into bed, exhausted, but what a wonderful jam-packed day!! Love Deb
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Diary Photos
| 24th Oct 2011 AIDS Memorial Inter-faith Chapel in Grace Cathedral San Francisco |
| 24th Oct 2011 The AIDS Memorial Chapel at the Grace Cathedral San Francisco |
| An inter-faith chapel with this gorgeous altar. I am sorry that the photos do no justice to the depth of the 'art' |
| 24th Oct 2011 View from Mt Tamalpais, San Francisco |
| Across the Redwood forests we could see all the way to the city. |
| 24th Oct 2011 View from Mt Tamalpais, San Francisco |
| 24th Oct 2011 View from Mt Tamalpais, San Francisco |
| 24th Oct 2011 View from Mt Tamalpais, San Francisco |
| Across the Redwoods to the city, some 40 miles away! |
| 24th Oct 2011 View from Mt Tamalpais, San Francisco |
| 24th Oct 2011 View from Mt Tamalpais, San Francisco |
| A wonderful vista and comparison on the near and far in the glorious sunlight. |
| 24th Oct 2011 Deb Faust at Mt Tamalpais, San Francisco |
| 24th Oct 2011 View from Mt Tamalpais, San Francisco |
| You can not see where the sky starts and the sea ends and we had the most wonderful perspective of the winding road below us and yet, you could see for miles and miles. |
| 25th Oct 2011 Twilight Skies - Eon Burchman |
| Eon Burchman's Twilight Skies - beautiful hummingbirds on a unique canvas of gold and silver foil |
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