First Time in San Francisco

After the Classical Singer Convention, I moved from Sir Francis Drake hotel near Union Square to the Omni Hotel by China Town. And, how glad I am now that I did move! Only a few blocks away, the feel of the city was quite different. The Omni was a wonderful hotel with excellent staff, all so friendly and helpful. The room was spacious and decors were pleasing. The bathroom was large and well decorated. The invigorating walk up and down the steep hills paid off handsomely. As I walked along dragging my carry-on luggage, an older couples were also on their way uphills with their luggages. She sighed, "Ah, my back!". I couldn't help but smiled as I personally thought, which could be considered sadistic by some, that the walk was fun!

So I heard that San Francisco is food heaven. Fortunately, I found "House of Nanking", my personally all-time favorite Chinese restaurant. Occupying a small and modest space in China Town, the wait queue was way out the door at 4pm in the afternoon. Service was fast and the food was a wonderful treat to the taste buds. Pictures of celebrities on the wall with the chef added a nice touch.

The next 2 days I enjoyed the company of my dear friends. We saw the production of "The Merry Widow" by West Bay Opera in Palo Alto, in which one of our friends was singing in the chorus. We drove around San Francisco. We visited the racy club Asia SF. We weathered the heavy, cold wind at the mountain top absorbing the majectic sights of the Golden Gate bridge, Alcatraz, and the distant San Francisco skyscrapers. We visited Sonoma Valley for wine tasting. In a short time, we visited Chateau St. Jean, Arrowood and Viansa vineyards. Viansa was the first vineyard into the valley with visitor information house. An outdoor concert was playing while Viansa's visitors are tasting wines and enjoying the warm sunlight. Arrowood is the place for wonderful wines where I discovered the Special Select Last Harvest White Riesling. I don't drink very much. But, this dessert wine is simply amazing, riched in aroma and fruity flavors of apricot and peach. Chateau St. Jean was a big tourist destination with its beautiful landscape. We sat in a rocking chair in the beautiful garden under and big lush pine tree, enjoying the cool breeze in the warm summer day.

San Francisco is really a beautiful place to visit. I wish I had a few more days to enjoy the food and culture there. Next time...