My new window curtains, open.
As much as I like waking up to the sunrise, it’s nice to block out light for an afternoon nap. Also, I set up my xbox and projector in my room, so this is necessary for an optimal experience.
Window curtains closed.
Window blinds closed, just for comparison.
Both window blinds and curtains closed.
Pulled beef served inside hummus.
After watching the sunset near Pacifica, we went to Orens Hummus Shop.
Oren Dobronsky, a technologist with 4 successful start-ups under his belt was drawn to the Silicon Valley, the epicenter of today’s technology innovations. Life in the valley was good, but one thing was missing: a big plate of creamy Hummus like back home in Tel Aviv, with fresh Pita & Mediterranean salads. A true entrepreneur, Oren decided to take matters into his own hands. With the help of his wife Nancy, an experienced restaurateur, the couple opened Oren’s Hummus, an authentic Israeli restaurant.
Julia and Annie waiting outside and enjoying the evening weather.
Seasoned fries with a lovely spicy mayo sauce.
Chicken kabob dish with rice and falafels.
I thought the chicken kabob was pretty good. However, the rice was advertised as “basmati rice”… which felt a little unauthentic compared to some other basmati rice I’ve had.
Annie and Julia posing in front of the chandelier in the restaurant.
Boba at Teaspoon after dinner.
Fresh mango smoothie.
Annie getting her tea with tapioca.
Photo of the Sunset near Pacifica, next to Lands End Apartments.
After our lunch at Tartine, we went back to my apartment for a quick nap. We then went down to a spot near Pacifica to watch the sunset. I found this place when I was apartment hunting earlier this year.
Light reflecting off the waves along the coastline.
There’s still a part of me that wants to move out to this part of town. The view is just incredible—could you imagine watching this every evening? Even better, doing astrophotography once the stars come out? 😗
Annie watching the sun as it touches down.
Then again, I think we just got lucky with the weather. I heard it gets kind of foggy out here.
Fresh pastries at Tartine.
After Coit Tower, we grabbed some lunch at Tartine Bakery & Cafe.
Pastry chef ELISABETH PRUEITT and her husband, renowned baker CHAD ROBERTSON, are the co-owners of Tartine Bakery and Bar Tartine in San Francisco. They both trained at the Culinary Institute of America in New York. Elisabeth and Chad traveled, trained, and cooked in France and upon their return, opened Bay Village Bakery in Point Reyes Station, California. Using a wood fired brick oven, they baked bread and created rustic, elegant pastries using many of the techniques they had learned abroad. Chad’s bread garnered the attention of Alain Ducasse, who wrote about the couple in his book, Harvesting Excellence.
I’d say that their pastries are pretty good. Their sandwiches are hella expensive. Be prepared to pay $17 for a sandwich. Annie said their breakfast bun was off the hook, so put your $$ towards their pastries.
More deliciousness.
Expensive cookies. $10.50 per bag.
I would say that the food was good, but probably overpriced for my liking. Other than that, their pastries are fantastic.
More pastries.
Julia walking into Tartine.
Photo of Coit Tower from the parking lot.
After driving around Golden Gate Bridge, we headed to Coit Tower.
The tower, in the city’s Pioneer Park, was built in 1933 using Lillie Hitchcock Coit’s bequest to beautify the city of San Francisco; at her death in 1929 Coit left one-third of her estate to the city for civic beautification. –Wikipedia
After living a year and a half in San Francisco, this was the first time I saw this landmark. While the parking lot of Coit Tower isn’t that scenic, the history is pretty interesting. I’m sure if you can go to top of the tower, the view is probably spectacular… perhaps that’s something I’ll have to do another day.
Statue of Christopher Columbus, in front of Coit Tower.
Coit Tower was paid for with money left by Lillie Hitchcock Coit, a wealthy socialite who loved to chase fires in the early days of the city’s history. Before December 1866, there was no city fire department, and fires in the city, which broke out regularly in the wooden buildings, were extinguished by several volunteer fire companies.
I didn’t have a chance to go up the tower, but it was nice to quickly scope out the base and learn a little about the significance the tower.
View from the base of Coit Tower, facing the Golden Gate Bridge.
Lillie Coit was one of the more eccentric characters in the history of North Beach and Telegraph Hill, smoking cigars and wearing trousers long before it was socially acceptable for women to do so. She was an avid gambler and often dressed like a man in order to gamble in the males-only establishments that dotted North Beach.
The round about at Cost Tower, with little to no parking.
I’ll probably have to come back here at night—I’m sure the lighting is probably way more interesting.
Foxxy, a 13 year old mixed dog.
After visiting the Painted Ladies, we took a quick trip over to the Golden Gate Bridge, at Fort Point.
Fort Point is a masonry seacoast fortification located at the southern side of the Golden Gate at the entrance to San Francisco Bay. This fort was completed just before the American Civil War by the United States Army, to defend San Francisco Bay against hostile warships. –Wikipedia
While we were there, we bumped into a cute dog named Foxxy. She was adopted at the age of 3, but the owner said that the shelter said her age was much younger. He said that, they typically don’t tell the truth to help the the dogs find new owners faster.
Foxxy with her owner, tired of walking.
I was thinking about doing a blog that highlighted the dogs of SF, but it seems that there are a lot of other people doing it already.
View of Alcatraz and the bay.
Annie and Julia taking a photo in front of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Entrance of Fort Point.
In 1769 Spain occupied the San Francisco area and by 1776 had established the area’s first European settlement, with a mission and a presidio. To protect against encroachment by the British and Russians, Spain fortified the high white cliff at the narrowest part of the bay’s entrance, where Fort Point now stands. The Castillo de San Joaquin, built in 1794, was an adobe structure housing nine to thirteen cannons. –Wikipedia