San Francisco in December

One of the kid's biggest gifts this year was a weekend trip to San Francisco. We can travel there and back in one day easily from where we live currently, but we had many plans that weekend so we decided to indulge a bit and stay at the Ritz Carlton on Stockton Street. The kids were extremely excited to be spending a few nights there. We had plans to go to the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park, a venture over to the DeYoung Museum to see the traveling exhibit of King Tuthankamen, rock climbing at Planet Granite and to top it all of tickets to see the newest traveling show from Cirque Du Soleil, "Ovo."
The first evening we were there the kids were treated to an exquisite dinner at Fleur De Lys in grand style. They dressed for the occasion and were inspired to request their own three course dinners from the french cuisine offered. They enjoyed the food, ambiance and company. Their behavior was exactly what I expected, to which the owner's wife and many of the other patrons complemented how "grown up" they were and amazed the children enjoyed the food. The wonderful staff, including Marcus Garcia who is the dining room manager and sommelier, were attentive and informative. Marcus, who has children of his own and noting that our children were with us, had the bar make for the kids non alcoholic cocktails that he said he was inspired to make while his own wife was pregnant. They came in tiny martini glasses with magnificent presentation to us all. The children tried each of the three individual concoctions then tried to describe to Marcus what they tasted. He was a wonderful host as well as our server and others who waited on our every need.
It was a beautiful evening filled with complementary discussion about life, school, and of course the food. Austin tried a variety of unfamiliar ingredients to him like fois gras. He was intrigued about what it was and how it would be presented. We didn't tell him right away what it was and he happily tried it with his appetizer but wasn't impressed. I simply stated that perhaps he would enjoy it better if it were prepared another way, to which he replied, "Yeah, I'd like it more if it were seared or sauteed."

Darby also chose an assortment of dishes for her three course menu her favorite was the first course of a beautiful crab salad accompanied with caviar. She politely asked what caviar was of our server, he then described the dish in it's entirety (fish eggs included). She gave me an inquisitive look and I quickly stated that caviar was also found on all the sushi she enjoyed. She smiled happily and was sure of her decision.
During the next few days we spent strolling around town, driving from place to place, and even got a limousine to traverse the distance to and from the Cirque Du Soleil show. We all had a wonderful time. I, as always, carried my camera with me and took a few snapshots of the city from many a car window. I also took a few that I will post in it's own blog of the Golden Gate bridge because I did take a few minutes to pause along the edge of the park and compose those photos. Here are some of my favorites of our city by the bay.
The TransAmerica Skyscraper
China Town
"This ain't 'jamama's' Mazaratti!"
Driving to the climbing gym in the Presidio along the bay with the Golden Gate bridge in the distance.
The Skyline of San Francisco in all it's foggy glory with the Palace of Fine Arts in the center. We like to go there often, but didn't this particular trip.
A view of Alcatraz in the distance and beyond that the city of Oakland and Berkley.
I love how cable car lines crisscross in all directions making a spiderweb effect on some of the photos.


Amazing buildings, structures, glass, iron, steel, and architecture I love it!