On The Streets of San Francisco

So, I'm back. Sorry for my laziness, but I have taken my doctor's advice to take it easy to help get over my pneumonia seriously, and have stopped doing anything that isn't required. But there has been a lot going on, including a quick trip to San Francisco with the boys to visit the French Consulate to get extended visas for our (quickly) upcoming move to Paris. Here's some highlights:

We had an early flight on Sunday morning, so we dropped our bags off at our hotel and then went to ride the cable car. The boys had never been to San Francisco, so we had to hit all the touristy spots.

The cable car finally arrived.

Steve, Jack, and Max excited to go.

Jack experiencing some big city sensory overload.

Since it was freezing, our first stop at Fisherman's Wharf was the Boudin Bread Bakery to get a bread bowl with clam chowder. Maybe because I hadn't eaten much that morning, or maybe because of the cold, drizzly weather, it tasted great to me. Max and Jack were a little underwhelmed, but at least we got out of the rain. And those Boudin people really know how to make a mean chocolate chip cookie. And I'm not easily impressed. Try one if you make it there sometime.

Max pretending to like his soup and bread. On the other hand, I'm still dreaming about how good that bread bowl was. I even went online to see about ordering them. Luckily, it's way too expensive.

Watching the bakers do their thing.

On the way back from the Wharf Max got brave and hung off the side of the cable car all by himself (alright, I was holding on to the back of his coat for dear life, but he doesn't need to know that).

We were staying near Union Square, so we walked around to see all the Christmas decorations that were going up. Jack fell immediately in love with the displays at Macy's that featured kittens and puppies up for adoption. He cried and cried when, after about a half hour, we made him leave. Both he and Max miss Briscoe a ton, and can't wait to get a new kitten when we get back from Paris.

Luckily the next morning was sunny and beautiful, and we got our appointment at the consulate finished in about an hour, so we had the rest of the day to walk around the city. Here are Jack and Max at the gate to Chinatown. We walked all the way from downtown to Fisherman's Wharf. It was so great to be out in the sun and to see the sights on the street. I wasn't too crazy about the smells in Chinatown. Or the raw meat for sale on the street.

The obligatory shot of the Transamerica building (taken in front of City Lights Books).

Since Chinese food had lost it's appeal after the walk through Chinatown, we decided to instead stop for Italian in North Beach. We paid waaay too much for lunch, but sitting out on the street in the beautiful weather almost made it worth the price.

And Max spent most of lunch playing with his new Chinatown transformer toy.

And Steve and I were pleased to find some fantastic cannoli at a bakery next door to our restaurant that we shared as the boys played in a park.

Jack taking the park by storm. It's not surprising that after the walk and the playing, he slept great that night.

We finally made it to the Wharf, and after being accosted by a crazy guy making balloon animals, I was able to get this nice shot of Max.

A great, final view of the Golden Gate Bridge before we headed back downtown on the cable car. It was a great trip, and I am so glad I was feeling well enough to go.

And that we got our visas.

Next stop, Paris!