The benefit of driving to San Francisco (fortuitous to live so close!) is the liberty of the drive itself. We meandered a bit on the way home to Laguna Beach from Inman's Real Estate Connect, staying through the weekend and managing like all truly "wired" individuals to get some work done on the way. These are some of my memorable pics, with a combination of architecture, real estate, and geography.
Picture 1: San Francisco's China Town, with Caleb Mardini of ActiveRain and and Bob Stewart of Brio Realty. What fantastic architecture!
Picture 2: Saint Mary's Square on Nob Hill, San Francisco, is beautifully nestled between commercial buidlings and an intelligent space! Given to the city as a gift by the Catholic diocese in 1912, beneath it is an underground parking garage. The grounds also feature a children's playground and enough space for a meditative break.
Picture 3: Saint Mary's Square, different view. The statue, made of steel and rose granite by California native Beniamino Bufano, is in honor of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the first president of the Republic of China, who found political asylum in San Francisco for several years in the early part of the 20th century.
This picture captures a lot of what I love about urban cities. Jon Washburn and I were at lunch with Kevin Tomlinson and Kevin read my mind. Our bistro, in the middle of Maiden Lane (both ends closed off between 11-5) was reminiscent of Paris. Maiden Lane used to be known as Morton Street in the Barbary Coast hey day. The former location of San Francisco's red light district, it was re-christened "Maiden Lane after the 1906 fire. Maiden Lane also boasts the only Frank Lloyd Wright building in San Francisco (140 Maiden Lane).
I captured this picture on the way to finding a restaurant in Castro Valley. I love the way these houses nestle into hill's edge and the wild space around them. These homes are located near Jensen Ranch Elementary school. The land itself reminds me of Tuscany...
Rich,
I thought the Castro Valley was gorgeous... I don't remember the name of the restaurant. Our navigation system routed us to a house the first time (not the usual result! unless that's the goal), and in the end we decided on a Mexican restaurant in what appeared to be the main "downtown" of that particular area.
Dan, we thought about running home, but we didn't want to carry our suitcases... ;)
I really love this off-the-beaten-path post! What fun to see! I love to travel and visit new places, and try to get the pulse of the place. I frequent blogs from around the world just to see what the people there think makes it tick.
(...my Dream Life... Live in a far-off place for 1 to 3 years and have some job. Yes, that is a bit vague, but it is my dream, so I get to insert various places and 'jobs' into the fog of my unreality. Ireland sounds especially wonderful!)
Great pictures!
Sarah,
Ireland does sound great! One of my friends lives in Ireland, she rents a loft, and she doesn't have to cook (imagine!) because she eats at neighborhood pubs every night! I think the idea of a pub is terrific. A place where the community gathers, connects, shares life, etc. I think it's fantastic! (A magical part of life --local community bonding-- that is lost in most parts of the US...)
I was thinking about wearing that suit and tie on the boat when we go crabbing. (Sorry I haven't gotten back to you on what would be a good time, I'll try to catch up with you today or tomorrow)
Unfortunately, the guy I rented the suit from wanted it back before I left San Francisco. Imagine my embarrassment when I had to board the plane with just my underwear, socks, shirt and tie.............they almost didn't let me on!!!