Zoe in San Francisco

Sunday 28th July, 2013.

Zoe and Grandad.

 

Miss Mischief.

 

Zoe pats the sheep.

 

Zoe’s favourite page – the shaggy sheep dog!

 

A packet of tea is a great toy.

 

Noe Street – a typical San Francisco steep street.

Bachelorette Luncheon

27th July, 2013.

“Bachelorette Luncheon” has a much nicer ring to it than “Hen’s Party”.

 

Zoe does a spot of reading, while waiting for everyone else to get ready.

 

Zoe in her party dress, accessorised with a cardigan from Aunty Linda, fake shoes, a bib and a woolly hat. 

 

 

By one of those typically San Francisco surprising coincidences, we met up with Arend’s family on the way to catch the train.  Here we all are (minus the photographer) waiting for the train at the Castro Muni station.

 

The “Bachelorette Luncheon” was held in the Rotunda Restaurant in the atrium of the Neiman Marcus store, “perhaps the highest of the high-end stores”.  This building overlooks Union Square in a spot once occupied by the City of Paris building, constructed in the 1890s.  The enormous stained glass dome was retained – perhaps with Laura’s lunch in mind.

 

A very pleasant lunch was enjoyed by all.

 

Around the table:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zoe wasn’t offered anything from the menu, so had to resort to eating her dress.

 

After lunch, we were joined by the men for a stroll around the “high end” shops around Union Square – Macy’s, Tiffany’s, Saks Fifth Avenue etc.

 

A cable car with obligatory step riders.  Don’t know that Workplace Health & Safety would allow this in Australia.

After the shopping expedition, the younger set continued on to dinner and partying until the early hours, while those who were older, pregnant or much younger, went home to bed.

California, Here We Come!

Friday, 26th July, 2013.

Anna, Pedram and Zoe, Paul, and Pat and I all arrived in San Francisco, on three different flights, within a few hours of each other, with Laura there to meet all of us.  Pat and I sailed very smoothly through the infamous LA airport – the event we had been dreading- only to have our connecting flight to San Francisco delayed by four hours due to a problem with air traffic control and fog in San Francisco.  You’d think they’d have learnt to deal with fog by now.

Feeling quite shattered after very little sleep on the flight from Brisbane, i threw dignity to the winds and stretched out on three seats in LA airport, (which involved threading my legs under a set of arm rests) and caught up on a bit of sleep there.

Laura has rented for us an absolutely delightful apartment in the Castro district – right near all the action.

 

Just to make us feel at home, there are flowering eucalypts near our apartment – but bigger and brighter than any I have seen in Australia.

 

The Angels’ Trumpets are flowering as well.

 

No, this one’s not ours, but it’s near by.

 

This house is very well shingled.

 

Abrupt grade change – yes, it drops away completely.  We’re walking out to meet Laura and Kirsty for dinner.

 

Here we are, having dinner at Barney’s.  Zoe is asleep in the pram at the end of the table.