Actually, I'm in
a hotel in San Francisco, sightseeing and keeping Robin company while
she attends her yearly Java conference. I've spent the entire day
walking around and now I'm back in the hotel too wiped out to do much
of anything but watch TV and write this post. I began the day at the
Andersen Bakery, Crocker Galleria, for breakfast. The bakery is
actually from Japan, but not quite as good here. Across the street
there is a sign: YARN–Art Fiber. I was looking forward to going there,
but found it was gone, possibly another victim of our current economic
problems.

I
walked over to the tourist office on Market Street to pick up maps and
current info then spent time in Nordstroms. I'm not a big shopper, but
I have picked up some choice things there. Not today, though. Sometimes
I find the fashion offerings dismaying.

Last year, on
the last day of my visit here, I was walking through that same shopping
mall killing time while waiting for Robin to get finished at her
conference, and I was given a taste of grilled beef from Buckhorn
Grill. It was delicious, but we were scheduled to go out for dinner to Greens,
so I did not indulge. I've been thinking about that meat all year.
Actually, I thought I'd never get back here. Robin didn't think she
would come back to the conference, and I certainly wasn't coming back
here alone. Needless to say, I headed right back there  for lunch.

There are things
in the world one ought to appreciate without trying to expand on them.
Lunch was good, but not nearly as good as that one tiny piece of meat.
I had heartburn all afternoon and probably ruined my cholesterol.I eat very little meat. I thought it was on principle, but maybe I don't digest it very well. 

The new Jewish Museum
is just down Mission Street. The had an interesting exhibit of Passover
Seder Plates and an excellent exhibit about Marc Chagall and the
Russian Jewish Theater.The building
that now houses the museum was originally a power station, one of the
first buildings to be restored after the 1906 earthquake, now repurposed by Daniel Liebeskind, the architect who designed the New York 9/11 memorial.

I needed to sit down so I got on a bus and went to Japan town to the Kinokuniya bookstore. The website says it's just like visiting Japan, an amazing exaggeration. Lots
more walking then back on the bus to the Embarcadero to the Acme
Bakery. I recalled getting walnut whole wheat bread there last year and
was able to get it again–without doubt one of my favorite things to
eat and very hard to find.