San Francisco Spontaneously

My mom has been a jewelry wholesaler for about 40 years. She provides great jewelry to stores all over the nation. Last weekend she set up her booth at the San Francisco International Gift Show. This is the place that store owners and buyers come in hoards to get the latest wares to resell in their shops. On the spur of the moment, I managed to get a great deal on an airline ticket from Denver to San Francisco. Let me tell you how much I love Southwest Airlines. They always have the best deals, even without advance purchase, and your bags fly free. There is nothing more aggravating than to buy what you think is a great price on an airplane ticket and then find out that each person in your party has to pay another 15, 20 or 25 dollars per bag, each way.

Anyhow, I had 4 days in San Francisco to visit and work with my sister and her daughter, Claire,who is a freshman at the University of SF. Food choices are abundant and expensive, so it was Claire who showed us the best deals on dining. Here is a little mexican restaurant, Popolote’s, within walking distance from USF. We ordered fantastic vegetarian burritos that came with a side garnish and home made chips and salsa for about $6. They were very, VERY tasty and, as it turns out, a “Throwdown with Bobby Flay” with be featured on the Food Network on Feb. 17th. I will be very surprised if  Popolote’s doesw not win!   The University of San Francisco is a Jesuit College. I snapped this amazing exterior of what, I believe, is a Catholic church on campus, out the car window at a stop light. My niece and I on a walking tour.

  

This is the view from our hotel window at the Sir Francis Drake.

We shared dinner at the Cheesecake Factory on the 9th floor of Macy’s. There is dining  patio, along the edge of the building, with breathtaking views.

One giant chocolate, coconut cheesecake was enough for 4 of us to share.

I will show some great finds from the gift show; architectural pieces and jewelry, in particular, in my next post.