San Francisco City by the Bay Art, Light and the Celebration of Life! By Kelli Alexander with PlanetKelli
San Francisco is probably my favorite California city! No, IT IS my favorite California city - and for so many reasons. Hop a flight. Take the BART train. Check into your home away from home (more about this later). Drop your bags. Jump on a trolley and exit at China Town! This isn’t just any China Town. It’s San Francisco China Town and it feels authentically Chinese! Fun shops; conical hats, colorful gifts, great food and excellent fresh made cocktails! Go to R&G Lounge and try the just- pressed watermelon or pear martini and have it with whole crab, Peking duck and some fabulous flat noodles...Heaven! Dashing in and out of the many shops along narrow side streets will tempt you with anything from books, silk robes, Asian home decor, gag gifts, brightly colored costume wigs and more. Are we in California or somewhere in the Far East? You let your mind decide. Next stop check out the Ferry Building Marketplace on the Embarcadero. It’s the hub for all water transportation, moving suburbanites into and out of the city and en masse. This is a place where one (tourist as well) can grab a ferry for Tiburon or other charming coves around the bay for some exploration, shopping and dining. What’s so cool about this building is before boarding, pick up an artisan loaf of bread, gourmet cheese at Cowgirl Creamery, the perfect prosciutto 34 | JUNE 2014