San Francisco Artful Weekend (lots of photos!)

Friday, 10/22-Sunday, 10/24: Van Gogh, Legion of Honor, "Jesus Christ Superstar," de Young

Mr. E and I spent the weekend in San Francisco, with a focus on art experiences. We headed to the Amtrak station in downtown Sac around 3pm on Friday afternoon and both worked on the train to finish out for the week. Due to slowdowns near Davis and a disabled train closer to the Bay Area, we were delayed by about an hour total. Luckily, the bus connection in Emeryville is guaranteed, so we still could complete our trip to the drop-off point near the Salesforce Tower on Mission Street. We had a relatively short walk to our hotel, Le Meridien, on the corner of Battery and Clay. 

After checking in, we dropped off our bags but didn't unpack since we had tickets to Immersive Van Gogh and were running short on time due to the train delays. We finally figured out where to catch the appropriate Muni and took the train to Van Ness station, which put us right by the entrance to the Van Gogh. Since I had opted for the 8pm Flex tickets, we got two free posters and two cushions to use during our time in the experience -- very helpful for making the floor seating much more comfortable! The full experience is about 35 minutes, and we entered about halfway through a loop. So we settled into one of the designated spots on the floor and then moved to the other side of the room when the loop re-started so that we could see the full viewing from a different perspective. Such a creative use of technology, sound, and video to created this immersive view of Van Gogh's world!

Since we realized we didn't want our posters, I gave them to two older women who clearly were enraptured with the experience, and they were very appreciative. We made a couple of purchases in the gift shop (magnet, puzzle) and then took the train back towards our hotel. We decided to go to Bar 333 in our hotel for dinner and enjoyed some great food -- big shrimp cocktail for me, cheese board to share, and steak frites for Mr. E. Also a glass of prosecco and a few Manhattans to accompany the food. Unfortunately, the quiet tranquil bar became quite rowdy when a large group descended on the spot, but luckily we were towards the end of our meal at that point, so we closed out the tab and went up to our room for the evening.

Saturday morning provided some great views from our corner suite of the sun coming up over the Bay and lighting up the Bay Bridge.

Thanks to Mr. E's status with Bonvoy, we had vouchers for the continental breakfast at Park Grill on the 3rd floor of the hotel. The staff was very conscientious about verifying our COVID vaccination info, which we found to be true at each entertainment venue or indoor dining spot we visited. We enjoyed hot oatmeal, mixed fruit, orange juice, coffee, an English muffin for me, and two muffins for Mr. E (blueberry and bran, one of which we saved for later). Mr. E grabbed Starbucks across the street for his second coffee while I lingered in the restaurant reading the art book that was provided as the holder for the meal receipt.

Our destination for the day was the Legion of Honor, via Muni bus 38R, to see two very different exhibitions Color Into Line: Pastels from the Renaissance to the Present and Wangechi Mutu: I am Speaking, Are You Listening? The latter exhibit actually begins in the courtyard, with three large pieces that welcome visitors to the museum. 

The rest of the sculptures are interspersed throughout several of the first floor galleries, and the work also includes an original video in its own separate viewing area. The pastels exhibit is in the lower galleries, so we started our visit there and then finished with a tour around the remaining Wangechi Wutu works. We opted for lunch in the museum cafe, where I enjoyed a fresh Sonoma greens salad and Mr. E had the Croque Monsieur. Then a walk back down the hill to catch the bus back to our hotel, where we relaxed for the afternoon. 

Our evening activity was to see "Jesus Christ Superstar" at the Golden Gate Theatre. My counsin's daughter, S, is part of the cast as the Mob Leader, and she was actually the first person to appear onstage! So awesome to see her dance and perform in this show, especially since the original tour was cancelled back in 2020. 

After the show, we met up with her briefly as we and many other huddled under the marquee trying to stay out of the pouring rain, which had unexpectedly started up earlier than forecast. We decided to brave the mile+ walk back to our hotel and were quite moist by the time we arrived. Mr. E had just enough time to put in a food order at Bar 333, but I just headed up to our room to change, hand stuff up, and get dry and warm.

The rain continued all night and all day Sunday as well. We repeated our breakfast at Park Grill on Sunday morning and supplemented with Starbucks coffee and egg white bites for some protein. Then we figured out a Muni route to the de Young that involved a minimal amount of walking time in an attempt to avoid the rainy conditions. We arrived just about in time for our 11:30am tickets to see Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love, which had a free-to-the-public opening the day before. Such an exuberant and creative fashion designer! We really loved his aesthetic and approach not only to fashion but also to life, based on what we learned from the curatorial notes.

We followed up by touring Judy Chicago: A Retrospective, which provided an amazing overview of this visionary and ground-breaking artist's work throughout the past decades. She has such a strong vision and voice and unapologetically expresses herself through such a wide variety of media. Her pieces are definitely thought-provoking and sometimes disturbing, and that's part of what imbues them with such power and insight. The exhibition overflows into the lower entryway with a series of oversized banners hanging from the ceiling near the gift shop.

The cafe provided some yummy lunch offerings, including a roasted delicata squash salad for me, grilled salmon with roasted root veggies for Mr. E, and a plate of macarons to share. As we ate, we watched the rain and wind whipping the trees in the sculpture garden and plotted how to return to the hotel. I found a Muni option with a bus that picked us up right outside the de Young and then connected to a train, keeping us safe from the rain as long as possible. Our walk from the Embarcadero train stop back to the hotel was pretty short, but I still changed out of my jeans into yoga pants prior to check out so that I wouldn't be damp on our Amtrak ride home.

We opted for a cab for the short journey to the Amtrak bus pick-up since we didn't want our bags to get too wet. Luckily, the bus was already there waiting for passengers, so we could just transition directly from the cab to the bus and stay warm and dry. Our return train was also a bit late due to weather, and we didn't have any luck with a taxi when we got to Sac, so we braved the weather and walked from the station. Lots of stuff to hang up and dry out once we were welcomed home by Miss Calypso!

Such a great artful weekend. So glad we were able to have such amazing and diverse creative experiences to share!

Flavors of Northern Italy: Day 9 (end of tour)

Sunday 10/10: VRN > FRA > SMF + Overall Impressions & Future Plans

Our airport transportation picked us up at 7am, and we were at the Verona airport in about 30 minutes. The check-in desk for our flight wasn’t even open yet! Eventually, we were able to check in and show all of our various pieces of documentation. We still had over 2 hours to wait until our 10am flight, so we enjoyed some breakfast at one of the two restaurants open in the small airport, including a delicious fresh fruit bowl (with kiwi, of course -- who knew kiwi was so popular in northern Italy?) and fresh-squeezed orange juice (why don't we have those awesome machines here in the US?). Then I picked up some candy at the Duty Free shop and started walking “laps” around the terminal as there wasn’t much else to do while waiting for our departure.

Mr. E gave me his seat in Air Dolomiti's business class for the flight, so I got a fresh snack (fruit, cheese) and real coffee in a little mug, which was quite lovely. The view from the plane over the Alps was pretty impressive! 

 

Once we got to Munich, we had quite a long wait to go through passport control, so we only had about 30 minutes to enjoy the Lufthansa Senator Lounge before going to our gate. We settled into our Business class seats only to discover that Mr. E’s entertainment system was inoperable. Ugh! Not cool for this level of ticket and for such a long flight! The very helpful purser gave him a $250 credit, and thanks to the long cord on the headsets, he was able to watch two movies (“A Quiet Place” parts 1 and 2) on my monitor while I worked on my blog and read. I watched “Minari” earlier in the flight, after the first meal service.

We arrived a bit early in D.C. but then had to wait over an hour to get our bags and re-check them for our flight to Sacramento. So frustrating! We did manage to spend about 30 minutes in the United Club near our gate and then boarded our final flight home. We got dinner service in First Class and then watched the Red Sox playoff game on the personal monitors before starting to crash due to jet lag.

Our flight had been delayed taking off, but we made up most of the time in the air. Unfortunately, we then had another long wait for our bags in Sacramento. Luckily, S didn’t mind waiting in the cell phone lot and circling a few times before picking us up and taking us home to greet Miss Calypso.

This was a truly outstanding tour, with a top-notch tour guide and incredible experiences that we never could have arranged on our own, particularly with the insider views into the artisanal production of renowned wines, traditional balsamic vinegar, and craft cheese.

We also were incredibly fortunate to be in such a small group of people whom we really enjoyed. The level and topics of conversation were unlike anything we’d experienced during any other tour, and we were all so taken with each other that we’ve agreed to come together again in fall 2023 to do a Taste of Tuscany, including with Stefania as our guide. As we left the final dinner, we actually exchanged hugs with everyone, which has never happened before on a tour. What a remarkable experience and an inspirational return to international travel!

Flavors of Northern Italy: Day 8

Saturday 10/9: Lago d’Iseo Boat Tour + Franciacorta + Final Dinner

Our final day began with a boat tour of Lago d’Iseo, departing from Sulzano, where we met our local guide Elide. She provided a commentary about the lake, the main island Monte Isola, and the two minor islands. The weather was a bit cloudy, chilly, and windy, but Mr. E and I both had prepared with enough layers so that we could stay outside in the stern of the boat for the whole tour to get the best views. We then had about 40 minutes to wander around Peschiera Maraglio, the town closest to the mainland, where we climbed through the winding streets.We especially appreciated the scooter-only parking ramp (personal cars aren't allowed on the island).

This area gained a lot of international recognition back in 2016 when Christo completed the floating docks installation that linked Sulzano with the town and with Beretta island. The installation took two years to complete and was only available for about two weeks. Too bad we missed that opportunity to walk among all of these sites!

Our next stop was to Al Rocol Franciacorta, where one of the family owners, Francesca, provided a tour and thorough explanation of how the famous sparkling wine is made, following the traditional méthode champagnoise but going beyond that style in the aging process. By the time we were ready for our pre-lunch tasting of two wines, the sun had come out to lighten up the terrace, making an ideal setting for this final wine experience of the tour.

Lunch was at the estate’s restaurant and included additional wine with each course, per usual for the week. We also got to see the winery’s resident rabbits and cats but didn’t catch a glimpse of the goats or deer.

 

On our return to Borgo, we stopped at a nearby agrigelateria for a late afternoon snack on the sun-dappled terrace. Then back to our lodging, where Mr. E and I took a walk through the vineyards for a final viewing and photos of “our” tower and one of the many plaques on the local farmhouses that commemorate the awful battle. Back at Borgo, we took care of packing and completing the various steps of the check-in process for our return flight home the next day.

This evening’s dinner was a bit lighter, consisting of a series of antipasto dishes and a beautiful flour-less chocolate cake for dessert but with no primo or secundo courses in between. We’ve definitely gained a new appreciation of celery, fennel, and polenta this week, as they’ve all been used in multiple and creative ways that we will likely try to replicate at home!

Given the early departure tomorrow morning, we made sure to take our leave from dinner by 9:30pm for our final stroll through the vineyards.