Reflecting

A few comments about our hotel. Best Western Plus The Tuscan is perfectly situated for any cruise embarking tourist. It's two easy blocks from Pier 39 on the Embarcadero. More than 4 dozen restaurants are within a ten minute walk. Shopping has everything from Lladro figurines to leather under garments, from tacky tee-shirts to designer dresses. Back to the hotel, our room was comfortable but being on the first floor was not ideal as our window was just above head level on the street. (I will never be an urbanite, too much intermittent light and noise!) The only other negative was no movie channels, though after the initial shock, we never missed them! Plusses included excellent service, fabulous hot water, extremely comfortable beds and 4 different kinds of pillows, so we could choose! We hope others try this hotel. Thank you, Audrey, for this recommendation!

In the  past few days, I've experienced the serene mysticism of Muir Woods, the enthusiastic revelry of The Embarcadero, the rolling color-changing wonder of San Francisco Bay, the ethereal but masking quality of this area's fog and the marvel of the hills on which this city exists. As intrigued and kind of humbled as I have been, one instance stands out from all the rest: flying 38,560 over the Rockies as the sun set and made the clouds look like a Gandalf-inspired light show...