That’s Pat!

In a very friendly spot around the corner from my hotel. Pat’s, nice little coffee shop cafe, with good music, nice people, and wi-fi! Didn’t have any yesterday. Couldn’t check email or anything, egads!

The Hotel San Remo is great! A little noisy, but they make earplugs for that. Such a funny little place, was apparently a shelter briefly after the earthquake and the fire. Restaurant next door claims to be the oldest Italian restaurant in the country Fior D’Italia—I don’t have much Italian, but i’m pretty sure since Fiorello Laguardia was “the little flower”, it means “Flower of Italy.” Funky all-over-the-place art some fake some really legit. Old drawings, prints etc. Plants everywhere. Heard four languages while I was checking in...

The hotel gave me a discount coupon, so I had a really nice meal over there last night. Some beautiful ravioli with pumpkin and sage and other tasty stuff. Yum. Also one of those Negroni cocktails made with campari!

Yesterday was kind of blurry. Got up at 4.30 to leave for the airport. Yikes. Got in too early to check in, but the nice people checked me in early, and I called Anne and lay down til I heard back from her. She’d had a meeting on the Embarcadero and came by and picked me up. Then we stepped back in time...went with her to her swim club on the Bay, The Dolphin Club. She had shot images there for Darol Anger’s last record that I worked on. Beautiful old boats, old guys, old pictures, old trophies, people swimming in the cold water. I wandered around and took pictures while she swam, talked to a couple of the old guys. She’s been a member for about five years, but i think it’s been running since 1887 or something.

We walked for a while and had lunch at a place in North Beach, called something with the word “cigar” in it. Groovy old place. Had a great panini and a beer and hung out and talked. She had to go pick up her son from school, so we parted company and I went to the Museé Mecanique. Dan Brawner had told me about it years ago, when it was in the Hill House. It’s at one of the piers on Fisherman’s Wharf now. Great crazy old machines...arcade things, creepy laughing dolls, 3D pictures of the earthquake, zooetropes...took some nice pictures.

Heard from Julie Mcfadden while I’ve been eating breakfast. Going to a thing for Dave Warnke with her tonight.

Taking a tour of The Arion Press over in the Presidio this afternoon, one of the presses that does some of the beautiful books in the Wilson Collection at the Nashville Public Library.