I've spent my last two posts are two amazing places in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. The exciting and educating California Academy of Sciences and the historic and beautiful Japanese Tea Gardens.
The day was drawing to a close and my lovely daughter had to drive back to Los Angeles the next day. So we decided to have dinner in the park and then she and I would head back inland.
But first, we had to walk back to Rose's car from the gardens. On the way, I couldn't resist taking this awesome picture of Beethoven.
Okay, okay. So it's not Beethoven himself. He is dead after all! This is a copy of a statue in New York City and was gifted to the city of San Francisco in 1915.
I also couldn't resist taking a picture of the succulent garden in from of CalAcademy. I don't think the photo does justice to how vibrant and beautiful these are though.
My sis suggested the Beach Chalet, which I've actually always wanted to eat at. But alas, it was super crowded (as I guess it usually is) and we would have had to wait at least 45 minutes. Then we were told that the kitchen was extremely backed up and that getting food would probably take another 45 minutes or longer.
So, no thanks. We decided to head down Highway 1 to the Cliff House, another restaurant I've wanted to try.
It's right on the ocean (Next to the absolutely gorgeous Sutro Baths) and the views are breathtaking. There was a storm out to sea that made it look like a dream. And right on cue, a large ocean-going ship sailed out from the Bay and headed to the shipping lanes.
This is the view of the Sutro Baths from the observation walkway on the Cliff House.
And, the sky and ocean was so incredible, that I have to post more photos! #SorryNotSorry
Looking North, the sky and ocean became a soft pastel watercolor.
And another ship exited the Golden Gate and sailed into the storm.
I must say, my food was amazing. I had the best of the bunch, which is a good thing since it was my birthday!
I started with an endive and spinach salad with mushrooms and bacon vinaigrette.
And finished with a delicious pork chop crepinette with roasted Brussels sprouts and crisp discs of potatoes on top of a bed of mashed potatoes with a yummy sauce. There was also an amazing pistachio mixture stuffed inside the caul. It was just tender and full of flavors! And there was bacon.
After one last look at the gorgeous sunset,
We headed over to the Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Garden.
I love tulips. And they had the most gorgeous deep purple ones!
And the windmill, which is so photogenic.
I did not enhance the color in the next photo. There was one sole lavender tulip in with it's deep purple brothers.
And of course there were other flowers as well.
Unfortunately, it was the end of the season for the white and yellow tulips. So I don't have any good shots of those. I did include the bed of white tulips with the windmill in this next shot.
But since purple is my absolute favorite color, I was extremely happy that they were still in full bloom.
One last shot of the dramatic windmill, but this time in black and white.
And a view of the garden with blue (?) trees in the background. I'm not sure why they are blue! But you can see the structure of the garden with the border of hedges and purple flowers. In the center are the deep purple tulips around a center bed of, I think, multicolored poppies. And the white tulips are in the foreground. The windmill is to the left, out of frame.
And in the back are GREEN trees. I swear. Something I did in post production made part of the sky and tops of the trees have a blue haze. lol
A beautiful place to be sure. And we only covered about a 10th of Golden Gate Park! It has many, many wonders left to explore. Just a word of caution, be aware of your surroundings at all time. There are many homeless and transients in the park and you just want to be alert.
Until next time!
xoxo
