...Here in SF with SD to celebrate our second honeymoon. The St. Francis Hotel is on Union Square in the heart of the shopping district and, due to the July 4th holiday, crowds of aliens are everywhere. At a nearby coffee shop there must have been 30 dialects of Starbucks English spoken while a favorite neighborhood Italian restaurant has menus in every known Asian language.
...the Castro, previously the gayest, most outrageous part of SF in the 70s, has become completely gentrified: the wildest place remaining is Bearbucks, a Starbucks hangout for the heavy and hairy...*sigh*...I remember when it was a leather bar with backroom slings that throbbed with...um...life. We ate at a forgettable Thai restaurant in the area and left for drinks downtown: gone are the days of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Dykes on Bikes and the spirit of outrageous rebellion.
...A Peruvian restaurant for cebiche is planned for tomorrow and Thursday's dinner will be at an Iranian pop-up diner: chelow kebab and a sampling of Iranian stews to look forward to...as well as a trip to the San Francisco MOMA and a Degas exhibit at Golden Gate park.
...So, shopping, eating, drinking and meeting with old friends in the area: no time for jet lag....