OCTOBER 17, 2011.  Sad, but excited to be going home, especially to see our kitty. Spent most of the day at SFMOMA. Such a beautiful gallery with some very interesting shows on right now. Started with a coffee and tea in the cafe at the gallery. They serve Blue Bottle Coffee, a local roaster that GJ says has been the best coffee he’s had in SF. We took a break for lunch across the square at  Sanraku and later, an afternoon snack at the Gallery’s fifth-floor coffee bar. So full from eating all day that no dinner was required! Will deliver a final post tomorrow once we are home. Cheerie-oh friends!

http://www.sfmoma.org/

http://www.bluebottlecoffee.net/

http://www.sanraku.com/

GJ calles this one Denise and Duchamp. Since he's been taking the photos, there have been a lot of photos of me when I'm not looking! Duchamp's Fountain (1917).

One of my favourite artists, Joseph Stella: Bridge (1936).

View from inside of the rooftop garden.

Our afternoon snack at SFMOMA's fifth-floor coffee bar, right beside the gorgeous rooftop sculpture garden.

Cake description, drool.

OCTOBER 16, 2011.  Slept in, way in, today. Weren’t really sure what to do so we did some research about what museums we had yet to explore. Decided on the Contemporary Jewish Museum which had a very nice Houdini exhibit and the last day of an exhibit called Charlotte Salomon: Life? or Theatre? which is a huge body of work created by a young woman shortly before she died at Auschwitz. We were hungry for a snack and found an amazing place called Samovar Tea Lounge where we had tea and a delicious brownie. After that treat we wandered around the Yerba Buena Gardens, including the Martin Luther King Memorial. Then we found the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts galleries which was free today as the entire Yerba Buena site was hosting a Family Day which included live entertainment and free admission to many of the galleries in the area. The YBCA had just opened an amazing show called The Matter Within: New Contemporary Art of India. My favourite among the wonderful artists represented was Nikhil Chopra. I’ve included his website with the links below. That led us to dinner time so we stopped at a Sushi place not far from the hotel called Sudachi. Yum! Tomorrow is our last full day and we have a full day planned.

http://www.thecjm.org/

http://samovarlife.com/lounges/yerba-buena-gardens/

http://www.ybca.org/

http://www.nikhilchopra.net/home/

http://sudachisushisf.com/

The Contemporary Jewish Museum San Francisco.

A partial view of the interior of Samovar Tea Lounge.

Our delicious snack at Samovar.

A section of the Martin Luther King Memorial which is an absolutely gorgeous water garden work of art.

There were several of these panels with different MLK quotes engraved on them in English and one other language.

The Yerba Buena Center for Arts.

Looking down on The Matter Within.

A lovely courtyard and pond inside the Yerba Buena Centre for Arts.

This is what we found as we exited the YBCA; so beautiful.

OCTOBER 13, 2011.  Bus adventure! Walked over to Japantown and found the coolest small sort of mall called New People with an amazing coffee shop, four amazing shops an art gallery and a cinema. Had a small breakfast and then checked out the shops. Then we navigated the bus system to arrive at Golden Gate Park and spent the rest of the day at the de Young Museum of Fine Art. Had an amazing lunch at their cafe. As the evening came in we wandered over the the Haight and found a store that sold only socks! Ate yummy yummy Thai food at a place called Ploy II. An all around fabulous day!

http://www.newpeopleworld.com/

http://deyoung.famsf.org/

http://www.ployii.com/

Awesome coffee shop at New People.

The New People Shop.

The entrance at the de Young features sculptures by one of our favourites, Andy Goldsworthy.

Beautiful galleries full of amazing art at the de Young.

Cool perforated copper wall.

Our lunch at the de Young: delicious Gazpacho with smashed avocado and fresh chips.

One of the views of the city from the observation tower at the de Young.

A lovely pond just outside the de Young.