Francesca & Carola Calligaro in San Francisco July-2017
Francesca came to Burlingame in June of 2017 to hang out in the shop, speak with
sales reps, customers and staff members in an effort to improve her English.
The problem is/was that Francesca speaks better English than most Americans!
The photo above shows Francesca posing next to a display with her family's wine,
the wonderful Nebbiolo Langhe of the Filippo Gallino winery.
That afternoon we went to lunch at Jeffrey's Hamburgers in San Mateo.
Francesca inhaled this as though she had not eaten in a week!
When we returned to the shop, she helped some customers.
After we closed the shop that day, we drove to Oakland to have
dinner at a place which makes its own sausages.
When we parked the car, I noticed the hardware store nearby was
"Piedmont," Francesca's home!
At Hog's Apothecary, Francesca ordered some sort of Smoked
Bratwurst sausage.
Francesca and the famous Italian wine guru, Mark Middlebrook of
Portovino.
********************************
Francesca returned another day and we ventured off to a local
Dim Sum place for lunch.
Francesca learned about "Ravioli Cinese" such as xiā
jiăo
and shāo mài.
She also learned about shāo bāo.
She was shocked by the Green Onion
Pancake.
I described this to her as "Chinese Pizza."
That "pizza" was met with a nod of approval.
**********************
Francesca's sister,
Carola, arrived in town and we made plans for a day of "Gerald-Turismo."
They arrived by train and we drove to The Koi Palace.
It was a Wednesday afternoon and the place was packed.
There are numerous tanks with live crabs, prawns and fish...
We had to wait a few minutes, but the service is rapid and there's fast turnover
of the tables.
We perused the lunch menu and immediately ordered a number of plates.
The roasted pork is remarkably good.
The pork meat is tender and served at a tepid temperature. The pork skin
is crispy and very flavorful.
Both Carola and Francesca were thinking how to get their Nonna, who's a big
kitchen artists, to prepare something similar.
Calamari Cinese
**********************************
It was a sunny and breezy day along San Francisco's Great Highway and its
magnificent
Ocean Beach.
The ladies were amused by the sign warning people to be
careful in the dangerous waters of the Pacific Ocean.
People Swimming and Wading Have Drowned Here.
Le persone che nuotano e si muovono sono state uccise (affogati) qui.
As we looked at this I said "You hear about this from
time to time."
A woman passing by said "Yes, like yesterday!"
From Ocean Beach we hopped back in the car and drove to see
another San Francisco landmark.
Muir Woods is a popular National Park.
It's named after John Muir, a famous "naturalist" who helped establish
Yosemite as a National Park.
Muir was also a co-founder of the environmental group called The Sierra Club.
Muir Woods is located in southwest Marin County, about 12 miles, or so, north of
San Francisco. It's close to the Pacific Ocean and it's 554 acres (224
hectares). Something like 240 acres are old growth redwood trees.
Even on hot days, this place is cool thanks to the immense shade of the foliage
and its proximity to the Pacific Ocean.
The Park is a peaceful place and a delightful escape for people from The City
(and elsewhere)!
Francesca is a good photographer and so an American man asked
her to take his picture.
Trifoglie in Italian...some sort of Redwood Sorrel.
Francesca was searching for the Four-Foglie, as she claims these bring good
luck.
That growth on the tree is "Burl."
A quick stop for a drink of cool, fresh, local water...
Back in the parking lot...
And then we drove to Sausalito.
There's a wonderful view of San Francisco from Sausalito.
Someone was piloting a small drone when we arrived at the Marin Headlands.
This might be a good photo for Carola to use as her Facebook picture...
We then drove across the Bridge and headed for Pier 39.
We had a boat to catch!
And we arrived about a minute before departure.
Carola was busy taking pictures.
So was I!
Alcatraz!
We got back to shore, hopped in the car and made tracks for
Lombard Street.
Then we drove to The Front Porch Restaurant.
Fresh Lemonade
A subtle hint as to what to order for dinner...
Bag of Hot Peanuts
Fried Okra (Gombo in Italian)...
The ladies made quick work of this and the okra disappeared in minutes!
The Fried Chicken is served with popcorn.
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Biscuits
Beignets for dessert.
And One More Surprise!
A Souvenir from San Francisco!
And with that we got in the car and drove across the Bay
Bridge to their "home" in Oakland.
Some nice memories for Francesca and Carola to take home to Canale in Italy!
