i got a gig!
i'm writing a new insight guide book — select guide san francisco. it's a new series for IG focusing on hand-picked destinations and itineraries from a local's perspective — that'd be moi! perfect gig for frisco mama. it's a crapload of work, but just the stuff i like to do. i'm pumped! so glad to be spending my time doing something i enjoy instead of clockwatching at the chronicle while my life slowly drains away.
i didn't sufficiently write about our amazing night at the tower suite of the fairmont last month, it was pretty spectacular. i wrote a piece on the restoration of the lobby several years ago for a chronicle publication. for the piece, i took a hard hat tour and saw some really fascinating stuff that was found during the excavation including beautiful domes in the laurel court that had been covered over for many years, a vintage silver tea set, and hand-painted murals in the merry-go-round bar which closed decades ago.
i was invited to stay last month which happened to be dan's birthday. i came straight to the top of nob hill from work and hooked up with dan, mom, and the kids in the lobby, which was completely decked out winter wonderland style. it was magical.
we checked in to our rooms — a tower suite with a staggering city view that spanned from the spires of st. ignatius in the west to barges twinkling in the bay in the east. two cable car lines crisscrossed far below, and a telescope allowed us to see into the neighboring 'top of the mark' bar of the mark hopkins hotel across the street. or wherever else we felt like snooping. a fruit and cheese tray and a bottle of cabernet awaited us.
an adjacent double room was set up for the kids with giant chocolate chip cookies and chilled glasses of milk.
we soaked it all in, then headed to the tonga room to meet friends for dan's birthday. despite the rumors, the tonga room & hurricane bar is still open and is not in danger of closing. for those who haven't been, it is the essence of high-end tiki kitsch. a pacific rim restaurant with an expansive and reasonably-priced buffet, it is better known for big, tropical cocktails in coconut shells and the band who floats out in the pool in the middle of the room after a simulated thunderstorm. an experience not soon forgotten.
the kids loved the leis and the fake storms, but being so close to a pool in a dark room was excruciating with a two-year-old. we packed them off to the suite with my mom where they watched children's programming on their flat-screen tv, wrapped in frette linens.
Just write like you’re talking to your friends. And soon, they will be.
that’s sweet, thanks!