San Francisco Trip Report!

Don't we all *heart* San Francisco? OK, maybe the street beggars are a little aggressive, and the hills can be a real whipping when you're on foot all day, and of course there are the housing prices that instantly crush any fantasy of actually living there. On my second visit to the City by the Bay, I wasn't as wide-eyed and awed by it all, but I still found even more to love about this most interesting city. Since time is short and details are long, the trip report will be posted in installments.

On Friday, Taj met me at SFO, whereupon we BARTed into the city. What fun! I appreciate good public transportation, like the kind we don't have in Dallas. Although I had forgotten just how LOUD the train really is...deafening really. But it was a quick jaunt into Civic Center station, where we caught a cab to the Radisson Miyako in Nihon Machi (Japan Town). I saw some mixed reviews online for this hotel, but our experience there was quite pleasant overall. Japan Town is clean, quiet and smack-dab in the middle of all the Japanese shopping you could ever hope for in an American city. We had a corner tower room with a balcony overlooking a well-maintained Japanese-style garden and koi pond.

The room itself was spacious and clean, with an abundance of Japonesque elements: shoji and faux lacquer screens in lieu of curtains, a serviceable tokonoma and a tansu-like dresser - and this was just in the Western-style rooms; there are Japanese-style rooms available as well, with tatami floors and futons instead of beds. Our king-sized bed was fresh and comfortable with plenty of pillows. To complete the Japanese vibe, in the nightstand drawer I found a copy of "The Teaching of the Buddha" on top of the obligatory Gideon's Bible.

The real highlight of the room was the Japanese-style bath. Enclosed behind a full-length glass door was the shower and an extra-deep tub, all lined in pristine white tile. After showering, I soaked for a good long time in the hotel's jasmine-scented bath salts that turned the the water a pretty green. During the hours I spent in that tub, I amused myself with the notion that I was soaking in green tea. (^-^) Believe me, I filled that baby to the brim! What welcome relief after walking all over the city!

In all, we were pretty satisfied with our stay at the Radisson. Sure, it's not the newest, swankest hotel in San Francisco, but the price was right ($126 a night) and the location was just where I wanted to be. Getting to other areas of town was easily accomplished by foot, cab or bus. I think next time I'll try the Japanese room.