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Wednesday: San Franciso, Hotel Rex, Ferry Building

We spent our time in San Francisco at The Hotel Rex. In choosing a hotel, I was trying to find something in a different part of the city from where we had stayed before, and also something with a little more character than the big chains -- and it was a great deal too -- 3rd night free! All in all the Hotel Rex was a good option. The lobby and bar are beautiful (as shown), although my first impression of our room was that it was an old hotel onto which they had tried to slap a fresh, funky coat of paint. The overall interior design is very bright and whimsical, with lots of yellow, orange, purple, stripes, swooshes and hand painted murals and poetry adorning hallway walls (I could help but think Aunt Nattie would love this place). All this just seemed like a way to distract from the vintage 1960 bathroom fixtures, although as our stay went on and I looked closer, I found everything to be clean and well maintained, and they had attention to detail where it mattered. So what if there is a stainless steel kleenex holder with a slot for razor blade disposal recessed into the wall?

Wednesday we slept in (no B&B breakfast awaiting us) and then walked about a mile down to the Ferry Building Marketplace. This is a restored city landmark that has been turned into a gourmet food mecca which I had recently read about in a magazine. This place was free sample heaven! Some highlights:

• Lulu Petite where we had lunch, including an amazing blood orange and tomato braised pork on ciabatta and fresh squeezed Meyer lemonade (I love Meyer lemons). I also got a couple jars of marinade, Preserved Meyer Lemon & Rosemary and Preserved Meyer Lemon, Sage & Fennel, which I had tried to special order at home from and never succeeded in getting (I love Meyer lemons).


• Stonehouse California Olive Oil where I could actually taste a difference between the several different varietals they offer.


• Ciao Bella Gelato where we tried Port and Prune gelato (very good).


• Village Market where I got this neat sea salt from the Phillippines which has large hollow crystals. It sort of looks like kosher salt, but much more delicate so it doesn't feel like you're chewing a rock.


• Far West Funghi where I marveled at all the different varieties of fresh mushrooms -- which I will never be able to get at home.


• Recchiuti Confections where we got several odd-sounding chocolate truffles: Star Anise ∓ Pink Peppercorn, Lemon Verbena, Bergamot Tea, Tarragon Grapefruit, Cardamom Nougat.


• Peet's Coffee where I got a mocha, just to see how this Starbucks progenitor compares to its scion (tasted about the same to me).

After, we walked back to our hotel (does 2 miles of walking work off all that sampling? probably not the gelato...) and relaxed until dinner.