Following a memorable trolley car ride:  stopped by the “trolley cops” on a steep hill for being overloaded, all passengers had to disembark so the trolley could make it to the top, and then run up the hill and get back on; we continued our Asian culinary exploration with a tantalizing Vietnamese dinner at Ana Mandara.  Intrigued by the description of the restaurant on the Mark Hopkins’ website - ”with its exotic decor and delicious Vietnamese cuisine, Ana Mandara justifies its translated name: ‘the beautiful refuge’”, it turned out to be an excellent choice for our only evening in San Francisco.  Definitely romantic, the menu opens to “The Love Story”, an ancient story of ill-fated lovers, and the dishes bear names such as “Whispering Waves” and “Footprints in the Sand”.

As I’ve said before, the main challenge of traveling with a teen is the task of waking them early enough to get out of the room before noon if you want to make the most of your day.  Other than Chinatown, Chloe wanted to see the Golden Gate Bridge and we had to do it in the morning since we were leaving to drive to Santa Cruz before rush hour.  Of course we were greeted by the same thick fog that we had witnessed rolling in and enveloping the city the afternoon before, but we donned our sweatshirts and braved the damp chill to see the famous bridge from the top of a double-decker bus.  We were in the company of mostly British tourists and had two very entertaining tour guides – one Scottish and the other English, ironically.  Also saw the Palace of Fine Arts and the Presidio area and I think the fog adds a certain atmospheric and mysterious quality to my photo(s), what do you think?

Most FAQ:  Why isn’t the Golden Gate Bridge golden?  The name is derived from the Golden Gate Strait which is the entrance to San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean.  The color of the bridge is actually International Orange which was chosen because it blends well with the colors of the surrounding landscape (when you can see it) and is easily visible by ships traveling through the infamous fog!

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