San Francisco: There and Back Again =================================== By Paul Robert Lloyd Sunday, 1 January 2012 For the final leg of my [North American tour][1] I transcended the West Coast on Amtrak's [Coast Starlight][2]. Getting to San Francisco wouldn't be much fun, boarding a coach in Vancouver at a ridiculous hour in the morning and dealing with an offensive US border guard before arriving at a closed King Street station in Seattle sounding its fire alarm. Only once I'd boarded the train could I sit back and relax. Upon leaving Seattle, a low lying sun bathed the carriage with the soft morning light. Bliss. ## Food, Glorious Food Arriving in San Francisco 22 hours later, I headed straight to the Ferry Building, where I grabbed a coffee from [Blue Bottle][4] and a breakfast roll from a stall whose name I've forgotten. There was just enough time for a brief stroll along Market Street before I headed to Potrero Hill for lunch with [David][5] at [Plow][6]. Now working at [Nest][7], I briefly got to play with one of their intelligent thermostats, unveiled to the world just days earlier. Shortly after returning to my hotel, I was back out again, this time to Palo Alto to have dinner with [Steve][8] at [Gravity][9]. I've always admired his perspective on situations, and this time he imparted some valuable advice worth paraphrasing here for future reference: > Assume success. The problem with you Brits is that you are such 'Debbie Downers'; you always think you know the outcome and that it's unlikely to be what you hoped for. Truth is you won't know unless you try. See also: [Stay hungry, stay foolish][10]. We talked a lot about the other Steve. The gluttony of food (and friends) continued the next day, as I joined [Tom][11] for brunch at [Universal Cafe][12]. Yet the main event would be the wedding of Dan and Liz. They were getting married in [Haas-Lilienthal][13], a beautiful victorian house that survived the 1906 earthquake and fire. A small intimate affair, I was offered yet more wonderful food, which I enjoyed in the company of David and Athena.

Scenes from San Francisco: The Raygun Gothic Rocket, a Blue Bottle coffee and the Shell Building from Market Street.

My last day in San Francisco was also the last of this trip. With my flight departing later that evening, I spent the afternoon on [Ocean Beach][14], where gusty winds were proving useful to those flying their kites. I headed up to the [Cliff House][15], visiting the camera obscura before enjoying some clam chowder and miserable waitressing in [the bistro][16]. With time being called on my holiday, I headed back to the Muni stop, leaving enough time to watch the sun set over the sand dunes. A fitting end to a fantastic trip. ## Coda [In March I wondered][17] if I could ever call San Francisco home again. Yet as I enjoyed these two short days in the company of old friends, witnessing their positivity and optimism, I left questioning the validity of my earlier position. Maybe I did leave a little part of my heart in San Francisco, after all. [1]: /2011/12/north_america/ [2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coast_Starlight [4]: http://bluebottlecoffee.net/locations/ferry-building/ [5]: http://davidlwarner.com/ [6]: http://eatatplow.com/ [7]: http://nest.com/ [8]: http://foundationcapital.com/people/partners/steve_vassallo.php [9]: http://gravitywinebar.com/ [10]: /2011/10/stay_hungry_stay_foolish/ [11]: http://twitter.com/tomdzk [12]: http://universalcafe.net/ [13]: http://sfheritage.org/haas-lilienthal-house/ [14]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_Beach,_San_Francisco,_California [15]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliff_House,_San_Francisco [16]: http://cliffhouse.com/bistro/ [17]: /2011/03/san_francisco/