ONE INCREDIBLE IGOUGO WEEKEND

The reason I was in San Francisco on this particular weekend was to participate in the "Here we go to San Francisco Guide Get- together". We stayed at the Commodore Hotel just two blocks from the Hotel Rex where the Awards Ceremony was held. After dropping our luggage off at the hotel, we set out on foot to discover San Francisco via Nob Hill and China Town.

On Friday night we were treated to an indescribable evening of food and fun at the Teatro Zinzanni. Saturday's activities included a tour of Victorian Homes; discovering "Extreme Pizza" thanks to Guide, RomeoGolf, who knew the area well; and a wonderful evening with IgoUgo staff and guides.

Sunday morning found us meandering along Powell Street, past Union Square to Lori's Diner for Breakfast, took one look at the line waiting for the Cable Car and decided to forego that thrill for this trip. Then we did a little more exploring on foot, before checking out of the hotel and making our way back to the airport.

Quick Tips:

It seems like all tourist want to ride the cable car beginning at the turn-around on Powell & Market and the line is always very long. There are many other choices including the California Cable Car route along California Street past Huntington Park. While sitting in the park on Sunday morning, we noticed these cars were never full.

Best Way To Get Around:

I would suggest that if your goal is to explore San Francisco and you are flying in to San Francisco, arrange to stay at one of the fine downtown hotels and use the public transportation system in lieu of renting a car. The parking is limited and expensive. If you want to take a drive along Highway 1, to the wine country or Muir Woods, rent a car toward the end of your trip and then return it to the airport on the day you leave.

If you take a shuttle into the city from the Airport, compare prices before making your choice. As we walked out of the terminal we were immediately approached by a man who asked if we needed a shuttle and directed us the "American Airporter Shuttle" at .00 per person. However, we later found out that there are many other shuttle companies charging as low at .00 per person for the same ride.

From the moment we stepped into the Commodore Hotel, a Joie De Vivre property, we felt like very special guests. Check in was a breeze, we were given our keys along with a piece of Ghirardelli Chocolate for each of us. The Lobby is a highly colorful, Neo-Deco design- nothing boring in this hotel. There are murals, playful custom furnishing and all the rooms are named for the city’s hidden treasures.

Our room, named "Jackson Square" was quite large, with a king size bed, desk, armoire with TV, a couch tucked into a small alcove, and a walk-in closet. Although we did not have a "view" from either of the two windows and it was slightly noisy from other guests walking up and down the wooden stairs, I would highly recommend this hotel for anyone who wanted to be in the center of the City. All the 110 guestrooms have cable TV, data ports, coffee makers and voice mail.

Just off the Lobby is the Titanic Café, billed as the "hip little café" It is open seven days a week, 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and serves breakfast anytime and lunch starting at 11:00 a.m. The first thing you will notice as you enter the café is the size the coffee cups. They are gigantic. It takes two hands to take a sip. The breakfast menu includes almost anything you could possibly want for breakfast and the food was excellent. Lunch includes burgers, sandwiches, salads, pasta and fish. There are only 5 booths and 12 seats around the counter, but when that fills up, there are tables in the Lobby of the hotel to accommodate additional customers.

The Commodore offers parking at a public lot directly across the street for $22.00 for a 24- hour period.

www.thecommodorehotel.com

Lori’s Diner is a nostalgic 40' / 50' neon-lighted "soda shop" atmosphere restaurant. If you weren't sure you were hungry when you arrived, you would be by the time you climbed the two flights of stairs to get to the restaurant. But have no fear, if you are vertically challenged, there is a elevator available immediately inside the main entrance door.

The dining room is large, with extremely high ceilings, allowing lots of room for all the memorabilia, such as an antique stove, a radio collection, even a bi-wing aircraft hanging from the ceiling, and a 1955 Chevy sticking out of one wall (with its headlights glowing). Over the crowd noise, we could hear the "oldies but goodies", including Chantilly Lace by the Big Bopper and other great hits of the 50's. There is also a private party room and a row of pinball machines. Lori’s is located just two short blocks from the cable car turn-around at Powell and Market and overlooks all the activities and crowds that gather to get a chance to ride this wonderful mode of transportation. The floors and walls are " very 50's" with black and white checkerboard pattern.

Menu includes a wide range of burgers such as the "Big Bopper Burger and the "Cadillac Burger". The Hot Rod Rugger is an open face sandwich with chili, cheddar and chopped onions. The L.A. Burger has Ortega Chilies, bacon, Guacamole and Jack cheese. Prices for burgers are between $6.25 and $8.50. Be sure you have a really big appetite before taking on of the babies.

Then there are the hot dogs- The Moon Doggie - which is your typical hot dog, grilled and served with a mountain of fries. $5.75

Other sandwiches include ham, turkey, bacon, and roast beef. My favorite sandwich name is the "Book of Love" which is a grilled marinated chicken breast with lettuce, tomato and Red onions. Average price for sandwiches is $7.50

Their breakfast specials could feed a family of four- or one very large appetite (I didn't know they made plates that big)

Dinners include Fish and Chips, Fried Shrimp, Southern Fried chicken, and grilled Chicken breast. $9.95 to $14.95

And then there are the desserts- Oven hot apple pie, New York Cheese Cake, and Key Lime Mousse Pie. Remember when you ordered a milk shake at the Ice Creme Shop- it was served in a tall heavy glass and you were also given the metal contained it was made in-- with more shake in it. That is how they serve it at Lori's.

Lori's is open 24-hours, seven days a week and there are several other locations as well; one at 336 Mason St, 500 Sutter St. and at the San Francisco International Airport.

Our meeting place was in front of a large clock in the lobby of the St Francis Westin Hotel on Union Square at 11:00 am.

Jay Gifford, our guide and owner of the business, has been doing this for 5 years after he was "downsized" from a computer company. He has been resident of San Francisco for 20 years and his passion is his own Victorian home.

Our tour started was a short walk and a 10-minute bus ride to a beautiful Queen Ann Style building built in 1890 as Miss Mary Lake’s School for Girls. It was also The Cosmos Gentlemen’s Club and the Episcopal Diocese Girls Friendly Society Lodge and went through several ownership changes before being boarded up in 1970. It is now a completely restored as the Queen Ann Bed and Breakfast; and if not seeing the sprinkler system menacing a perfect view of a richly endowed design, you would swear that you had stepped back into the 19th century when this fine home was built.

Jay seemed to know everything about every house on the tour- all 200 of them, when they were built, when they were restored and all the famous people that have owned them. We walked by the home where Robin Williams once resided, just two doors down from the house where "Mrs. Doubtfire" was filmed. We saw where Don Johnson lived while he was filming the TV show "Nash Bridges" with its beautiful babbling brook along the front of the property and the home once owned by Bill Cosby and Mary Martin of Peter-Pan fame.

It was an easy walk and a moderate pace through Pacific Heights and Cow Hollow. The tour ended on Union Street after a fantastic overview of the harbor and the Golden Gate Bridge. Jay collected his $20.00 fee from each person and we were given a choice to either return to the Hotel with him by bus, or to stay in the area for more sightseeing.

Tours run daily at 11:00 a.m. and last approximately 2 to 2 ½ hours.

This was truly an unbelievable blending of music, magic, comedy, circus acts and fantastic food. The show combined elegance with absurdity, highlighting time-honored traditions in entertainment.

The entire production, bar area and all other facilities is housed in a splendid antique spiegletent, a handcrafted traveling tent, named Le Palais Nostalgique, built in the early 1920s in Europe. Owned by a Belgian family, Le Palais Nostalgique came to the United States for the first time in October 1998 for Teatro ZinZanni.

Beginning at 6:30, guests are seated at tables for six to eight and the fun immediately begins. The cast of about 13 performers is intermingled with the servers, moving from table to table, performing magic and small acts of zany comedy. By the time most guests have a drink and nibbling on the plate of appetizers while laughing wildly - the "real" show begins. The entire show is designed to center around the serving of each course of the meal and "Senor Platos" the Chef is hysterical. The action was non-stop from 6:30 until almost 10:15.

The cast of characters in the non-stop show was unique. It was disappointing that no photos were allowed. Many of the performers are from Eastern Europe and the U.S., and I am sure that the Maitre 'd was from Transylvania. Dressed in an old tux with long tails, hair slicked back, he never changed the expression on his face, never broke a smile or came out of character.

Maria Muldar, known best for her Oscar nominated "Midnight at the Oasis", was a show-stopper with her very special voice; the beautiful contortionist made us all say "how did she do that" and the aerial team performed a sensual and seductive "dance" from a trapeze high above the audience. Be prepared to join in the craziness as audience participation is a must- at one point the cast has the entire audience dancing in the isles. If you have ever experienced the aura of Mardi Gras, you might have a sense of what this is like.

The Dinner: Fantastic-delicious- memorable.

First Course: Antipasto Platter with Spring Scallion Dip, Chickpea Puree with Indian Spices, marinated olives, Pate au Porto and Focaccia with Finoccioni

Second Course: Carrot Parsnip Soup with Pear Cream

Third Course: Hearts of Romaine with Creamy Gorgonzola Dressing, Tangle of carrots & beets and Buttered Pecans (the pecans were out of this world)

Fourth Course: Your choice of Golden crusted Halibut with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and Blue Lake Beans OR Spring Vegetable Torta with Tomato Ragout, Herb Salad and Blue Lake Beans

Fifth Course: Double Lemon Tart with Cornmeal Shortbread crust, Fresh Strawberry sauce and crème Fraiche, served with coffee.

There was an extensive wine list and full bar with specialty cocktails ranging in price from $5.50 to $10.00.

www.teatrozinzanni.org

We had the opportunity to meet and visit the Staff of IgoUgo and the guides that were in attendance at the First Guide Get-together at the Rex Hotel. Jim, Tony, Megan, Stella, and Alyssa did a terrific job in coordinating all the activities and events, and this evening was no different.

The Reception began at 5:30 p.m. with an open bar and hors d'oeuvres and a chance to visit with IgoUgo Staff and Guides, followed by dinner and the Awards Ceremony.

Playing on a large screen during the first part of the dinner were photos from the photo gallery. Everyone who attended, including guests, left with a raffle prize ranging from cameras to music CDs; language translator to a $250.00 eBags certificate. One of the neat parts of the evening was hearing everyone's "first" travel memory as they came forward to accept their raffle prize.

Following a delicious dinner of salad, steak and grilled tuna, we played a version of the "World Traveler" game, with competition between tables. It was a close game and the winning table won by only one point. Each person at that table received a small camera.

We also had a chance to have a "round-table" type discussion for suggestions to improve IgoUgo. Tony asked us to come up with at least 10 points they could review and develop changes.

Then, the awards were presented, first the "Best of" were announced, best beach, best destination for your inner child, etc, followed by the awards for the individual journals the Guides of the Year.

All of this was followed by a late night game of darts at "Edinburgh Castle", a small pub at 950 Geary Street, where the team of Harry and Jim beat Barbara and Sarah (Sara Date) Actually, there was more talking going on than dart throwing.