Anniversary and Renovations

House construction began on a Monday. The weather and our spirits were both excellent as the crew arrived. Coffee was allocated generously and then the hammering began. It started in the living room and soon spread to the dinning room. 

By this time, we had sold or given away a good deal of our furniture. This proved to be a great idea in that we didn't have quite as much to move about as the shredding of our carpets began.

I've always been curious about what lay beneath the carpets. In my mind, I was hoping a lost treasure map of some sort - or perhaps a rare painting - but alas it was a cement floor with no redeeming find. Yet, as I was recently learned in my dealing to procure a wooden floor, a cement basement layer means one needs to have an "engineered" wood - meaning that it wouldn't be just a wooden floor, but rather a composite of several layers with a final layer of real hard wood as icing. 

The Maa-ma came to visit and I felt bad that her time here would co-incide with construction. But she would be one of the first to see the work in progress and thus she also got a chance to see some of the work completed. She was a real trooper - and threw in her hand to help with packing and moving.

By day four the wood was progressing nicely. We had become pros at packing and moving the furniture. However, it is fatiguing when everything you own is packed into unfamiliar corners. Something as simple as brushing your teeth and finding the toothpaste, the brush, and the space needed to perform the task became a more difficult endeavor. Sleep was harder too as everything was covered in a fine layer of dust, and even the cats ran and hid at the sound of something dropped or a loud sound. 

That said, day 6 began early as all the others. We left to run some errands and made it a point to take our time to avoid the shrill sound of the saw blade and the ubiquitous hammering.

But when we returned, the house was silent and construction was finalized. Mission accomplished no? Not even close. The cleaning began and went on for a week. We had to purchase an entirely new entourage of equipment to dust and sweep.

Our vacuum was the first casualty. This was a Dyson that had finally lost its suction and so we had to run out and grab another. Over time, tranquility returned - albeit slowly. The kitchen was cleaned and we were able to celebrate a home cooked meal. Internet and wi-fi came on-line shortly there after, followed by the TV and netflix etc. Finally, the bedroom was put in order and we got a chance to sleep. 

 

We started getting the furniture back in place. Home once again felt like home. However, nerves were a bit frayed and it was time to do something other than home remodeling. It was time to find balance.

A TIME TO CELEBRATE

It was time to do some celebrating. It was the anniversary of our engagement and thus we headed into the city. We stayed at the Palace Hotel again. We were here for a convention in the past. I love this place. It is an old historical hotel that has a grand entryway and lobby. The rooms have high ceilings and it has windows that one can open.  

 This place reminds me of the places that my step father used to work in. I remember growing up running around in large hallways and finding all the secret passage ways in large hotels like this one.

On arrival to the room we heard someone using our shower. When I went to inspect, it turned out the that pipe above us broke and water was streaming through the vent shaft into our tub.

The hotel put us in another room on a higher floor with a better view and gave us a credit at the restaurant. A half hour later a complementary gift basket and bottle of wine showed up at our door.

They know how to make things better I guess.

Maria had made reservations at a sushi place that she had been craving to check out. So after getting "purdyfied", we headed out to Roka Akor. Its a bit overpriced, but the food was good and the atmosphere was excellent. What was really remarkable was the downstairs bar. The architecture was very impressive and hinted of deja vu. Then I remembered where I had seen this before. This was a near replica of a sushi place that Chase and I had been to in London. It was located near Regent Street in Soho London.  

http://www.rokaakor.com/locations/san-francisco/ 

We finished the night having a night cap at the downstairs restaurant and talking about our plans for the next day.

 In the morning after sleeping in till about ten, we slowly got our things in order and then went for a walk about the town.

 First things first, we headed to Union Square and got some coffee at Emporio Rulli. While it was a bit weak (I personally like Blue Bottle Coffee more) it hit the spot and we strolled about the artwork on display at the square.

Maria then took me to one of her old hang outs. Hotel Phoenix is located in the Tenderloin. Which for those who don't know SF is the sketchy area of San Francisco. As far as "ghettos" go, this one really isn't that bad - but one should still be careful here. Anyway, the hotel had a cool little restaurant and a band / DJ were playing the central courtyard. The music was a combination of lounge and hard house with a tribal African beat thrown in for good measure.

After getting our music kick in, we headed over to the Asian Art Museum for the Persian Exhibit.

 This was a no go as we only had a few minutes till closing, but we did get a chance to see the farmer's market next door. Maria LOVES these things and takes such delight and finding the right ingredients to her next gourmet creation.

She also loves to find fruit which I've never heard about and gets me to eat them.

Well that all said, we made back to Marin Co. Tomorrow is back to work. What an incredible weekend!

By the way - we are getting close to heading out to Portland. We need some suggestions for road trip music for the ride up there.