Bastille Day in the Paris of the West Coast

After work yesterday, I decided to go check out the Book Club of California (see my next blog post). Nice walking weather. I started to notice the French flag flying around here and there, like here, in front of the Hotel St. Francis, facing Union Square. Since this was the afternoon, every step I took I was beset by tourists. I was tempted to start making random restaurant suggestions to passersby.

Early on in my walk, on Geary, a few blocks easy of Van Ness. Love the old ads on the brick sides of these buildings.

Another shot of the Hotel St. Francis. Did you know it survived {mostly unscathed} the 1906 SF Earthquake? Also Enrico Caruso had a panic attack in their lobby and vowed to never return to San Francisco?

450 Sutter, "New Mayan" Art Deco Facade. Absolutely adore this.

A street party commenced here (Grant Street) hours later. I like Daft Punk, but I'm not really up for dancing in the streets.

Plenty of great French restaurants I could have chosen (I still haven't tried the Cassoulet at Le Central!), but instead I opted for Oysters with Ginger and Scallions at New Sun Hong Kong. Each oyster was gigantic, and the sauce was superb.