Stair-hiking, travel & AMAZING FOOD!!!

Another day, another hike - like I promised, I did return out to Forest Hill to finish the rest of my exploration of the Crosstown Trail. But first, packing, since I am checking out of the hostel after my week's stay here. Like in the past, the hostel was a clean, comfortable place to rest my head, the breakfast was good and filling, the activities(city walk, wine and cheese night)fun and great for meeting and chatting with people. My bunk was soft, the water in the showers always hot, and the staff super helpful and always smiling. I would highly recommend anyone traveling solo to the city to check this place out, and you'll likely leave with new friends. It's a great place to stay. So I checked my bags, grabbed my hiking pack, made some PB & J for the road, and set out for my adventure.
I head out to Forest Hill, this time heading up past the station, through a park filled with sprinkler, dodging between the water like I am in a Super Mario Bros. video game. A park worker laughs at me, exclaiming "Tomb Raider!" as I run past. From here, I begin steadily climbing, both on roadways, and stairways. Compared to yesterday's hike, during which I hopped from green space to green space, today I am full city exploration mode, walking more in residential areas, on concrete and asphalt instead. It is still fun, and still very challenging, but not the "green" hike I had expected. Also, the fog today seems denser, drenching the trees in moisture, causing them to rain down on me, but only just a little. With the quiet I find in these neighborhoods, morning on a Friday, it makes for a surreal, almost spooky walk. I like it.

I climb stairs, first the dull but curvy Pacheco stairway into the fog, then the steep Moraga stairs of Grandview Park to one of the most beautiful 360-degree views of the city - covered completely in fog. I can't even see down to the beginning of the stairs. I still take a moment at the top to snack, and hope for a glimmer of blue sky...but not luck, so I venture one. On the other side of Grandview I encountered the colourful mosaics of the 16th Avenue tiled steps, a fantastic rainbow of sun, moon, water and all the creatures below, trailing down the risers of the stairs I descend. Next, I happen upon the Hidden Garden steps, another tiled wonder by the same artists, and just as beautiful, surrounded by their lush gardens of succulents. The hidden beauty in this city continues to amaze me.

Sadly, this ends my trek, and I find myself in a dark, dreary neighborhood, windy, chilly, and much too early to even think of heading back just yet. Ahead of me lies a giant breath of fresh air - the Golden Gate Park. Much like New York City's Central Park, this place boast trails and museums, and gardens galore, plenty of place to while away the hours. I dive in head first, and stroll. I pass lakes full of ducks, and groves teeming with perky little squirrels, and find myself stopping in front of the Japanese Tea Garden, the draw too strong for me to resist. I enter.

The garden itself is beautiful, and very true to Japanese technique. There are water gardens, well groomed trees, Japanese maples(!) and bamboo, a 5-tiered pagoda and central tea room, stepping stones and waterfalls and koi fish...but there are too many people here to truly appreciate the true tranquility a Japanese garden is suppose to instill. There is no room for quiet contemplation. I move on.

Enter here a long commute, from the park to the hostel, to Powell street station and the BART, from the airport to Millbrae, and from the Caltrain to Mountainview and Lesley's smiling face - it was a long 3 hours and that was EXACTLY what I need to greet me at the end of it.

Settled in at Lesley & James' fantastic and quirky split-level sanctuary, making my re-acquaintance with floofy Abbott, I feel relaxed and happy. This evening's event - and I call it that because it really felt so grandiose that I can think of calling it nothing else - was dinner at Bird Dog. This is the kind of place where they ask what kind of WATER you want to start the evening, where the wine list is 10 times longer than the food menu, but with good reason - the food is AMAZING. Everything is plates to perfection, combining so many different flavours that I don't know HOW they thought to pair them all together, but that work so PERFECTLY together. Each dish is a piece of art, and each is tastier than the next. Our favorite, by far, was the yeasted waffle, with uni(sea urchin) cream cheese, bone marrow and trout roe, crisp and sweet as maple syrup, and when smeared with all the topping, tasting almost like it should be listed as a dessert.

When it came to mains, however, things got even better. Here you order a dish, and sides to go with the dish, so out came plates of carrots with chai flavours, creme fraiche and black tea crumble, and a bowl loaded with little potatoes, with fudgey yolk and brown butter sabayon, which was rich and creamy and oh-so-delicious, we just couldn't get enough of them. And then there was a plate of roast duck, with celery root, grilled onion and blackberries, served in a bowl with smoking greenery(quite the feast for the senses), crispy skin and sweetness that reminded me of something from a chinese restaurant. Finally, one singular, beautiful piece of Japanese Wagyu, smooth and buttery, each piece melt-in-your-mouth delightful, especially with dabs of smoked mushroom and seaweed butter. There was lots of sighing and happy faces and not a lot of talking of dinner, we were so blown away by the tastiness of the meal. Needless to say, after a very brief stroll in Palo Alto, we headed home, bellies full and hearts happy.