Golf and My Favorite Pastry - Pecan Roll from Della Fattoria

Not long after I started to play golf about 10 years ago, I met Dan and Steve, and we learned we all liked to get up early to play. We have been playing together ever since with our starting time governed by the time of the sunrise. Generally we tee off about 30-40 minutes prior to the sun peeking over the horizon, just about when you can make out the ball sitting on the tee. Of course, finding your ball is another matter for the first few holes.

This morning, with sunup scheduled for 7:15AM, we were on the tee at our home course, the Adobe Creek Golf Club in Petaluma, at about 6:50AM. It was 34-degrees with a bit of ground fog, but happily there was no frost and a clear sky promised it would warm up quickly.

6:50AM - Dan (I Think) on the First Tee

By the time we finished our round at 10:20, the temperature was up to 50-degrees and we were in our shirtsleeves. Great weather, but we need some rain!

10:20AM - First Hole - So This is What it Looks Like!

Last year when Nancy and I were spending a weekend in the Russian River area in Sonoma County, we had dinner at the Farmhouse Inn. We enjoyed the bread they served with the meal and were told that it came from Della Fattoria in Petaluma. Although we had heard of the bakery we were not familiar with their products, so on our way back to Sausalito that Sunday we stopped off for lunch at their retail cafe at 141 Petaluma Boulevard North in downtown Petaluma.

We had a very nice lunch and, since the cafe is not far from Adobe Creek, I have been stopping off there regularly ever since on my drive home for a pastry and coffee. I even learned happily one morning when we had a frost delay that they open for breakfast at 7:00AM!

Della Fattoria makes a Pecan Roll which is my absolute favorite pastry! It is really more of a popover, light and flaky and hollow on the inside where the caramelized sugar and pecans await. I stopped off for one this morning and, since I had a bit of time, ate at the cafe.

Since we had walked the 18 holes this morning and I was planning to go to the gym later today, I also asked what pastry they would recommend apart from the Pecan Roll -- the Butterhorn (with strudel!) was the suggestion.

Butterhorn, Pecan Roll and Cafe Latte (Served in a Bowl)

The Sweet Interior of the Pecan Roll

The Della Fattoria Cafe has a relaxed atmosphere and a friendly staff and is a very comfortable place to spend some time. They also have a number of wonderful photos taken in Italy by Douglas Gayeton which hang on the walls. Doug's pictures are a bit hard to explain, but hand-written on each photo are various comments about the photo which highlight some of its elements and background. For example, here is one of a gentleman named Moreno taken at his wine store, La Fattoria di Moreno, in Lamporecchio, a small town about 20 miles west of Florence in Tuscany, entitled "Nelle [should be "Nella"] Botte Piccola c’e Vino Buono” = "In the Small Cask There’s Good Wine", an Italian saying equivalent to the English "good things come in small packages."

The photo also indicates that Sig. Moreno is a lifelong communist. I noted from Wikipedia that Lamporecchio "was for many years known statistically to be the city with the most Communist supporters in Italy," and the photo states that Sig. Moreno lives on a street named after Palmiro Togliatti, the leader of the Italian Communist Party from 1927 - 1964. Sounds like an interesting spot to visit. Additional information about Doug may be found here, and a wonderful set of his photo from his exhibit "SLOW: Life in a Tuscan Town" at the Museo ItaloAmericano in Fort Mason may be found here.

Della Fattoria is probably best known for their breads, which, after all, is what led us there in the first place.

Della Fattoria has a fun website, especially if you are an animal lover. I also found a couple of very good posts about Della Fattoria on the Tea and Cookies and Fork and Bottle blogs that I follow.

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Tasty Gym Socks - Washed Rinds & Beer at the Cheese School

As you walk down Powell Street in North Beach in the evening you come to a cheerful sign extending out a doorway announcing The Cheese School of San Francisco, which seems to be becoming our home away from home these days!

I know that readers of this blog are probably asking themselves – three trips to the Cheese School in less than a week? Yes, it’s true, Patrick and I were back there last night lured by the irresistible offering of yet another class with Sheana Davis, this one entitled “Washed Rinds & Beer.”

“For the serious cheese fan there is nothing quite like the washed rind category to put the senses on high alert. The beautiful sunset orange color, the distinctly pungent odor, and the tacky touch all promise much goodness to come. European monks discovered that washes or ‘smears’ of a brine or even a wine or a brandy as a wheel of cheese develops can create just the right environment for the B. linens bacterium to work its magic. The monks taught the world a thing or two about good beer, too. Heavenly!”

Long ago, before I started taking classes at the Cheese School, I had never heard of a “washed rind” cheese. When one merely reads about them – including the references to the aggressive b. linens bacterium used to produce them, and their stinky, funky, gym-sock aromas (is it true that certain of them are banned on French public transportation systems?) – some reluctance to try them would be understandable. However, as we have learned from our classes, to try them is to love them, and a class offering nothing but washed rinds was not to be missed.

The entrance to the Cheese School is up a long flight of stairs and as we climbed the stairs last night there was definitely a powerful and tantalizing fragrance cascading down to meet us. We were greeted by Sheana and the Cheese School staff (Abby and Rebecca were on duty last night) and after a brief reception we turned to the evening’s work.

Sheana Davis - The Epicurean Connection

Sheana selected the following nine washed rind cheeses for us to sample last night:

1. Red Square – National Foods (Tasmanian Heritage) - Australia (Tasmania) – Cow (pasteurized)

2. Gravenstein Gold – Redwood Hill Farms – USA (Sebastopol, CA) – Goat (raw)

3. Comté – France (Jura/Franche-Comté) – Cow (raw)

4. Munster d’Alsace (Munster-Géromé) – France (Alsace) – Cow (pasteurized)

5. Gubbeen – Gubbeen Farmhouse Products (Tom and Giana Ferguson) - Ireland (Schull, County Cork) – Cow (pasteurized)

6. Les Frères – Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese – USA (Waterloo, WI) – Cow (pasteurized)

7. Brick Cheese – Widmer’s Cheese Cellars – USA (Theresa, WI) – Cow (pasteurized)

8. Époisses de Bourgogne – France (Burgundy) – Cow (pasteurized)

9. Serra da Estrela – Portugal (Beira) – Sheep (raw)

They came from all over the world.

The cheeses were accompanied by three really excellent beers – we started with Russian River Brewing’s “Damnation” for the first three cheeses, then, staying in Sonoma County, moved on to Lagunitas Brewing’s “Lucky 13” for cheeses 4 thru 7, and finished off the evening with a great wheat beer, “La Fin du Monde” from Unibroue in Quebec.

In order to produce washed rind cheeses and impart flavors cheese makers use a variety of washes - everything from brine produced with sea salt or rock salt (e.g the Gubbeen or Comté) to marc (i.e. brandy – e.g. the Époisses) to apple juice (the Gravenstein Gold). Janet Fletcher, another instructor at the Cheese School, has a very nice article about washed rind cheeses here.

Of the cheese we had last night my own favorites were the Gravenstein Gold (#2), the Comté (#3), the Munster (#4) and the Epoisses (#8). The rest were not far behind. Of course, we only scratched the surface of the washed rind world last night – there are many, many others to enjoy, Taleggio, Reblochon, Pont l’Eveque, Limburger and Cowgirl Creamery's Red Hawk among them.

Sheana also mentioned that her own brand new cheese, Délice de la Vallée, a fresh cow/goat milk blend, is now available in cheese stores in the area.

We had sampled some in earlier classes and it is well worth trying. She also mentioned that the French Laundry in Yountville (!!) is now using her cheese, including in a savory mushroom cheesecake dish that sounded wonderful.

As always, the Cheese School staff did a great job in the course of the evening ensuring that our glasses were filled and everything went smoothly.

Thanks to Abby & Rebecca!!

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Sheepish Goodness - Pecorino Perfection at the Cheese School

On the walls of the Cheese School of San Francisco hang a number of large, framed, black and white photographs that relate to the cheese making process. One of my favorites has always been one titled “Lactating Ladies”– a group of Sardinian sheep ("Pecora Sarda") taken at a farm named Il Casale just outside Pienza in the Toscana region of Italy, about 50 miles southeast of Florence.

Last night Alex, Cass and I were back at the Cheese School, this time for a program entitled “Pecorino Perfection” given by Wil Edwards. Wil is one of the most recognized figures in the cheese world in Northern California, and also the photographer who took the photos at the Cheese School – and also a most entertaining speaker!

Wil amusing Alex and Cass with an explanation of proper sheep milking grip

Since sheep milk cheese is my favorite of all cheeses, I was particularly looking forward to last night’s program (“pecora” means “a sheep” in Italian, and “pecorino” is the generic word for cheeses made with sheep milk):

“Sheep, or ‘pecore’ in Italian, produce remarkably rich milk higher in fat content than other milk types. That alone makes cheese made from precious sheep milk incredibly easy to love. But in the hands of Italian cheesemakers and their colorful history, sheep milk cheeses can be truly palette pampering. In this class we’ll taste luscious, creamy sheep’s milk selections from all around Italy, covering the gamut from classic Dolomite mountain cheeses, to aged Tuscan gems, to Sicilian and Sardinian rarities.”

Wil is now working with the famous family-owned (now in the 5th generation) Italian cheese-aging firm (“affinatore” – the Italian version of the French “affineur”) named Guffanti to help promote the many types of cheeses produced throughout Italy that Guffanti coaxes to a perfect state of ripeness in their caves in Northern Italy (they have an excellent website with a great deal of information about their cheeses). The firm was founded in 1876 by Luigi Guffanti (the company’s formal name is Luigi Guffanti 1876 s.r.l.) and is headquartered is in the Piemontese city of Arona in the province of Novara on the shores of Lake Maggiore.

We enjoyed the following 10 cheeses from Guffanti accompanied by a 2005 Gavi Principessa Perlant by Banfi, a slightly sparkling white wine from the Piemonte (100% Cortese), and a 2006 Valpolicella Bonacosta by Masi, a young red from the Veneto (70% Corvina, 25% Rondinella, 5% Molinara):

1. Ricotta Moliterna – Sardegna

2. Ricotta Salata [“salted”] di Pecora “Sicilia” - Sicilia

3. Pecorino Monti Sibillini Latte Crudo [“raw milk”] – Abruzzo

4. Pecorino del Monti della Laga Stagionato [“aged”] – Le Marche

5. Pecorino di Pienza Stagionato – Toscana

6. Pecorino Foglie Noci [“walnut leaves”] – Toscana

7. Pecora Siciliano Stagionato Pepato in Crosta [“with a pepper crust”] – Sicilia

8. Piacentinu [from the Italian “piacere” = “to be pleasing”] di Enna – Sicilia

9. Ricotta Affumicata [“smoked”] Calabra – Calabria

10. Erborinato [“with herbs”] di Pecora – Tretino-Alto Adige

We tasted a number of the in pairs to contrast their flavors cheeses (1 and 2 (both ricottas), 3 and 4 (produced 80 miles apart in an area of mountainous national parks - Parco Nazionale dei Monti Sibillini and Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga), and 5 and 6 (both from the Pienza area of Toscana)). The cheeses were all interesting, and, as you can see from the map, were produced all over Italy.

Alex, Cass and I agreed that our favorites of the evening were the Pecorino Monti Sibillini Latte Crudo from the Sibillini Mountains and the Pecorino di Pienza Stagionato (perhaps produced by the very sheep in the above photo!). Nancy and I had visited Pienza on a trip to Italy in 2006. It is a beautiful hilltop town - see photo below - in the Val d'Orcia between the famous wine towns of Montalcino (Brunello) and Montepulciano (Vino Nobile).

Among the other cheeses of the evening two others stood out - the Piacentinu di Enna for its use of saffron (which helps account for its more vivid yellow color) and the Ricotta Affumicata Calabra for its intense smoky flavor. The Erborinato di Pecora is a blue cheese and quite good, although the one we sampled last night was a bit too salty for my taste.

Wil also talked a bit about the annual cheese festival (Cheese, La Forme del Latte) held every September in the city of Bra in the Piemonte organized by Slow Food. Wil will be leading a small group to the Festival this September (hmmm, what’s on my calendar for September??). Also on the cheese program front, Lynne Devereux – another instructor at the Cheese School – was in the audience last night and made some comments about the 3rd annual Artisan Cheese Festival which will be held in Petaluma in March and which Lynn is helping to organize. We already have signed up!

Wil thanking Ariel Clute and Arielle Segal of the Cheese School for their help during the evening

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Sardigna in San Francisco - Procededdu

I was sitting at my desk earlier this month when an email arrived announcing "La Ciccia's Winter Event: Suckling Pig! La Ciccia's staff is getting ready for this upcoming event on January 26. The pig has been ordered and the menu' is set....." That is what I regard as a call to immediate action. Happily I was able to score four seats for the dinner and without too much difficulty lined up three fellow pork lovers - Antonio, Tom and Robert - to join me for the evening.

La Ciccia (appropriately signifying "chubby" in Italian) is a wonderful restaurant located where Church runs into 30th in Noe Valley section of San Francisco. It is owned by a husband and wife - Massimiliano ("Massimo") and Lorella - who do a superb job of presenting authentic Sardignan cuisine - Massimo being from Cagliari on the south coast of Sardigna [incidentally the name of the island is "Sardigna" in Sardignan dialect, "Sardegna" in Italian and Sardinia in English - your choice].


"Su menu" for the evening was:

~ Ingaungiu de Terra (salumi and pickled vegetables)
~ Malloreddus a sa Campidanesa (Sardignan semolina gnochetti served with pork meat sugo and Pecorino cheese)
~ Procededdu Arrustiu (roasted suckling pig served with Sardignan-style raw vegetables)
~ Trutta de Arrescottu (Sardignan ricotta cheese cake)

Those dishes were accompanied by generous quantities of Vermentino di Sardegna and Cannonau di Sardegna. Everything was great. Apart from the pork, I really like the Malloreddus a sa Campidanesa which even has a hint of saffron - see a receipe here. Massimo and Lorella, thanks for another wonderful experience!

Ingaungiu de Terra

Malloreddus a sa Campidanesa

Massimo and Friend

Procededdu Arrustiu

Nothing wasted - la testa, con lingua, cervello, ecc - yummy!

Tom, not too close, NOT TOO CLOSE -- ohhhh, nnoooooooooo

Trutta de Arrescottu

Happy and well-fed porkophiles

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French Kaiseki in Mill Valley - An Evening at El Paseo

Our long-time friends Jeff and Karen were in town this weekend and we met up last night for dinner at El Paseo in Mill Valley.

El Paseo has been operating in Mill Valley since the early 1970's and has always been one of our favorite places to have dinner in Marin. It is located in a beautiful brick, ivy-covered building on a path that runs between Thockmorton and Sunnyside Streets in Mill Valley, just a few steps from the main square and the movie theater.

At night it is a very romantic spot-- in fact I noted on OpenTable that it was ranked the #1 most romantic restaurant in the Bay Area.

El Paseo had sadly fallen into a decline in the late 1990's and into the early years of this decade, but in mid-2006 a Japanese gentleman named Seigo Takei, who has a couple of successful high-end French restaurants in Tokyo - La Chouette ("the owl") in Roppongi and Le Coffret in the Ginza - purchased El Paseo and has turned it around. Seigo is a noted wine collector in Japan and El Paseo has always had an extensive California and European wine selection. However, Seigo also brought in Keiko Takahashi to take over as Executive Chef and she has established a very high standard of cuisine.

Keiko was classically trained in Japan in both the European and Japanese culinary traditions and her cuisine at El Paseo reflects French, Italian and Japanese influences. Plus, she is married to Seigo!

Upon our arrival at El Paseo last night we learned that Seigo was in Japan, but we were very well taken care of by Kazumi Tei who oversees the operation during Seigo's absences. We were seated in the large dining room -- a warm, cozy space with soft lighting, a fireplace and excellent acoustics - no need to shout to be heard.

The menu provided the anticipated difficult choices (the items in italics are those which Keiko feels best express her efforts):

Jeff and I both went with the 4-course dinner, while Nancy and Karen opted for the 3-course alternative. In my case I had:

~ Big-eye tuna tartare with wasabi caviar and egg;

~ Forest mushroom risotto with truffles;

~ Pan seared Tai snapper with turnip and seaweed sauce; and

~ Roasted Colorado lamb chop "Provençal."

The others' choices included the duck pate, beet salad, foie gras, scallops, fillet mignon and duck breast, so we had pretty good coverage on the menu. Everything was good but for me the risotto was the standout dish of the evening.

As I mentioned El Paseo has a HUGE wine list - if you actually ask to see the list several volumes materialize. The wine program is under the capable supervision of Hide Hirabayashi, the Wine Director and Sommelier who was previously at La Chouette in Tokyo, and Hide was there last night to guide our selections. On past visits we have always enjoyed the pairings by the glass suggested for each course, and we decided to take that approach again last night. Hide made some very good selections for us (and was most generous with his pours) - in my case I had the following four wines to accompany my four courses:

~ 2005 La Poussie Sancerre [Sauvignon Blanc];

~ 2006 Arista Pinot Noir “Longbow” (Russian River);

~ 2006 Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay (Napa); and

~ 2002 Sympa Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa - a really rich wine!).

Further dessert wines appeared at the end of the meal. I had the Profiteroles to finish off the evening.

For those who do not want a full dinner, El Paseo also has a separate and very intimate bar area with its own menu. For a quick bite and a glass of something interesting, it is certainly someplace to consider.

Today was a beautiful day here and since I was back in Mill Valley to run some errands I walked down the path past the restaurant to take some photos of the building in the morning sun, including some of the tiles and mosaics set in the walls. It is a great spot during the day too.

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Across the Pond at the Cheese School - Cheeses of the British Isles

Alex, Cass and I were back at the Cheese School of San Francisco last night, this time with our friend, Yutaka, in tow. Last night's program, "Cheeses of the British Isles," was taught by Judy Creighton, one of the School's regular instructors (with whom we had previously taken the School's "Primer" class). We had enjoyed Judy's prior program and the description of the course sounded interesting:

"Conventional wisdom says don’t look to the British Isles for delicious native foods. But conventional wisdom gets turned on its head in the case of cheese and dairy goods. Cheddar originated in England – and was certainly raised to a high art there. And clotted cream? To die for! From the whimsical (Stinking Bishop and Wensleydale) to the inspirational (the UK has been at the forefront of the farmstead revival movement), this tasting trip to the British Isles will surprise, inform and delight any cheese lover."

Although as previously reported, we have been to several classes at the School, this was the first we had attended which had any focus on British cheeses.

The School is such a pleasant spot to go in the evening and we were warmly welcomed by the Schools staff, Sara and Abby, and also Rebecca who recently joined the School after a stint at Cowgirl Creamery. While we were waiting for the class to start we were served some Magners Irish Cider which, together with Newcastle Brown Ale, was the accompaniment for the evening's cheeses.

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Yutaka in the "Classroom"

Judy started out with an overview of some of the factors that have shaped the current state of cheese production in the British Isles, including the industrial revolution and the two World Wars that resulted in industrialization of cheese making and the loss of higher quality and small-scale artisanal production. However, through the efforts of various individuals and companies - including notably Neal's Yard Dairy (which, among other things, has an excellent website) - farmhouse production of traditional as well as some interesting modern cheeses has revived.

Judy had arranged a selection of 9 cheeses for the evening with representatives from England, Scotland and Ireland. We enjoyed the following (in each case showing the cheese's name, the producer, the production location and milk type):

1. Appleby’s Cheshire – Appleby’s of Hawkstone (Hawkstone Abbey Farm) – England (Shropshire) – Cow (raw) -- a "crumbly" cheese

2. Coolea - Coolea Farmhouse Cheese – Ireland (County Cork) – Cow (pasteurized)

3. Isle of Mull Cheddar – Isle of Mull Cheese (Sgriob-Ruadh Farm) – Scotland (Isle of Mull, Inner Hebrides) – Cow (raw)

4. Montgomery’s Cheddar – Manor Farm – England (Somerset) – Cow (raw)

5. Berkswell – Ram Hall Farm – England (West Midlands) – Sheep (raw)

6. Ardrahan – Mary Burns – Ireland (County Cork) – Cow (pasteurized) - washed rind

7. Stinking Bishop - Charles Martell and Son (Laurel Farm) – England (Gloucestershire) – Cow (pasteurized) - washed rind

8. Crozier Blue - J & L Grubb Ltd. – Ireland (County Tipperary) – Sheep (pasteurized)

9. Colston Basset Stilton – Colston Basset & District Dairy – England (Nottinghamshire) – Cow (pasteurized)

Here is a photo of the 9 cheeses we tried last night, together with a map of the British Isles showing the location of their production:

Of the cheese we tried, my favorites (reflecting my sheep milk preference) were the Berkswell and the Crozier Blue. Alex picked the Montgomery's Cheddar and Coolea as his top two and Cass picked the Montgomery's Cheddar and Crozier Blue as her top two.

Incidentally, while the Stinking Bishop cheese is a washed rind cheese and certainly pungent as a result (too much for poor Alex), its name does not derive from its aroma. Rather, it takes its name from a variety of pear which is used to produce a beverage named "perry" which is used as the washing solution for the cheese. The cheese also gained recognition when it appeared in the animated movie, "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)," where it is used by Gromit to revive an unconscious Wallace -- happily no such medical application was required last night. There is a very entertaining interview from 2005 with Charles Martell, the cheesemaker, which can be found on NPR.

In addition, here is a very nice post from the FX Cuisine blog reporting on a visit to the Montgomery's Cheddar dairy which has some excellent photos of the cheddar-making process.

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Martin Luther King' Day and His Dream

Today is Martin Luther King Day. Yesterday's New York Time's Book Review focused on tomorrow's inauguration and the new Obama administration. Among the reviews was one by Anthony Lewis - "A New National Scripture" - of the book King's Dream by Eric Sundquist, a professor of literature at UCLA. Per Lewis, Professor Sundquist's book "analyzes the origins and meanings of Martin Luther King's famous ["I have a dream"] speech," given on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, as part of the March on Washington events.

I watched Dr. King's speech again on YouTube this morning, and the full text can be found at this website.

No matter how many times I hear the speech, it never fails to inspire. This was especially the case this morning, only a day after we watched yesterday's pre-inauguration concert set on the very same steps from which Dr. King delivered his speech (although there was probably a temperature difference of 60 or 70 degrees between the two events!). I have not yet read Professor Sundquist's book but learned from Lewis' review that roughly the last third of the speech -- the part that contains the famous "I have a dream" portions -- was extemporized by Dr. King on the spot that day. If you watch the clip you will see that Dr. King's speech is interrupted by applause just after the 12:00 mark - just after the following portion:


"I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.


Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair."


Prior to that point of the speech Dr. King had been following a text he had prepared -- you can see earlier in the clip that he looks down at his notes (in the days before teleprompters) from time to time. However, after his pause to allow the applause to die down, he delivers the following and never looks down again for the balance of the speech:


"So even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream...."


Truly remarkable. Thank you again Dr. King. Continue Reading »

Herring on the Bay

When I got down to the bottom of the hill this morning in Sausalito I saw that the herring boats are back for the herring season. A number of them were moored just off the Sausalito shoreline and the buoys marking their nets were visible not far from shore, together with flocks of seabirds and some very happy-sounding seals.

The herring and those boats have made an annual appearance on the Bay for as long as we have lived here, and it was good to see them back again this year, given that catches have been declining in the recent past. I believe that most of the catch is still exported to Japan each year. The boats also haul in kelp in order to harvest the herring roe – called kazu-no-ko in Japanese – which the herring lay on the kelp, and which is a special delicacy in Japan. Needless to say, it is that roe, together with the fish themselves, which draws all of the seabirds and seals.

For any who may be interested in learning more, the Bay Model Visitors Center in Sausalito is holding a program entitled "Birds and Herring on the Bay" starting at 11AM on Satuday, February 7. Additional information about herrings and their spawning cycle is available here. Continue Reading »

Summer in, January??

It is hard to imagine a more beautiful day that the one we had today here in the Bay Area. The temperature was in the mid-70's, no wind to speak of, and if there were any clouds in the sky I missed them. At the risk of being trite, here are a few photos and a video taken earlier around the Golden Gate.

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