San Francisco, California

After spending 2-1/2 months in Westwood Village in Los Angeles, I flew to San Francisco, California. I stayed there with a girlfriend for four months, September-December 1968. I was employed as a medical secretary in the Rheumatic Diseases Department at UCSF Medical Center.

I made many friends in San Francisco. There always was a party going on in our studio apartment on Clayton Street or in another friend’s home on Haight Ashbury. We all lived near the Panhandle, a short distance from Golden Gate Park.

The problem for me was the pot smoking. I disliked the odor of pot. And, it was illegal, too. So, while the others sat in a circle, passing a joint around, I sat on my couch and just watched.

Yes, I was and still am a “square.”

I attended a concert, featuring the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the great Seiji Ozawa. The hall was nearly empty with only a few people attending. Such a shame, really.

I also rented a violin and rehearsed with the orchestra at UCSF Medical Center. Yes, the center had many employees, who were musicians.

My friends and I dined at Ondine, a beautiful restaurant sitting on the waters of San Francisco Bay. I ordered a delicious duck breast, covered with an orange glaze and two slices of orange on top. It came with rice pilaf and buttered green beans with slivered almonds. Dessert consisted of a nice creme brulee. I had a glass of champagne with my dinner. It was all so incredible! I remember it to this day. And that happened in 1968, so many years ago!

We also drove through Napa Valley and had lunch at a quaint restaurant. The entrance had a trellis, covered with grape vines. Again, we had a nice lunch of poultry and fine white wine. Excellent!

It is so funny to recall drinking all that wine and champagne back then, because I don’t drink alcohol at all anymore. Alcohol is bad for the brain and the liver. I drink chilled apple juice instead of wine.

I recall dining at Fisherman’s Wharf. I ordered a lovely clam chowder, served in a round bread bowl.

Map of California:

Golden Gate Bridge:

A restaurant on Fisherman’s Wharf:

Clam chowder in a bread bowl (delicious!):

Cable car:

Golden Gate Park:

Panhandle:

Symphony Hall:

San Francisco Symphony Orchestra:

Ondine Restaurant:

Dining at Ondine Restaurant:

Napa Valley wine:

Restaurant in Napa Valley:

Ghirardelli Square, where all the fine chocolates are sold:

Chinatown:

Alcatraz Island, where notorious prisoners were once kept. The prison closed in 1963 and is now a major tourist attraction:

David posing in front of Alcatraz. He visited San Francisco alone in 2016. I canceled my trip, because a close family member had died, and I was too distraught to go anywhere:

As I said, I lived in San Francisco from September 1 to December 31, 1968. I returned with David sometime during the 1990s. It had not changed much.

Though I no longer have any friends in San Francisco, I do have a cousin, now 64 years old, who lives there. I have not seen him in decades and we are not in touch with each other.

San Francisco is a beautiful place to visit, but I would not want to live there. It is too damp and cold during the winter, and I dislike the fog.