Sally, I'm with you. I'm not very excited about cities in general and I hate to shop for things like clothes, purses, home furnishings, so they have to have something else to lure me there like cooking utensils or great food or farm markets and cattle auctions, LOL. I love to visit Chicago, but I'm always glad to go home. Places I'd still like to see? Boston and New Orleans and I can't tell you why I want to go either place, LOL. Washington D.C. because I want to go back to the Smithsonian, Philadelphia because I would love to see Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, etc., New York City so I can visit Carol (dishesdone) and New Hampshire so I can meet San! Annie

I am glad you enjoyed the reading. It sure was a wonderful trip. I am now trying to get all the pics offf my cell phone...sigh ...no memory card...and then I will get the whole thing put together. Will keep me busy for weeks ! c

If you have a car, then I would suggest you go to Draegers Grocery in San Mateo on 4th St. and have the most fun ever. Outrageously expensive but the best upscale grocer in the Bay Area. Since you've been to Spanish Table in other cities I wouldn't bother with the Berkeley location, it's pretty small although it is nearby the Cheese Board, which is a great cheese store run by a collective (very Berkeley). If you like seafood, then eat at Sea Salt on San Pablo & Dwight Way in Berkeley, an excellent place for lunch that is one of my favorites. If you do have your car when going to IKEA, then Townhouse Grill in Emeryville has an excellent burger and good salads, but Sea Salt is not that far north, just a few minutes, and is much better food. Their lobster roll is very tiny but absolutely choice and with a bowl of their excellent clam chowder (full of bacon and properly unthickened), my hands-down favorite lunch in the entire East Bay. Good wine list, excellent coffee, very laid-back at lunchtime. Weather in the Bay Area has cooled off and the fog is back, so bring that Polarfleece vest, especially for the Marina.

Here is another Recipe, below. I use my Braided Bread Recipe , something like this one. But cut back on the sugar. Not sweet as some would have you believe. I put them in boiling water for 1/2 minute on each side and bake them at 400 Deg. This is what I like ??? Plus a lot of other foods. So I don't go Banana's over Bagel's and where they are from. I'm Thankful for any type Bagel. Lou - - - - - - - - - - - - - - New York Bagels recipe Ingredients: 2 quarts of water. 2 large eggs. 1 egg white. 1 potato, peeled and quartered. 1 packet of active dry yeast. 4 cups of all-purpose flour. 2 cups of boiling water. ¼ cup of vegetable oil. 1 ½ tablespoons of sugar. ½ tablespoon of salt. Cornmeal, to dust cookie sheet. Preparation Instructions: Put the potato into boiling water and boil for fifteen mins. Discard the potato and allow the water to cool to about 110°F. Transfer one-third of a cup of the potato water to a small bowl; then sprinkle the yeast over top of water and stir to combine. Set aside for three minutes. Sift the all-purpose flour, salt, and ½ tablespoon of the sugar together into a suitably sized bowl; then add the yeast mixture. Stir in another 2/3 cup of the potato water and the vegetable oil. Add the eggs and stir to form a dough ball. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until the ball is firm. Place into a greased bowl, turning the dough so all sides are greased. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and set aside in a warm place for about 60 minutes until the dough has risen to about double its original size. Punch the risen dough down to flatten and remove from bowl. Cut the dough into eighteen equal pieces and shape each piece into a six-inch long, ¾-inch thick rope. Bring the ends of each rope together and pinch to close, using a little water on the ends to help secure them. Cover all rings with the towel and allow to rise for 20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 450°F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet and dust with cornmeal. Bring the 2 quarts of water to a boil and add the remaining sugar to the boiling water Drop the bagels into the boiling water one at a time, cooking each for 3 minutes, turning once in the middle. As each bagel is removed from the water, place it on the cookie sheet. Paint the tops of the bagels with the egg white that has been beaten with 1 teaspoon of water. Bake for fifteen minutes or until the bagels are a golden brown color.