While I'm on the West Coast (in San Francisco) for a wedding and a visit with family and friends, I asked a few guest bloggers to stop by this week and share their love for the West Coast. Today, I'm thrilled to have one of my favorite people on board, Melissa of Ruby Press. I like to call Melissa one of the very few publicists who "gets it", a rare gem in the world of PR. I think part of the reason she's so awesome at what she does is because she once was on the other side, working as a fashion editor in New York. She's been camped out on the Left Coast in San Francisco for a decade now, and she's someone I look to for advice on what to do and see in San Francisco.
When Jen asked me to write a guest post about what I love about San Francisco, I stopped and thought about how I felt when I moved here a little over ten years ago from New York... I always thought of myself as a die-hard New Yorker, but I was careful not to compare New York to San Francisco when I made the cross country move. They are SUCH different cities, but I quickly found there was so much to love about San Francisco...the gorgeous Victorians, Musee Mechanique, wine country, vintage shopping on the Haight and at the Alameda Flea Market, but strangely, what I fell hardest for {besides my husband, whom I met 4 months after arriving on the West Coast!!} was something that doesn't exist anymore- Cliff House.
Well, I should actually clarify...my favorite incarnation of Cliff House was built in 1896 by Adolph Sutro {who also built the amazing, and sadly also gone, Sutro Baths}. This 8 story Victorian Chateau-style building was the third of five incarnations of Cliff House and housed restaurants, dance halls, art galleries, and of course the most amazing views of ships passing by and a vast coastline. It stayed intact through the big 1906 earthquake, but sadly, burnt to the ground in 1907.
P.S. The Cliff House today is much more modest, and must have the same amazing views, but of course lacks the grandeur of the Victorian version. Right up the hill, you can visit the ruins of the Sutro Baths as well, which I recommend.
{this image from here, but for more, fabulous photos of the old Cliff House click here}
