San Francisco/Napa Valley – 4

The next morning we picked up our rental car at Enterprise along Van Ness Boulevard.  They had moved several blocks in the time between our booking and arrival…our taxi was challenged to find the place.  It was now on the second floor of an ancient garage previously used as a car dealership.  The service was quick and we were on our way to the Napa Valley.  My iPhone map app got us out of town without a hitch and we arrived at Solage near Calistoga in less than 2 hours.  Beautiful spacious rooms and equally beautiful spa facilities.

We couldn’t get a table at the resort’s renowned restaurant, Solbar, until 8:30 in spite of reserving well in advance.  We arrived at the appointed time to discover that there were no tables available on the outdoor patio…clearly the place to be, for another 25 minutes.  We were seated in a corner of the inside restaurant which was 2/3rds empty.  When we requested a better table, the response was that “they were expecting more diners to be arriving”.  The place emptied out as we ate…no new diners arrived.  It was the only disappointing service/treatment we experienced during this California trip.

Mr. H. – Part 4

I had breakfast last Saturday morning with Mr. H.. He spent a full 1 1/2 hours with me. He asked probing questions and frequently interrupted to fill in details from his own experience. While we sat he tapped out a half dozen contacts with their coordinates for me on his Blackberry. He was so kind and generous and genuinely, it seemed, interested. At the conclusion of breakfast he handed me 3 CD’s that I assumed were “homework”. He accepted my band T-shirt graciously in return. We parted with Mr. H. pledging to follow up with several of the contacts.

The most revealing aspect of the meeting had less to do with Mr. H. and more to do with me. It was this overwhelming and distasteful feeling that I was coming across as a ‘victim’ with half my answers to his questions. “Are you going to the Folk Festival?”, he asked. I blurted out that I’d nailed an audition spot but had to back out last minute because my mother-in-law was ill in Montreal. “Have you gotten airplay on CBC radio?”. I explained why I thought I was blacklisted by CBC radio (legitimate reasoning…but still sounding like a victim). “What about the new DAWG FM radio station in Ottawa?”. I sent them a CD and they think it got lost… they suggested that I send another. When I reflected on the meeting, I shuddered to think how I must have come across. The bottom line here is that nobody…nobody can make this happen except me. No excuses. Life is tough.

San Francisco/Napa Valley – 3

We visited the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco which is filled with cool Jewish cultural art.  A scribe is completing her first torah scroll and you can observe as she works.  The process is well-described and interesting…many of the details were foreign to me (like the intent of the scribe must be correct in their heart and spoken aloud before writing).  Hebrew script is a beautiful thing to me.

We dined at Boulevard our last night, also along the Embarcadero.  Great fresh bread.  I had, yes, pork prime rib for dinner, starting with the dungeness & jonah crab salad.  It was good.  The restaurant itself is obviously a hot spot as well and visually appealing.  The ceiling in one section is slightly vaulted and made of brick…cool to look at.  Again, great service.  And good people-watching.

San Francisco/Napa Valley – 2

The second night in San Francisco we attended the production of Peter Pan in a giant tent.  The production was ingenious with video projection over the inner walls of the circular tent, reminiscent of the surround effect at Expo 67’s Bell pavilion in Montreal.  As Peter flew, the projected scenery transported him, and you, across the English skyscape.  Very clever and entertaining…but about 30 minutes too long.

Then we went to Bix.  The owner’s last name is shared with the jazz great Bix Beiderbecke and he was nicknamed Bix as well, the story goes.  Great jazz piano played live during dinner.  I started with the wild prawn cocktail…and they were huge… and had Arctic Char as my main.  It was okay.  Dessert was brownies and ice cream…a highlight.  This night we called for a cab instead of trying to hail one…San Francisco is not like New York or Montreal in terms of ease of finding a taxi.

San Francisco/Napa Valley – 1

On arrival in San Francisco, we checked into our hotel and walked down from Nob Hill, down the steep sidewalk along Mason and Powell to Union Square and just beyond to the restaurant Chez Papa.  It’s nestled along the Mint Plaza just behind the big shopping centre WESTFIELD where we picked up the cell phone.  I had a good hamburger and we could do a bit of people-watching (locals smoking a joint and some street people).  But the previous day in Montreal we had a GREAT burger around the corner from my mother-in-law’s place called Burger de Ville.  Very simple menu, lots of free toppings (the usual like ketchup, but also sautéed mushrooms and other stuff).  Jaw-dropping good burger and worth seeking out.  There’s usually a line out the door.

Our first night in San Francisco we ate at Waterbar restaurant.  Obviously it’s a hot place to eat and it was packed.  But we arrived and were seated immediately…something we experienced at every restaurant we ate at (where we had reserved).  As a side comment, we received exceptional service every single place we went in and around San Francisco.  It was a welcome surprise compared to the often indifferent service we get elsewhere.  It just seemed as though everyone in each establishment had been trained to cater to the customer’s every wish and ensure satisfaction.

Waterbar is right at the water along the Embarcadero, close to the Bay Bridge, a stunning view from our window seat.  The restaurant boasts several giant cylindrical aquariums large enough to accommodate huge fish.  I started with the baby iceberg wedge salad stuffed with lots of tasty little shrimp and had tuna for my main course.  The tuna, unfortunately, did not live up to expectations and had lackluster delivery…taste-wise.  It was 2 nights in a row for tuna…the previous night at Montreal’s La Sirene on Jean Talon which turns into Dresden.  Sirene’s tuna encrusted with sesame seeds and served rare was a treat.

Getting a U.S. Cell Phone – Part 2 of 2

It didn’t make sense NOT to take that plan.  Their cheapest phone was a nice and simple little Samsung for $30!  So I got a new phone and didn’t have to worry about my older unlocked clunker.  After I signed up I got a message that they added an extra $15 to my prepayment as a bonus!

For long distance calls, which are most of what we make, we use the easy Skype-to-go numbers.  You can register your cell phone numbers with your Skype account and then get access numbers with local area codes to access the Skype service without using the internet.  Costs about $0.02 per minute.  Because I get unlimited calling throughout the U.S., I only need one U.S. access number to make my long distance calls and the call quality is very good.  I found that duplexing was not great whether or not I was using Skype or regular AT&T service.

Getting a U.S. Cell Phone – Part 1 of 2

When we travel to the U.S., we have always purchased the Roger’s travel packages.  It involves 3 purchases…one each for cell phone calls, one for data roaming and the last for text messaging.  Ridiculous, time consuming and extremely expensive.  For our needs, we usually end up spending about $70 for each of our 2 phones.  The ‘minutes’ are only good for a month, so if we don’t use them all up in the week that we are away, we lose them.  This summer, we ended up taking a second trip to the U.S. the day after our previous trip’s minutes expired.

Enough.  I’ve always toyed with the idea of getting a U.S. pay-as-you-go phone just for this purpose.  I had an old unlocked phone and all I needed was a SIM card.  So I checked out the deals at T-Mobile and AT&T.  It was an education.  Both offered a similar deal.  T-mobile offered a SIM card for $25 and you could prepay $100 which would not expire for a year.  It ended up being about .10 a minute.  AT&T, though, offered a free SIM card and the same $100 deal.  But you could choose a plan that charged $3.00 per day (against the $100 prepayment) only when the phone was used and, for that $3.00, allows unlimited calling within the U.S..  So, we usually spend about 3-4 weeks per year in the U.S..  21 days of continuous use would cost $63 against the prepayment.  That would leave $37 for lots of texting.

Mr. H. – Part 3

It was Mr. H..  “Is this a bad time?”, he asked.  Oy…not at all.  I blubbered about being on a bike in wine country in California and he warmly recalled his last visit to a resort close by.  He then went on to say that he listened to the CD.  There were a few catchy tunes (he liked the ones with choir backup and ‘Wait’, with Maya Ethier singing lead).  He also offered some constructive criticism about my singing, saying he’d like to hear more vocal range (I didn’t tell him that I’m not sure there is any more range to hear).

He was extremely kind and warm.  He suggested that, when I get back home and get “caught up”, we should meet for coffee or something.  You’ve gathered, by now, that I will not need much time to catch up before arranging to meet with him.  What am I thinking is going to happen?  Not much.  But I don’t really know.  I’ll keep you posted.

Mr. H. – Part 2

I didn’t need to place a reminder in my calendar to know the date of H’s return.  I gave it an extra day for catch-up and emailed the man.  I received a quick response that he would give the CD a listen over the next few days.  I was leaving for San Francisco, but I still had a phone and email.  Oddly, H asked if I knew so-and-so.  I didn’t, but I made it my business to find out who he was.  Turns out he’s a singer-songwriter from the East coast.  I emailed H that I knew who the singer was, but didn’t know him personally…and asked why he had asked.  He responded “because he lives near you”.  Oh.

So there I was, on a monster bicycle in the Napa Valley when my phone rang.  Actually, we had an iPhone, a BlackBerry and a regular old Samsung…all set with the same ring tone.  It was like a circus every time the phone(s) rang, my wife and I never knowing which to grab first.  By the time I got the correct phone, the ringing stopped and it was a number I didn’t recognize.  There was a voice message, but I didn’t bother picking it up…I just called the number that appeared on the phone.

Mr. H – Part 1

A distant cousin (I have thousands) was married to a guy who attends our synagogue.  He’s also been in the local radio business for decades.  He has contacts within the (music) business…but one especially valuable one (I’ll call him Mr. H.).  Mr. H. has been in and around the music industry locally and across North America forever and has discovered artists and been extremely influential.  One of my younger brothers was friendly with Mr. H’s daughter about 30 years ago and I recall going to H’s home to pick him up once.

Several months ago I wrote to my cousin’s ex and asked him, as I was asking everyone, if he could pass along my CD to Mr. H.  Well, he was just celebrating a child’s wedding and leaving for the Caribbean and wouldn’t be back for several weeks.  I gave it a month and sent out the CD.  I gave it another few weeks and checked in…he’d given it to Mr. H.  I gave it another month and checked in.  I asked if I could or should contact Mr. H. (whose number, for obvious reasons, was not available to the public).  After a few days I got a copy of an email between cousin’s ex and H and, bottom line, I could contact Mr. H. in a few weeks on his return to Canada.