This past weekend we stayed at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco:

There is always a lush arrangement of roses in the center of the lobby:

It’s famous for its Garden Court:

…where we had breakfast every morning:

The hotel is also famous for this Maxfield Parrish painting “The Pied Piper,” which hangs above the bar in its more casual restaurant:

We thought the Palace suited the Countess perfectly:

She did too:

We had lunch before the wedding at Fisherman’s Wharf.

Our restaurant overlooked this:

The Countess ordered crab:

It was fairly large.

Kind of like this one:

We took a walk around the pier:

We saw the famous sea lions of Pier 39:

And finally, in keeping with the ocean theme, I give you…….seaweed:

How can you not love a city where the 7-11 has roasted seaweed snacks right by the cash register?

Tomorrow: pictures of the wedding.