I think I fell in love with San Francisco over the past two days.

It could not have been a worse day to have a book reading down at the Ferry Building-- it was Pride Weekend and there was a baseball game, the traffic was atrocious and the crowds were extreme (in both volume and dress) and it didn't matter at all. I had so much fun.

First of all, Book Passage is the sweetest little bookstore. As they said, it is small but feisty.



They also said it has the best view in San Francisco, and I believe they may be right:





(Those are actually pictures from outside the store, but you get my point.)

As you can see, it was a drop-dead beautiful day in what may be the most gorgeous city on the planet.

And the reading was so much fun! Thanks so much to everyone who fought their way through all that traffic to be there!





You will notice that I am standing in front of the windows, which means it's entirely possible that what I took for enraptured interest in my delightful prose was, instead, an interest in the spectacular view. I can't blame them.

This bookstore is so amazing that when you leave, they present you with a box of stationery. Statonery with your name on it. Have you ever heard of such a thing? This place is, seriously, the best place in the world. Go there now.

This is what you're missing:



Today, I ran into about ten different bookstores all over the city, signing stock and hearing the fabulous news that the book is selling. Hooray! Music to my ears! I fell in love with no less than seven different neighborhoods, and informed J. that we had to move there immediately. As J. a) has a job which will keep him in LA for a while and more importantly, b) has lived all over the Bay Area for years and years and years, he was not as taken by this prospect as I was. Not to mention, he knows how quickly my tune would change when the fog moves in and the precious desert flower I am now starts feeling cold, oh the horror.

But that was not the point! The point is: love. Sweet San Francisco love.

Later this week: Portland and Seattle, here I come!