GR&DF this weekend was a whirl of Christmas images and of course I had my camera!!
On Friday I braved shopping downtown at Union Square - what a nightmare of humanity. I am sure that shopping in a Christmas mob is fun for some, but I am not one of them. I already had in mind what I was looking for so I kind of knew where I was going. Aimless milling about is not fun!! I did enjoy all the decorations and lights and music - and I guess that the mobs are just part of the whole experience - It did seem that every store is tarted up to within an inch of good taste. Here is a snap of the big tree of the city that is lit up on Thanksgiving weekend. It is in the middle of Union Square and is really lovely...
The day was super grey and dingy so the snaps are less that sparkly. While making my way through the "guys" Macy's (yes there are two separate massive stores - one gals, one guys - here in SF) I did notice that the decorations where more restrained than in the "gals" Macy's. I got what I need to get in the "Hipster" section - I was shopping for my Nephew so I needed more trendy stuff than I buy for myself - I then headed over to the other Macy's and in addition to the store decorations they had a roving band of "Dickensonian" carolers - which was really nice and merry!! I stopped off in the "salon du parfume" and chatted with a friend of mine. I got a super buzz off the cologne being sprayed and stumbled out of there with a pounding headache. I hit a couple of other sections of the store and then made my way through the multiple escalators and back onto Stockton Street.
This is the outside of Macy's - Stockton Street - all the little white a red dots in the greenery are actually lights that blink and sparkle. This static snap does not look as nice as it is IRL. On the corner of Stockton and Geary is Neiman Marcus - in the old "City of Paris" building - they carry on another SF tradition ....
.. a giant Christmas tree in the front rotunda. It is just beautiful and so gigantic!! I then walked over to Market street and to Bloomingdale's to pick some other stuff up. This is a really nice store and there are some really great shops attached to this large anchor store in the large mall next door. After all my shopping was over I bolted for the underground and made my escape.
I take the underground to the Castro station and transfer to a bus. Here is a snap of the Christmas tree in the Castro.
I took it while I was waiting for the bus to get me over the hill and back home to Noe Valley.
_________________
On Saturday night we had a few parties to get to and by far the loveliest was the first one we went to... here are some snaps of the decorations...
Walking up to the house just puts you in the mood for Christmas as we were greeted with this lovely site.
Here is a snap of the tree from the inside. If you look to the lower left you can see a head peeking out....
It is Humphrey the camel. Chris got him and had his fez and cloth pack custom tailored for him - and a friend made all the little packages - he was a total hit - and so very festive!!
That about wraps it up for today. I'll post the rest of the weekend tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by, do come again!!
Take care,
edgar
On Friday I braved shopping downtown at Union Square - what a nightmare of humanity. I am sure that shopping in a Christmas mob is fun for some, but I am not one of them. I already had in mind what I was looking for so I kind of knew where I was going. Aimless milling about is not fun!! I did enjoy all the decorations and lights and music - and I guess that the mobs are just part of the whole experience - It did seem that every store is tarted up to within an inch of good taste. Here is a snap of the big tree of the city that is lit up on Thanksgiving weekend. It is in the middle of Union Square and is really lovely...
The day was super grey and dingy so the snaps are less that sparkly. While making my way through the "guys" Macy's (yes there are two separate massive stores - one gals, one guys - here in SF) I did notice that the decorations where more restrained than in the "gals" Macy's. I got what I need to get in the "Hipster" section - I was shopping for my Nephew so I needed more trendy stuff than I buy for myself - I then headed over to the other Macy's and in addition to the store decorations they had a roving band of "Dickensonian" carolers - which was really nice and merry!! I stopped off in the "salon du parfume" and chatted with a friend of mine. I got a super buzz off the cologne being sprayed and stumbled out of there with a pounding headache. I hit a couple of other sections of the store and then made my way through the multiple escalators and back onto Stockton Street.
This is the outside of Macy's - Stockton Street - all the little white a red dots in the greenery are actually lights that blink and sparkle. This static snap does not look as nice as it is IRL. On the corner of Stockton and Geary is Neiman Marcus - in the old "City of Paris" building - they carry on another SF tradition ....
.. a giant Christmas tree in the front rotunda. It is just beautiful and so gigantic!! I then walked over to Market street and to Bloomingdale's to pick some other stuff up. This is a really nice store and there are some really great shops attached to this large anchor store in the large mall next door. After all my shopping was over I bolted for the underground and made my escape.I take the underground to the Castro station and transfer to a bus. Here is a snap of the Christmas tree in the Castro.
I took it while I was waiting for the bus to get me over the hill and back home to Noe Valley._________________
On Saturday night we had a few parties to get to and by far the loveliest was the first one we went to... here are some snaps of the decorations...
Walking up to the house just puts you in the mood for Christmas as we were greeted with this lovely site.
Here is a snap of the tree from the inside. If you look to the lower left you can see a head peeking out....
It is Humphrey the camel. Chris got him and had his fez and cloth pack custom tailored for him - and a friend made all the little packages - he was a total hit - and so very festive!!That about wraps it up for today. I'll post the rest of the weekend tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by, do come again!!
Take care,
edgar
What beautiful photos, Edgar! Thanks again for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your beautiful Christmas photos Edgar!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! What an adorable camel display--if memory serves Bergdorf Goodman in the city here is "His and Hers".
ReplyDeleteChristmas in the City is just so beautiful. Though I am like you I would much rather enjoy the sights without the mobs of people...
ReplyDeleteI hope to make it up there before Christmas Eve. I really want to check out Macy's window displays.
Thanks for sharing your pics. Take Care and happy Holidays!!
Love all the Christmas pictures! Your friend's house is gorgeous! I love Humphrey the camel -- what a hoot!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing. It is so fun to see how Christmas is celebrated in other cities.
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures, looks absolutely gorgeous "Christmas in New York:) It is one of my wishes to celebrate it in there and Willamsburg.
ReplyDeleteHappy Christmas.
I'm with you...can't stand the Christmas mob!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the gorgeous Christmas decorations around the city.
Love Humphrey! :-)
I don't like shopping much at the best of times, so add a crowd and I am totally miserable! I love the photos, especially the trees! The camel is cute too.
ReplyDeleteYou actually made me want to shop with the mob, your pictures are that lovely! Thanks for sharing, and helping us feel all Christmasy!
ReplyDeleteLovely photos the the decorations,i enjoyed seeing them, i must say that our town decorations are very, very poor in comparison to yours, they positivly make ours looks like something from the reject bin, lol
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the crowd thing, one of the worse things about christmas.
I love that camel, I am such a camel fan and I can't explain why. I'm not surprised he was a hit.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your lovely Christmas photos Edgar and love your new profile pic :)
ReplyDeleteEdgar,
ReplyDeleteThank you my friend! From the bottom of my heart I give you the biggest hug from GA! You are very special!
Love you!
Donna
Edgar, your friend's house is so gorgeous- and beautifully decorated. What a perfect place for a holiday party! I love Humphrey too!Hugs, Nancy D.
ReplyDeletebeautiful Christmas photos all around! Sounds like you had a nice weekend (I agree with you on the shopping though).
ReplyDeleteEdgar, your posts are always fun to read !! You do so many different things. Merry Christmas to you !!
ReplyDeleteGreat photos - I remember taking the train up to the City to visit my grandfather at Christmas time (he worked in the big marble Wells Fargo bank on Market St.) The giant tree in the City of Paris was a highlight for us - as was the Santa and the carnival on top of the Emporium. And of course we always had to stop in at FAO Schwartz -not in the big glass building it's in now - but still wonderful when you're a kid!
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures, Edgar - it's really putting me in the mood to visit San Francisco - my parents are visiting me from Australia, and when they are done visiting my home in Texas, they will be spending four nights in San Francisco before heading home. They have invited me to come and spend some time in San Francisco with them - I'm not sure if the holiday budget will stretch that far, so we shall just have to wait and see. :) - I haven't visited San Francisco since 1987.
ReplyDelete