Church & Coit Tower



I am ensconced for the next few days in the historic San Remo Hotel (more on this later), located in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco. The Bay area is having uncommonly good December weather, but aside from that and no matter what the weather: San Francisco is the most beautiful city in the United States. Photographic evidence to follow.

The San Remo is a short walk from St. Peter & Paul Catholic Church, where I attended Mass today, the feast of St. Ambrose, a doctor of the church and baptizer of St. Augustine. St. Ambrose was generous to the poor. He is the patron saint of many things, including learning.

St. Peter & Paul is not far from Chinatown and the priest who celebrated Mass was Chinese. Here are some photos of the beautiful church.




When ever I go into a church for the first time, I take a picture of the Ninth Station: Jesus falls the third time. I take comfort from this station for many reason. If Jesus fell, not once, not twice but three times, He understand when we fall. The suffering he endured with carrying His cross and falling reassures me that he also understands our suffering.


A mosaic of Our Lady of the Streets. This is my favorite depiction of Mary and the Baby Jesus. I love the gentle look on Mary's face and how she is holding Jesus so securely. We had this picture in my childhood home.

After Mass, I went to breakfast at Mo's. I've been mainly catching my meals on the fly, and this was the first restaurant I went to. Had a great veggie omelet. Thank you, Yelp!


After breakfast, I climbed Telegraph Hill to Coit Tower. 


In 1929, Lillie Hitchcock Coit died, leaving money "for the purpose of adding beauty to a city I have always loved." Coit Tower was constructed. New Deal artists painted murals, many depicting laborers,  on the inside of the tower.






Coit Tower is 210 feet tall (not as tall as some of the redwoods!). It affords beautiful views of San Francisco.

The Bay Bridge

Alcatraz Island

The Golden State Bridge in the distance

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