Fay Park: A view of one of the to gazebos in the park from the lower level
I sometimes check out a very cool website/blog called Funcheap SF. A couple of weeks ago I was intrigued to find a listing for a secret barbecue, sponsored by Hansens Sodas. I am a bit of a fan of Hansens – they make really delicious sodas with no fake additives (except sweetener in their sugar free varieties) and no corn syrup. Anyway, it was free, so I RSVPd and was sent a secret password . . . ORANGE VERMILLION! Love it! Hubby was a bit cynical about it, but the location was on Russian Hill, at the foot of the crooked bit of Lombard Street, which was close to a ‘secret’ garden that hubby wanted to take me to, and to the San Francisco Institute of Arts, home of an amazing Diego Riviera mural that he thought I would like.
The barbecue was interesting. We lingered for photos and got free t-shirts and free cans of soda and headed off. The chicken sausages and spaghetti on offer food-wise was not appealing to us at 11am on a Sunday morning!
The advertisement for the secret barbecue on www.funcheapsf.com
Chicken sausages being barbecued at the food of the famous 'Crooked Street'
Barbecue guests eating sausages and spaghetti
So we ambled over to Fay Park, which was really a tiny little garden designed by famous landscape architect, Thomas D. Church. It is so tiny that you could very easily miss it. But it is a gorgeous little gem . . . a wonderful place to have a romantic rendezvous (we were the only people there when we visited), or a nice place to sit and read a book on a sunny day.
Sundial at Fay Park. Inscription reads, 'GROW OLD ALONG WITH ME. THE BEST IS YET TO BE'
Fay Park gazebo: A perfect place for a proposal
After pausing in the park, we walked over to the San Francisco Art Institute to see the famous Diego Riviera mural that it housed. The Art Institute itself is really pretty and very pleasant to walk through, with a courtyard and a pool with fish. The mural was amazing. I can’t believe it took me 2 years to come and see it. Read more about it here.
The entrance to the Art Institute of San Francisco
The beautiful courtyard of the Art Institute
"The Making of a Fresco Showing the Building of a City" by Diego Riviera. Apologies for the bad photo. The light was just not right for a photo!
The view of the courtyard of the Art Institute from the mural room
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