Traveling with the Jones

We recently took a 33-hour train ride on Amtrak from Denver to Emeryville, California before spending two nights in San Francisco. Having traveled this route on rail route created by the Central Pacific Railroad between 1863 and 1869, it seemed fitting to stay at one of the San Francisco hotels tied to railroad’s founders. 

The Stanford Court Renaissance Hotel San Francisco is named after Leland Stanford, the president of the Central Pacific Railway, and founder of Stanford University.

Located at 905 California St near the top of San Francisco’s Nob Hill, the Renaissance Stanford Court Hotel was built on the former site of Leland Stanford’s mansion, which was destroyed by fire after the 1906 earthquake. An apartment house was built on the site in 1912 with the site converted into the present day hotel in 1972

A Look inside the Stanford Court Renaissance Hotel – San Francisco

We stayed in room 455 of the eight floor hotel.

The king bed was large and comfortable.

The desk and view into the bathroom/closet.

The bathroom was a little strange with the closet and sink in one room.

The shower/tub and the toilet where located in a separate, but small room with a pocket door.

The toiletries were basic.

The view from one of two windows.

The other window view overlooked the Powell cable car line.

We found the service at the Stanford Court Renaissance Hotel – San Francisco to be a highlight of the hotel. From the check-in at the front desk,  to the breakfast service in the executive lounge, to the bartenders at Aurea, the staff was professional, engaging and great at their jobs.

What’s your favorite hotel in San Francisco? 

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• Views from San Francisco
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• Photo Friday: Terminal 2E, Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris
• Photo Friday: The Infinity Wedding Chapel
• A Peek Inside the Four Seasons Hotel-Denver

Are you rude and don’t even know it?

Time-stressed Americans, especially those traveling, increasingly exhibit behaviors that others find boorish and annoying.

Most of us don’t even realize that we are being rude, or we simply need a reminder of what most American’s consider to be the “unspoken rules of everyday behavior.”

Author Nelly Odessa explores this issue in her new book 99 Unspoken Rules of Social Etiquette: Are you rude and don’t even know it?

This easy-to-read guide is a terrific refresher for everyone, especially those who travel frequently.

Most of these “rules” are basic common sense, which doesn’t always happen so commonly today.

After interviewing a wide range of people coast to coast, Odessa created her “rules” based on the feedback of most common offensive behavior. The range of “rules” covered includes eating at buffets, umbrella usages, driving in the proper lane, using the escalator and being a good guest.

When reading this book, you will be reminded to give up your seat to elderly and disabled passengers and that personal grooming should be kept personal

Even if your manners are impeccable, and you always display common sense, a quick review of the book may remind you of a few areas for improvement.

Or, you might find an area or two where you disagree with Odessa, as we did with her “Serve it up” rule regarding wine or edible items that a guest brings to your party.  We often bring wine as a gift to the host and do not expect them to serve it at their party unless we were asked to bring wine.

Small quibbles aside, the 99 Unspoken Rules of Social Etiquette
improved awareness of the things that we might improve on in our everyday behavior.

Amazon prime members can borrow the book free.

What rude behavior bothers you most when traveling?

Other posts you might enjoy….

• 5 Travel Books to Inspire Your Next Travel Adventure
• The Monthly Delivery That’s Perfect for Frequent Fliers
• The Joys of Travel: Discovering New Office Supplies
• Working While Traveling? You Need a Better Mouse

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It’ Friday and we are celebrating a terrific week of travel highlights , inspired by Lauren’s High Five for Friday. From Denver to San Francisco we traveled by train, plane and ferry during this holiday week, enjoying good food, delicious wine and fun friends. 

Our Top Five Weekly Travel Highlights:

1.  Experiencing the culinary delights of Denver’s South Pearl neighborhood.  Our friends Mark and Tammi toured us through their neighborhood food and wine emporiums: Whole Foods for fruit, cheese, pate and bread; Salumeria Cinque Soldi for paper-thin-sliced Parma prosciutto; and wine shopping with knowledgeable sommeliers at Divino.  All made for a delightful backyard feast at Chez Dorsey.

2.  Riding Amtrak between Denver, Colorado and Emeryville, California.  The 33-hour train ride whizzed by, aided by spectacular scenery, friendly onboard service and a relatively comfortable sleeping compartment.  The train offered a unique view of diverse American landscapes through the Continental Divide and the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

3. Eating Meat Pie at Henry Hunan’s in San Francisco – with its deliciously crunchy outside layers sandwiching spicy meat and crisp lettuce.  Whenever we are in San Francisco, we make a beeline the Hunan’s at 924 Sansome Street, where we also love the shrimp chow mien and “VJ’s Special” chicken and cabbage with black bean sauce.

4.  Sailing on the San Francisco Bay on the Golden Gate Ferry from the SF Ferry Building to Sausalito.  The Ferry Building Marketplace is packed with hundreds of delights such as the Book Passage bookstore, the Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant to Boccalone the meat shop promoting “salty pig parts.”

5.  Discovering wine with a cute animal label wine that actually tastes good.  At San Francisco’s Pour House Wine Bar at 1327 Polk St we discovered tasty Haraszthy Zinfandel wine with a memorable bear label.

What was your best travel discovery this week? We want to hear about it, so please share in comments.

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