Take Me Down To Chinatown

I knew I had to visit San Francisco’s Chinatown while we were there. I have always thought the Asian culture has some of the most simple, elegant and beautiful decorations in the world, and this beauty translates to everything from their clothes and architecture to their eating utensils. Also, I have a major weakness for paper lanterns. When I see a store filled with them, my eyes get really big (bigger than normal) and I have the urge to fill the entire ceiling of my little one-bedroom apartment with all different shapes and colors.
It was a gloomy evening when we got to Chinatown, making the lanterns look extra inviting. The only thing that stopped me from loading my arms with lanterns was that I would have crushed them in my suitcase on the way home. So, I settled for buying a new set of chopsticks and a pretty silk pillowcase. And the trip was not made in vain for Tommie either, who, while waiting for me to snap out of the "deer in headlights" trance I was in below the canopy of paper lanterns, found his favorite Asian candies (Kiwi gummies).

We spent the next rainy day at the Golden Gate Park visiting the de Young Museum, and during a break in the storm were able to scoot over to the Japanese Tea Garden where we took these pictures.