One week later…

So, we’ve been in San Francisco for a week and a day now and are slowly getting back into the swing of things.

Repatriating is a little more challenging than originally expected. Just getting the hang of tipping (since when was 20% the norm) again is a challenge. But it’s worth it – if for no other reason than being able to get the ingredients to cook latin american food: tortillas, black beans, hot peppers, cilantro and avocados. Sure, the amazing salamis for my Italian cooking are gone, but Molinari makes a decent local interpretation of a good northern italian spicy salami.

Magnolia has really evolved as a brewery – making fantastic British-style ales, but surprising me with a Kölsch that any native from Cologne would be proud to drink served in the proper glassware. Speakeasy’s Bootlegger black lager is a slightly sweeter version of a classic Kostritzer Schwarzbier that I’m hoping will be bottled – and 21st Amendment is putting out a fine porter and pale ale less than 2 minutes away from the apartment door.

For everyone who asked – the cats were real troopers – handling: a cab ride to the train station in Cologne, 40 minutes waiting at the station for the train, and hour on the train, 40 minutes stuck in queue at Frankfurt airport where they had to be taken out of their carriers and walked through inspection twice, 11.5 hours to LAX, a walk through customs, another inspection where they needed to be walked through the metal detector, a 2 hour wait for the flight, a one hour flight to San Francisco, 20 minutes walking to baggage claim, 20 minutes waiting for the bags, 2o minutes in a limo from the airport and finally another 10 minutes while we got the litter box ready for them. All of this, and Murat never even meowed, and Odessa quietly complained for only a few minutes. Within a day, they were both back to their abnormal selves, and both seem to like the new apartment (especially the loft area and the stairs for exercise).

The folks at the Toronado have taken us back in – and our first time back as a couple in years, and we got our old seats and enjoyed a few Friday night beers… but we’re also exploring around our neighborhood, finding good local watering holes and places to eat. Having Amici’s pizza two blocks away on one side and 21st Amendment a block away on the other is going to be very dangerous.

15 years ago last week we got married and headed to Pennsylvania to start a new life. From there, we went to Morgantown (West Virginia), Boston, San Francisco, Hartford (Connecticut), back to San Francisco, Munich and Cologne (Germany). But even in Germany, we left our hearts in San Francisco…

… and home is where the heart is.