Day three was jam-packed with beautiful things: a languid morning at the Conservatory of Flowers, took in some art at the De Young museum, ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in front of a beautiful fountain, visited the rose garden, listened to a Mary Poppins-esque one-man band, and ended the day with a fabulous meal at (in my opinion) the best Indian restaurant in San Francisco.

Because day two was our Japantown day, not many photographs were taken. A lot of Japantown is indoors, with some really wonderful shops selling things like earthenware, bonsai trees, Japanese-language books, knick-knacks, clothing, unusual groceries, and–of course–fresh noodles.

When I wasn’t eating noodles or chatting with Japanese shopkeepers, I took photos of succulents. The thing that always astonishes me when I travel to the west coast is how easily succulents grow in the wild…

Even before we arrived in San Francisco, fantastic things were happening. Smoothies and french fries for breakfast, the speediest airport security I’ve ever encountered, and a gorgeous aerial view of the Rockies out my window. On our first day in the city, we visited some fabulous exhibits at the Asian Art Museum, examined a few thrift stores, discovered a delicious lunch spot, wandered up to check out the view at Coit Tower, and finished the day with a sunset by the bay, bread from Boudin, and free chocolate from Ghirardelli.

Well, technically these could be antelope cookies or star cookies or platypus cookies or… well, anything. Although I challenge you to find a platypus cookie cutter. Baking sugar cookies is guaranteed to make your inner child very, very happy. So dig out your cookie cutters, rolling pin, and food coloring, because you’re in for an evening of unbridled, floury fun.

Dear friends, family, colleagues, casual acquaintances, and indifferent web surfers,

You may have thought that I had stopped cooking delicious deserts to pursue other, more social pastimes. Maybe I threw a wild party, watched a football game, or even went clubbing. Not so. I’ve been quietly cooking and baking away during my few waking hours away from work, but simply haven’t found the time to share my experiments.

I’m of the firm belief that tarts are among the most rewarding of desserts to bake, because it always looks like you’ve put way more effort into them than you actually have.