Santana Row; S.O.A.R! in San Jose; An Authentic Italian Meal

We received a recommendation the other day: “do not miss Santana Row”. We had no idea what we’d find when we turned down the street and looked for parking. Turns out it is a very upscale shopping, dining, entertainment, and residential complex with a distinctive European atmosphere.

There was even an area set aside for chess, both on boards and the industrial size.  The clientele was definitely younger, with a good mix of Asian software types. After all, this is Silicon Valley. The clubs were busy and loud, even at 5 PM. We decided not to stop here; Rudy’s not fond of martinis.  

If you are looking for Gucci, Ferragamo, Diesel, or Burberry fashions, this is the place. Suzanne looked at a couple of Gucci bag price tags, but after hearing my comment that Wal-Mart had a much better selection, decided to wait. I’m always happy to help her with shopping...

Fortunately, Suzanne is not much of a power shopper, and I had cleverly waited until late in the day to take her to Santana Row, so she was now quite hungry. “How about Pizza Antica?” I suggested... We found a table for four on the sidewalk of this dog-friendly street; here are Rudy and Gretchen seated patiently waiting for their pizza bones after we finished our meal.  

 We had two small pizzas, one with fennel sausage, Portobello mushrooms and onions; the second with sweet corn, basil, bacon and a heap of arugula on top. Molto bene!

We were happy to see that romance is still alive and well here; this young man was presenting a set of earrings to his girlfriend... gee, they look like they’re in love!

On Saturday, Suzanne presented her S.O.A.R! Workshop to an enthusiastic group of participants from the Center for Spiritual Living, San Jose. While Suzanne was SOARing, I was able to get a mobile carpet cleaner to The Bus for some mid-tour freshening up. Because the carpets were still damp, we went out to dinner (what a good excuse!) at Vin Santo in Willow Glen. Owner/Head Chef Umberto is a neat guy from Italy who worked in restaurants in Southern California for 10 years before opening Vin Santo five years ago here in San Jose. His Assagio selection of four hand-made pastas was fabulous (the best we have ever had); the Ossobucco was “melt-in-your-mouth; I bent Suzanne’s arm to try the special Italian bread pudding. It was a delightful evening.

Last night was not particularly restful. We’re staying at the San Jose Elks’ Club RV lot, which is located only 3 minutes from the Center for Spiritual Living, the venue for the Messages of Hope documentary and the S.O.A.R! Workshop. This location could not have been more convenient for those events. Less desirable about our location was the late night pool-side party at the lodge with a Beach Boys-style band playing until early this morning, with their speakers only 70 feet from The Bus...

Today we are off on the next leg of our journey; we will be driving up the Redwood Highway to Eureka, in northern California, to visit friends.