Monday, October 22, 2012

Minus The Cobwebs


I glanced around and said, "This place looks like some Grandma's big old house." 

"And it sure smells like it too," Sandy replied. 

The house is an authentic turn-of-the-century Victorian home complete with antiques and intriguing furnishings. It's pretty. But a little creepy.  It felt like any minute the Addams Family would show up.

Living Room - Chateau Tivoli Bed and Breakfast, San Francisco, CA
The living room is decorated with a collection of antiques.
Dining Room - Chateau Tivoli Bed and Breakfast, San Francisco, CA
The dining room already set up for breakfast.
It didn't help that we arrived past 10 p.m. at Chateau Tivoli, this bed and breakfast in San Francisco.  It was so quiet and there was no one around to greet us.  Our welcome note stated that the innkeepers were available on site only until 8 p.m.  Our husbands were still out looking for a place to park. (Yeah, welcome to San Francisco!)

When our husbands finally arrived, there was much discussion about whether we should look for another hotel to stay.  I was so embarrassed since I was the one who found this online.  But I swear, it didn't look like this at all on the website! And I felt awful since it was our friends' first experience in a B&B. But after inspecting our rooms, my husband said, "It's really not bad at all. I wouldn't mind staying here another night."

I heaved a sigh of relief. I was so afraid he'd shake his head and say, "I can't believe you booked us in a place like this!" Instead, he grinned and told me, "This would make for a really good story!"

 Aimee Crocker Room - Chateau Tivoli Bed and Breakfast, San Francisco, CA
Our room had a four poster bed with white curtains hanging from its curtain rods.
Aimee Crocker - Chateau Tivoli Bed and Breakfast, San Francisco, CA
The sitting area in our bedroom
Aimee Crocker Room ceiling - Chateau Tivoli B&B, San Francisco, CA
Detail on our bedroom ceiling
Though the bathroom was only 2 steps away from our bed, I held off from my usual bathroom trip in the middle of the night.  I instructed my husband to hold me all night long.  I was determined to keep my eyes closed until the next morning.

Thankfully the rest of the night was uneventful.  No paranormal activity whatsoever. When we all met up with our friends Sandy and John the next day, we admitted that the accommodations were actually comfortable.  So we all agreed to stay one more night.

That evening, when we returned from our day trip to Napa, we scampered around like mischievous kids and took lots of photos.  Silly, silly!
Living Room - Chateau Tivoli Bed and Breakfast, San Francisco, CA
Hubby in the living room area
That's me taking a seat by the window
Sandy and John goofing around
Hallway ceiling - Chateau Tivoli Bed and Breakfast, San Francisco, CA
Elaborate detail on the hallway ceiling
Chateau Tivoli Bed and Breakfast, San Francisco, CA
Chateau Tivoli Bed and Breakfast
By the time we made it downstairs on our last day here, guests were already having their morning meal in the dining room.  I would have wanted to try what they served for champagne breakfast but the rest of my party wanted to go someplace else.

We had the chance to speak to the innkeeper when we were settling our bill.  He's a warm and animated fellow who told us that this house is 120 years old. Before leaving, we flipped through the pages of the guestbook. We found that this B&B has welcomed guests from as far away as Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom and all the past guests commented on how much they adore this place. 
Chateau Tivoli Bed and Breakfast, San Francisco, CA
Chateau Tivoli in San Francisco, California

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NOLA 300 - Mardi Gras and New Orleans

This blog has moved to a new site:   curiousdonna.com/blog Read about  NOLA 300   here .