Every winter, the swanky Fairmont Hotel in the Nob Hill neighborhood of San Francisco invites locals and tourists alike to walk inside their Gingerbread House.
The impressive structure is made with over 10,000 pieces of real gingerbread, over 3,000 pounds of royal icing, and about 1,650 pieces of candy, including sweets made by South San Francisco-based See’s Candies. It took about 400 hours to build the house, which measures 25 feet high by 35 feet wide by 10 1/2 feet deep.
In addition to seeing the Gingerbread House at the Fairmont Hotel, my younger daughter and I walked the giant labyrinth at nearby Grace Cathedral before heading to Union Square to grab a late lunch at a popular diner and peep another Christmas tree!
Here are a few snapshots from our short, but sweet excursion to my city by the Bay.
Gingerbread House Facts & Figuresbeautiful “Moët & Chandon” displaythe Enter sign says, “Wishing you a joyful season”“Santa’s watching – please don’t touch the gingerbread house. You don’t want to be on the naughty list”this nutcracker’s eyes and arms movelooks like someone sampled the real candya snowy village scene with ice rink and a mini holiday traina penguin familycandy canessilver menorah festive display in between staircasesa second mini holiday traina view from the grand staircase at the Fairmont Hotela statue honors Tony Bennett, who performed and introduced the song,“I Left My Heart in San Francisco” at the Fairmont Hotel in December 1961.flags of many nations at the Fairmont Hotel’s entrance (can you spot two driverless Waymo vehicles?)Grace Cathedral (Episcopal)the Grace Cathedral labyrinths were modeled after the one at the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres in Francefrom the Fairmont Hotel entrance, you can see Grace Cathedral There’s a 1959 Edsel inside Lori’s Diner, which closed during the pandemic but reopened in 2023a perfect burger and savory garlic fries at Lori’s Dinermy younger daughter admiring the Union Square Christmas tree
🎧 Listen to I Left My Heart in San Francisco by Tony Bennett (1926-2023) ⤵️
Bonjour: A Francophile Blog 