Holiday Season in Alameda

We're home for the holidays and start with our own tree and a walk through our home town of Alameda on our way to a concert tribute to Andrea Bocelli.  On our tree are the ornaments that we've picked up all over the world.  And, leaving home, we see the town decorated for the holiday season and the holiday spirit is everywhere, with with Santa and the carollers on the green lawns (very California).

Our tree

 Holiday decorations in the neighborhood

Night will fall while we're at the concert and, once the lights are lit, the magic grows.  But first, the music:  Christopher Pucci, tenor of Julliard and the Metropolitan Opera Company (New York) is in town to bring us  a tribute to Andrea Bocelli, singing some of his (and our) favorite songs.

Tenor Christopher Pucci sings Bocelli

What a great experience.  We've been lucky enough to see Bocelli live once as part of the Three Tenors, and many times on PBS, and this is a great reminder of the incredible experience he and his music can bring.  We walk back through town and find the Alameda City Hall lit up for the season.  We especially enjoy seeing the bicycles from the LimeBike sharing program  (recently arriving in Alameda) parked in front of city hall, ready for riders to take them around town.

Alameda City Hall

Crossing Park Street, Alameda's main business street, we head toward Christmas Tree Lane (Thompson Street), where every December the residents light up their houses and the street and people come from all over the San Francisco Bay Area to view the result, some slowly driving up and down the street and many parking and walking with their families.

 Christmas Tree Lane in Alameda

Continuing past Christmas Tree Lane, we cross from the main island to Harbor Bay and immediately see Alameda's incredible view of the lights of San Francisco and the Bay Bridge across the water.  More Christmas jewels!

San Francisco across the Bay

We end our day with this magical moment and look forward to the rest of the holiday season.