You know I love world's fairs and so I was thrilled to find out that the original building that was the Japanese Tea House from the 1915 Panama Pacific International Expo in San Francisco was right in the same town as where my friend Jim lives. It is a rare thing as buildings for the expos and fairs were not usually meant to be permanent. Even the Palace in San Francisco is a replica. Then I checked out the reviews and it so sounded just like Kitty's in North Reading that I knew we had to go! Turns out that Jim had never been there before although you could see it from his balcony. He is from MA too and I told him that I thought it would be like Kitty's and he was completely down for it. As soon as we walked in we died laughing as it even smelled just like Kitty's. What a trip in the way back machine for us both. Plus to know that I was in an actual building that amazed and excited so many during an expo - I was thrilled to say the least. After the expo some guy bought it and moved it by boat down to Belmont, CA so his daughters could live in it. In the 50's it was sold and dragged to the top of a hill where it became the landmark restaurant with an awesome view that it is still today - The Van's. World's fairs do not work anymore in this age of instant communication and information so what a terrific thing to find. It was great to spend time with Jim and The Van's was everything we could have hoped for.
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