Fine Arts Optical in the Mission, San Francisco

The life of an occasional glasses blogger is, of course, an exciting one. And the past few weeks were no different as I headed west to California for my summer break. After a week or two of getting used to the way that most things are bigger and better than back in England, I stumbled across the Fine Arts Optical boutique in the Mission district of San Francisco.

It's the first time I've found glasses sold alongside hats - but I like it. And I loved the wide range of lovely frames on offer. Quite literally hundreds and hundreds of them - an amazing collection, many of which is handmade in the US.

Maija-Liisa, above, did a great job showing me round, and even retrieved her favourite buffalo horn frames from the special drawer by the desk, namely the Monarch, by Fine Arts itself. Rarely do you see such a light coloured horn. Price: $1200.

Well worth a visit! 888 Valencia Street.