people. Being a Sunday everything was a little slower anyway but we had a lot to see. We walked down Market St. to the cable car line, stopping for donuts at a nice shop along the way. I think that might be our breakfast spot tomorrow, too. There were no crowds to speak of at that time of the morning.
We bought a day pass that was good for all city transportation (buses, cable cars and trolleys) and then took the cable car down to Fisherman's Wharf. Cable cars are based on a pretty primitive technology and the operators need to be on the ball. They seem to have a clamp and a brake and that is mostly it. You really don't see any 90 pound weaklings running the cable cars.
The weather was a little cool but the 30 mph wind that was expected never showed up. Once we got our bearings we started hiking along the Embarcadero. We encountered the sea Lions at Pier 39 and watched them for quite a while. They had a pretty good audience and I'm not sure who was watching who. Pier 39 has a lot of shops and it is a nice place to spend some time. Jill bought herself a knitted hat with ear flaps and a "bimple-bomple" on the top. It actually looks pretty good and is warm.
Alcatraz is the most prominent feature in the bay. Lots of people said we should be sure to see Alcatraz but I think that if you have seen one prison you have just about seen them all. It pretty much shows up in most pictures of the bay whether you want it or not.
There are hundreds of sailboats docked along the various piers. I can
't imagine what the docking fees must be and some of the boats don't seem to be getting much use. I have always been a sucker for sailboats and I took a lot of sailboat pictures. This one came by the pier while we were standing there and was so close and so quiet that we taken by surprise.
't imagine what the docking fees must be and some of the boats don't seem to be getting much use. I have always been a sucker for sailboats and I took a lot of sailboat pictures. This one came by the pier while we were standing there and was so close and so quiet that we taken by surprise. We walked back to Ghiradelli Square and got the obligatory cup of hot cocoa, made the way it should be made....and with a bunch of whipped cream on top....yum. And of course, while we were there a guy in a full clown suit came by.
San Fran
cisco is really one of the best places for people watching. We seldom heard English spoken for the first couple hours....at least American English. Later in the day we walked down Lombard Street and there was a group of about 15 Chinese men on some kind of a tour all standing in the street 
posing for pictures. Then came another tour group all dressed in red t-shirts followed by a group from India with the women wearing traditional Saris. These were all pedestrians. The line of cars trying to drive down twisty Lombard Street stretched back more than a block and there were kids on motorized scooters darting in and out of everything.
cisco is really one of the best places for people watching. We seldom heard English spoken for the first couple hours....at least American English. Later in the day we walked down Lombard Street and there was a group of about 15 Chinese men on some kind of a tour all standing in the street 
posing for pictures. Then came another tour group all dressed in red t-shirts followed by a group from India with the women wearing traditional Saris. These were all pedestrians. The line of cars trying to drive down twisty Lombard Street stretched back more than a block and there were kids on motorized scooters darting in and out of everything. The actual maritime museum run by the National Park Service i
s closed down until next year but there are a number of historic ships moored by the museum. There are actually a couple places with old war ships and old sailing ships. We walked out on the municipal pier and got some pictures and watched people fishing for crabs.
s closed down until next year but there are a number of historic ships moored by the museum. There are actually a couple places with old war ships and old sailing ships. We walked out on the municipal pier and got some pictures and watched people fishing for crabs.
By that time we were getting hungry for lunch. We wanted to eat lunch in China Town and took the Cable Car back up the hill to Lombard Street and hiked dow
n to Columbus and and boarded another Cable Car that took us to China Town. We ate at the Far East Cafe, supposedly the oldest Chinese restaurant in 
town and it looked pretty old and very traditional. Jill had her usual chicken fried rice and said it met her high standards. I had Lemon Chicken which was interesting -- a batter fried chicken breast covered with a sweet lemon sauce. Almost like a dessert, really. China Town was interesting but we were beginni
ng to get a little tired. We had trudged a couple miles up and down hills and had gotten good use out of our transit pass but the crowds were getting bigger and we had seen almost everything on our list for the day. We climbed back up to Powell Street and caught a Cable Car that took us back to Market Street. Jill had enough energy left to go on a shopping spree at a huge Forever 21 clothing store and she made some good buys. We rode an old Philadelphia streetcar up Market Street back to our motel stop. Our gourmet supper turned out to be carry out from the neighborhood Burger King. We have had a full day. More planned for tomorrow. 
No comments:
Post a Comment