In all of my worldly travels probably the one place I've always wanted to go is San Francisco. Just last month I finally had that opportunity. My daughter and I were trying to decide what to do for a week of much needed summer vacation and after a lot of thought it occurred to us that San Francisco is "the" place we really had always wanted to see. So with a little help from my friends at Travelocity.com (shameless and well-deserved endorsement here) I was able to book two round trip tickets, a downtown SF hotel, and car rental for those days when we would be outside of the city all for around $800. What a bargain!
We flew from Milwaukee to Minneapolis to SF and had a great flight but due to some mechanical issues we were a bit late in our Saturday afternoon arrival. After collecting our luggage we made our way to BART which delivered us into downtown San Francisco less than two blocks from the Mosser Hotel on 4th Street, our temporary new home. Being late we opted for just a bit of evening sight seeing and then found a nearby Chinese restaurant for dinner.
Sunday morning we went to the Warf to sight see, shop, eat, and catch a ride to Alcatraz. We wandered the area back and forth saw a group of sea lions sunning themselves near Pier 39, and ate a delicious lunch of clam chowder served in sourdough bread bowls. After lunch we boarded a ferry for the "rock" and had a delightful time touring this once famous prison now turned bird sanctuary. Although we arrived during one of the hottest spells in recent memory the temperatures on the island were chilly with the winds coming in from the bay.
Upon return to the city we visited the famous City Light Bookstore and then Cafe Prague, a nearby eatery. We dined on very good breads and goulash washed down by a cool bottle of Czech Lion Beer.
Monday morning was devoted to visiting Haight-Ashbury. Jourdan fell in love with the former hippie-summer-of-love neighborhood and so did I. We ate a hearty breakfast at the reknown Pork Store Cafe and then made at least two full round trip tours of the best shops stopping at all of the cool places and vintage stores. Returning to the hotel we opted for a mid afternoon nap before venturing out for Chinatown. The plan was to eat at Dick Lee's on Jackson Street (Anna's recommendation) but Mr. Lee decided to beat the heat and closed up his small eatery until early August. I know the food is good but that was just too long to wait. So instead we kept walking and eventually found a nice place at a great price.
Tuesday morning we walked to Yerba Buena Gardens and the SFMOMA where we drank Peets Coffee and watch people walking by on their way to and from wherever they were going. By noon we had our car and were driving up Van Ness Avenue headed toward the Golden Gate Bridge and points north. But that is another part of the story so stay tuned.
