San Fran-tastic!

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Now you may have heard, as we had, that San Francisco is possibly the most beautiful city in the world… Now, not willing to just take someone else’s word for it, we thought we should devote a good few days to discovering for ourselves what all the fuss is about. Throughout our time in the Bay Area, we discovered a thriving and cosmopolitan city with sweet surprises aplenty around every corner…and we are not just talking about the chocolate! Here a few of our favorite things about San Francisco…




The Houses - If you have a bit of a thing for real estate, and like to go around looking at other peoples houses like we do…dreaming about the future mansion that you will one day own… then like us, you will truly love San Francisco. The streets are lined with rows of quirky, colorful terraced houses, each with its own unique design and details. No two are the same but the styles all coordinate under the grand blanket of San Franciscan charm and wealth. Some of the nicest, and most expensive, houses are in Nob Hill, Pacific Heights and Presidio Heights.




The Hills - San Francisco is built over a series of hills, several of them painfully steep, but all with a rewarding view from the top. It is the city’s hills that add to its character and beauty, make for some exciting movie car chases, and help to keep the residents, and tourists, in shape.




The Food - We barely even scratched the surface of San Francisco’s culinary delights, but we had five fantastic meals in five nights. From rich curry…to savory Thai…to scrumptious Japanese…to succulent French…we had an international smorgasbord! We checked out website called Yelp.com that provides reviews from local residents to help us find restaurants in our area. This worked a treat, not a single disappointing meal. Finally we have found an American city that can compete with the international flavors of London!




The Cable Cars - Ok this is postcard San Francisco, you gotta love those cable cars! Today the cable cars are a bit of a novelty and definitely a tourist attraction…but they were originally an integral part of city life and were installed as about the only mode of public transport that could cope with the enormous steep hills. They still do their job well and provide a break for sore legs going up those hills. After enjoying our compulsory ride, we hopped off at the Cable Car Museum to learn about the history and mechanics of the SF system…we even got to see the actual cables turning for each of the four remaining lines.




“The Rock” - America’s best known prison sits on a little rocky island in the middle of the San Francisco Bay. A massive boat takes around 300 tourists every hour and dumps them on Alcatraz Island. Once you are there, you are free to take your time and explore the infamous prison which is now a national park. The best part is definitely the audio tour of the inside of The Rock. The voices of former guards and inmates guide you through each section of the prison and recall what it was really like inside. The sound of footsteps, shouts and sirens really bring the deserted prison back to life as you walk through…it’s a pretty eerie place! After catching the last boat back to the mainland, we finished off the day with a quick walk around Ghirardelli Square, home to the world famous Ghirardelli chocolate factory, and two mammoth hot fudge sundaes…sweet!




The Golden Gate Bridge - Our initial drive over the bridge was a bit foggy so we decided to try another approach…we saw lots of people passing on rented bicycles from “Blazing Saddles” so we thought hey, let’s bike the bridge! So off we went on our tandem bike, along the bay and up onto the bridge. Unfortunately the fog was still about, but it was still a great experience to see the bridge up close. And later, on a sunnier day, we had the privilege to see a spectacular sunset just behind the bridge…gorgeous!




Chinatown - This is the largest Chinatown outside of Asia and really puts the one in London to shame. We enjoyed the extensive Chinese architecture, authentic shops and tantalizing aromas drifting out of the restaurants. Although I have never been to China, I can imagine that this place is about as close as it gets to the real thing. When you are walking through the amazing open air markets, surrounded by every kind of meat and fish imaginable, it feels like you have been transported to the other side of the globe.




Japanese Tea Garden - This perfectly manicured garden lies within the Golden Gate State Park and was a real highlight of our explorations. We parked the bike and took a peaceful stroll along the winding paths through manicured bonsai groves and past beautiful statues and temples. If you have the time, you can even have a cup of green tea in the open air tea room in the middle of the garden or perhaps a spot of meditation by the giant Buddha.




SFMOMA - The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is a real visual feast from the building itself to the extensive collections housed inside. With over 25,000 works of modern and contemporary art, you will find everything from abstract paintings to sculpture to photography…to down right weird. Much like the Tate Modern in content, the SFMOMA contains a truly fabulous and thought provoking ensemble of modern masterpieces and it is a collection that San Franciscans are rightly proud of. If you like modern art, this is a delightful way to spend a morning or afternoon.




A little song about San Francisco…

Houses on hilltops and nice tasty dinners;
The Golden Gate Bridge and cable car spinners;
Japanese gardens with flowers and springs;
These were a few of our favorite things…



That’s right…we lost our marbles in San Francisco…and on a slightly darker note, that is not all that we lost. The first thing that we, or rather Jennifer, lost was her wallet. Now, normally when such things happen you immediately call the credit card companies and cancel everything as soon as possible, it only takes a few seconds for some joker to wipe out your entire credit limit! However, Jen was feeling optimistic and decided that it could only be in one place, the café we had our lunch earlier that day. After I stopped pulling my hair out, stamping my feet and waving my arms in the air as only men can…I also decided that it may make sense to walk back across the entire city in the faint hope that some generous saint found it first and left it with the café…So, fortunately I was wrong and Jennifer was right, but she was just lucky…lucky I didn’t give her the thorough spanking she deserved! Seriously though, such generosity is rare in a big city, we felt exceedingly lucky and duly wrote a humble thank you letter to Peggy Lechich, our lady in shining armor. We included our blog link, so if you are reading this our kind heroine…we love you!



The second somewhat depressing thing that happened, which we only discovered on the morning of our departure was that our car had been broken into whilst parked at the motel. The miserable bastard put a brick through our side window and stole a bag full of my clothes and other bits and bobs. Fortunately our tent and all other camping paraphernalia were left behind; however we were faced with a formidable pile of broken glass to clean up. One of the items in the bag was my Pitcher & Piano fleece, so despite the rage brewing inside of me…it brought a smile to my face thinking that some miserable bum is walking around San Francisco giving my old company some free exposure, although I doubt that it would be the sort of publicity P&P would actively pursue. After a few hours on the phone with the insurance company we managed to locate a repair facility with a replacement window and soon enough we were back on the road.



I would like to stress that in no way did this unfortunate incident sour our opinion of San Francisco; it remains a fantastic city and one that we heartily recommend to everyone for a memorable vacation...just make sure you park your wheels in a sensible spot.

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Photos

Houses on the hill...
...up to the Coit Tower.

House on Lombard Street
"The crookedest street in the world"

SFMOMA
Entrance foyer

The Cathedral of St Mary of the Assumption
This modern cathedral is a work of art with long stained glass windows towering up to the sky.