The Golden Gate City

We got to San Francisco late Thursday night, so we just settled into our hotel and went to bed. We splurged and stayed right in downtown - next to Union Square at the Handlery Hotel. One thing we've started noticing on this trip: the cheap, budget hotels offer you free parking, free Internet, and free breakfast. The luxury hotels charge you a ridiculous amount for all three. It's total exploitation. But, the Handlery was super convenient, so we can't argue with that I guess.

Friday morning, we set out on foot to explore San Fran. While we're pretty used to walking and have toured many a city on foot, none have been nearly as hilly as this one! Our legs were like jelly by the end of the day - we were shaky and wobbly when we stood waiting for lights to change. Exploring on foot is still one of the best ways to truly take in a city, though. In many cities, we've happened upon things that never would have caught our attention had we just driven by.

In San Francisco, we first walked through Union Square and witnessed artists painting and selling their work, residents (or other tourists?) having their morning coffee, and professionals bustling around.

From there, we walked through Chinatown - the largest Chinatown in the country, in fact.

From Chinatown we headed into the Telegraph Hill district - a beautiful, quiet residential area with amazing views and houses (and hills!). In the middle of Telegraph Hill is the Coit Tower... this is one of the many things we happened upon accidentally that turned out to be a big tourist attraction. We saw a park and decided to climb up the steps to the top, and what we found was a giant tower dedicated to the city in honor of its firefighters. From the tower, you can see all over San Francisco.

From Coit Tower, we walked down to the Embarcadero and Fisherman's Wharf along the water. As we got into the heart of Fisherman's Wharf, it became more and more like Times Square in New York. There were tourists everywhere! We walked around a bit, started a love affair with mini donuts (which we've now bought many more times on this trip), saw the famous sea lions of Pier 39, and decided it was time for lunch.

Alcatraz from Fisherman's Wharf

We settled on a Frisco sourdough bread company called Boudin for lunch. BEST grilled cheese and tomato soup ever. EVER. It was so good that we decided to get a snickerdoodle cookie to bring things full circle. We were not disappointed.

After lunch, we headed farther around the Wharf to Ghirardelli Square. Yes, this is where the famous chocolate factory started (it has since moved off-site). And yes, this is about to turn into an even more unhealthy eating day. First, we relaxed on the giant field in front of Ghirardelli Square and watched people swimming (!) and sailing in the San Francisco Bay. Then, we headed up for another dose of sugar. The retail shops are all that's left of the Ghirardelli company here, but they offer free and liberal samples of their chocolate squares. We each had a chocolate caramel square and wandered around the store for a while. Since it was outrageously priced, and since it would melt in our car on the road, we decided not to buy anything. But, when I went back in to take a picture of the walls of chocolate, I didn't decline another sample. :-)

From Ghirardelli Square, we headed back inland and up some incredibly strenuous hills. The payoff was worth it, though - we got to see the most crooked street in the world! We meant to come back with our car and drive down it the next day, but we forgot. Bummer. Next time. Also next time? Alcatraz. I was dying to go, but after all the money we spent yesterday on Hearst Castle and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and since Tom's already been, we couldn't justify it.

We continued walking through town and happened upon the San Francisco City Hall building. By this time, our feet and legs were killing us, so we headed back to our hotel to rest and decide on a place for dinner. Tom found an awesome Indian place thanks to Yelp - it was super cheap and super delicious. We left full and happy and fell right asleep when we got back!

The "Painted Ladies"

Saturday morning, we checked out of our hotel and drove to the "Painted Ladies" since we hadn't gotten to them the day before. We saw some cool neighborhoods and parks en route and then we decided it was time to head toward our next destination. We headed out of town and over the Golden Gate Bridge. There's a pull-off right after you cross it that has great views of the city, so we pulled over and took some more pictures. What is it about painting a big bridge red that makes everyone love it so much? The scenery here is just beautiful...

Up next: Napa and Sonoma - more wine country!