Rediscovering San Francisco

Despite being very tired by the time we went to bed (10.00 PM local time, 6.00 the next morning back at home!) I slept poorly, waking frequently and giving up even trying by 5.00 AM. I got up soon after six to shower, which helped freshen me up, while lucky Chris slept on a bit longer.

Once he was also up we went out for breakfast at the Bluestone Cafe a block away on Sutter St, with good coffee and blueberry muffins. It was attached to a hotel with an interesting lobby décor, so we took a few photos there and in the nearby streets. The weather was misty with the taller buildings disappearing into the clouds.

We had to go to the car hire office to sort some details for tomorrow, so we did that first. By the time we left the sun had broken through the clouds and it was getting much warmer, so we popped back to the hotel to swap my jacket for a thin jumper, then made our way to Union Square.

Hop On, Hop Off

There we caught the HOHO bus as we'd decided that would the best way of making the most of our limited time in the city. We sat upstairs enjoying the sunshine and I managed to grab a few photos as we went.

We got off at Alamo Square to see the famous Painted Ladies. The sun wasn’t right for photos of them, but I took a few nevertheless.

From Alamo Square we decided to walk to Haight Ashbury rather than wait for the bus. It was a good decision as our route led along streets lined with similarly attractive houses.

We stopped for a cold drink and piece of cake then carried on into the heart of Haight Ashbury, the junction of the two namesake roads. As we went I took lots of photos of street art, quirky shops and some interesting local characters.

On Ashbury we saw the house where Janis Joplin once lived and another that was the base of the Grateful Dead. According to Lonely Planet,

It took nearly fifty years but in 2016 California did legalise adult recreational marijuana use in private!

Golden Gate Bridge

Then we decided to carry on with the bus tour. We had to wait a while for the next bus but when it came managed to secure upstarts seats again. That proved a mixed blessing as the mist had descended again and it had become decidedly chilly. And crossing the Golden Gate Bridge it went from chilly to freezing!

However by the time we got off the bus at the Vista Point stop the clouds were already lifting again and we had to hurry to get photos of the bridge with some mist swirling around.

Fisherman’s Wharf

We had learned our lesson and sat downstairs on the next bus, which we took to the Pier 39 stop. Also known as Fisherman’s Wharf, this is home to a colony of sea lions, our main reason for stopping off here.

When we’d taken some photos we bought an ice cream and sat in the sun to eat it before going to catch the bus back to our starting point in Union Square. We had to wait quite a long time for the bus, and even once it came it was a slow journey, so we were later getting back to the hotel than we had planned.

In the evening we ate at a pub a few minutes’ walk away, the Sutter. We enjoyed the draft Modelo Especial and the food was very good. I had a blue cheese burger with impressively crisp sweet potato fries, while Chris had another Rueben. And I was surprised to find that despite some jetlag and last night’s poor sleep, I wasn’t too tired to enjoy the meal!