Friday, November 15, 2019

San Francisco Part 2

I forgot to mention an important part of our Friday night after we ate supper - we went back to Target to buy the things we put aside in the morning, and we also went to Nordstrom Rack.  It's a good thing I didn't have a big suitcase, or I would have bought way more stuff at Target.  

Anyway, onto part 2 of my trip.  See Part 1 here

On Saturday morning we had planned to go back to Mr. Holmes' Bakehouse but it wasn't open yet, so instead we went back to Jane and got fancy toasts and coffee. 


And then we went to do something that I don't usually do, get a blow out!  We went to Dry Bar to have our hair washed and dried and slightly styled.  It was such a treat!  And then I didn't need to wash my hair for the rest of the trip ;)



Then we walked down to the Farmer's Market at the Ferry Terminal and stopped by the famous gates into Chinatown.

Cindy had heard about this food truck, Roti Roti, and we figured out it would be at the farmer's market on Saturday so we went out in search of it.  They had porchetta sandwiches and a chicken and potatoes plate.  Cindy had the sandwich and I had the chicken and we shared them.  All of it was absolutely delicious, and the best was the salt they put on the potatoes.  Luckily I actually found it at one of the other booths so I got a bottle to take home - applewood smoked kosher salt *chef's kiss*.

Check out how the meat drippings fall onto the potatoes below.



Another booth was selling oysters by the pair so I got a couple.



And we couldn't resist these pastries either.  I had the cherry galette, in the centre of the photo.

We walked back up to the shopping area and bought a few things and then went back to our hotel room.  Naps, beer, and chips for me :)

We went back to North Beach for supper since Megan missed out on the food tour.  First we went back to Mario's Bohemian Cigar Store Cafe for a drink and then had dinner at Calzone's.  I was trying out portrait mode on Megan's camera but it only focused on me, haha.


Then we did something ridiculous, we went to Kaitlyn Bristowe's podcast show!  When we were hanging out in our hotel room earlier in the day, I saw on Twitter that she was in town for a show (for those of you who don't know Kaitlyn, she was on the Bachelor (Chris Soules' season) and then was the Bachelorette herself, she is Canadian, and now she does this podcast).  We got some of her wine (Spade and Sparrows) and Cindy bought her scrunchies (Dewedit).  It was all slightly silly but a fun experience and plus the show was at The Palace of Fine Arts, built in 1915 as a temporary structure, and then rebuilt in the '60s, so that was neat to see. 

The next morning we were up early again to be first in line at the Buena Vista Cafe.  It was actual anniversary date of the first Irish coffee. This time I had the Mexican omelette, delicious!

The cafe complete with cablecar. 

After breakfast we waited for our bus tour to start.  We chose the Almost Famous tour with Dylan's Tours. The tour is on a mini-bus, and has an actual tour guide, not an audio guide, with a few scheduled stops along the way.  It starts in the Fisherman's Wharf area and ends in Saucilito, across the bay, where you can get a ferry or uber back to the city.  This is a very worthwhile tour, and very entertaining.  Our guide played relevant music throughout, told some lame dad jokes, and gave out mini chocolate bars for correct trivia answers.  

First place where we walked around for a few minutes was City Hall.


Then into the Mission District, where I wish we could have visited again.  It had some great looking shops and restaurants, including some legit Mexican food. 

A Barry Bonds /SF Giants mural.  Barry is from the Bay Area. 


Then we made a quick stop at the Mission Delores Park.  It was gorgeous.





Then onto the Castro.  Another cute neighbourhood I'd like to visit again.  This is the building where Harvey Milk had his photo shop and the painting on the second floor is him. 

From the Castro we went up to Twin Peaks.   We were there at the right time, the view was so clear and it was nice and warm. 




I wore my Raps championship shirt to troll any Golden State fans ;)

The next neighbourhood was Haight Ashbury.  We were stopped here to look at a house on the other side of the bus,  but I snapped this one because I though it was pretty, but then our guide told it was where the Hell's Angels hung out in the '60s.  

And this one a few doors down was where Janis Joplin lived. 

We stopped here for a quick bathroom break and I got a coffee. 

I'm sure this looks familiar to some of you, it's the houses from the opening of Full House (I bet you can hear the theme song now!)

I was trying to figure out what this church is and why I took a picture, but I can't recall.  I probably just liked it.  **Update (thanks Megan!) this church was in Sister Act!

This is the house from Mrs. Doubtfire.  Apparently when Robin Williams died people brought tributes to this house, but the owner was fine with it. 

We drove through the Pacific Heights neighbourhood and saw lots of beautiful homes.  

This view is from the Lyon Street steps.  It looks so clear out by the harbour and the bridge, but this will change dramatically by the time we make it to the base of the bridge. 


We drove down through the Presidio and saw some neat things - the Walt Disney museum, Industrial Light and Magic's headquarters (a division of George Lucas's film company), a military cemetery modelled after Arlington, some cool eucalyptus trees that were a gift from the Aussies, Crissy Field, and more!

Then we got down to the base of the Golden Gate Bridge and see, it was pretty foggy.  Completely different from when we were at the top of the hill.


Then we drove over the Golden Gate Bridge (where we saw some brave souls riding bikes and walking across through the dense fog), and ended our tour in Sausalito and into a completely different climate.  A beautiful sunny day, not the foggy day over by the Golden Gate Bridge.

See the fog bank, that is actually SF over there, you can barely make out the top of a building on the right side of the horizon. 


We tried eating at Bar Bocce, a cute beach spot, but couldn't get a table, so we took our tour guide's recommendation and went to Joinery Beerhall.  I had a grilled cheese and it was so good.   After lunch we wandered in and out of the shops, quite touristy but fun. We had planned to take the ferry back the city but we would have had to wait an hour so we just ubered.  

We wanted Mexican for supper and settled on Nick's Crispy Tacos.  The food was legit and after the football game was over (Americans love their football!) I got the bartender to put on the Raptor game (or the "Lakers game" as I called it when I made the request).  

Cindy and I headed to the airport the next morning, while Megan got some extra shopping in since she was taking the red eye that night.  Another successful trip!!

Linking up with AndreaErika, and Narci for Friday Favourites, because travelling is my favourite!

1 comment:

  1. Wow! You packed in a lot on your trip. I enjoyed seeing the sights with you (in your photos!). Thanks for sharing your travels.

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