San Francisco

After arriving in San Francisco on Monday to a thick cloud of fog, I hoped for better weather on Tuesday.  It was not meant to be, and instead began what has felt like weeks of rain and soggy clothes.  Despite the rain, I didn't want to waste the little time I had planned for San Francisco, so I threw on a rain jacket and checked out of the hostel I had stayed in.  Instead, I caught a cable car down to Fisherman's Wharf.

The view from the cable car

After the cable car ride (which really was quite fun), I walked to Ghirardelli Square.  Where there used to be a chocolate factory, it's now home to some little shops and cafes, a pretty fountain, and, of course, several Ghirardelli stores.

 

Yum.  After my delicious breakfast, I went back to Fisherman's Wharf, where I first explored the Hyde Street Pier.  The National Parks Service has restored some old boats and, for a fee, you can go on and look around them.  I opted to just take photos from the pier.

The shipwright shop, where they restore small boats (I think my dad would like this)

Hoping for some last minute tickets to Alcatraz, I made the long walk to Pier 33, but unfortunately they were sold out a week in advance!  Here are some offerings of other piers (I skipped a couple that looked like tourist traps)...

 

You can see my tasty lunch of clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl in the foreground of the photo.

By this time I was sufficiently waterlogged, so I jumped back on the cable car and rode down to Union Square.  There's a nice little park wedged between a lot of upscale shopping.

On my way out of town, I drove back over the Golden Gate Bridge.  It was still foggy and rainy, but I could see the bridge a little better this time (as compared to Monday)!