THE Trip, THE Encore' :: San Francisco, The Last Hours, Street Stuff

Copyright 2013, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

May 12, 2013, Our last day in San Francisco.  After enjoying Lombard Street we decided to walk down to the bay, it is not that far and it is DOWN hill.  So, we did.

Along the way, gorgeous flowers:

As we wandered, we came upon Fay Park, a historic Thomas Church garden.  The garden is 1/4 of an acre of pure delight and respite from the city.  It was open to the public.  I found beautiful foxglove.  The few minutes that Man and I spent there, no others came to intrude, really, a surprisingly peaceful haven.

On Francisco Street, mail boxes drew my attention, my dark humor.  The street sign is straight, then the hill starts.  The mail boxes are not leveled, they are just set down, and so what if they are sorta, tipsy/drunken looking.  LOL

We stopped at a local bar, had a burger and a beer, then, down to the bay and the piers we walked, fishing boats - -

And, yep, Fisherman's Wharf.

Street entertainers:

You tell me what this was all about. Clever, bet he does really wonderful Halloween costumes - -

And, a one man band, he drew quite a crowd - -

Street something or other, kinda cute little cars (?) or bikes (?).  Helmets, hand brakes, let's go with bikes.  Wonder what kind of license you need to drive this, vehicle - -

We rode another electric type bus back to Pier One to get the ferry back to Larkspur, is this a cool interior or what??

Back on the ferry, our last look at the Golden Gate Bridge, through water spotted windows, almost as if the bridge is already a figment of our imagination.

Good bye San Fran.  We did not do you justice.  That said, we saw quite a bit in our short time.  We will not forget you any time soon.

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THE Trip, THE Encore' :: San Francisco, Lombard Street, So Many Curves

Copyright 2013, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

May 12, 2013.  After China Town, we navigated our way to Lombard Street, the TOP of Lombard Street.

Here it is from the very top, you can see all the way to the Bay.  Coit Tower too!

Curves, well manicured beds, brick streets, what's not to love?

Man working his way DOWN the hill.

There were people walking, and just about ALL of them were taking photos.  It was almost as much fun to people watch as to take photos.

Note the car of the far left, he is parked in his driveway!

Sometimes it is just ALL about THE car!

It just keeps going down and back and forth and back and forth.  This day there was constant automobile and walking traffic. I can only imagine on a Saturday.  WOW!  Gotta say, the views are spectacular.

Looking UP the street. Yes, indeedy, it IS steep!

Yes, there are cars in there, the shrubbery hides most of them in this shot.

At the bottom of the one way section of Lombard Street, photographers gather, standing in the street, trying to get a great shot.  Yep, me too!

I cropped the power lines and such out of this shot.  Since we did not get to drive Lombard Street, I have to wonder, if it is so much fun that some don't do it several times??

There will be at least one more post on our visit to San Francisco, then we shall head north, slowly for the next 6 weeks, overdosing in the left coast and all it's beauty.



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THE Trip, THE Encore' :: San Francisco, China Town and Chicken

Copyright 2013, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

May 12, 2013.

NOTE:  If you have a delicate tummy, parts of this post may offend.  Just saying - - you might want to skim the photos and not read.  I warned ya!

Man got his cable car ride!  He chose the route to China Town, here is our first look at China Town, from the cable car as it drove through the intersection.

The cable car stop was just past this intersection and we got off, and according to Man's map, he decided we needed to hike UP this hill. Someone is moving, see the moving van - -

This was wedged under the tires.  Man and I know those things, we use similar on Tana when we park.

So, there is Man, and his map, and THAT HILL!

Part way up, I stopped to take a photo.  OK, I really stopped to catch my breath.  Goodness, one block, one hill and I was toast.  My calves were spongy.

We walked a huge circle (err, square), one block up, one block over, one block down, and bingo, here we are back in the heart of China Town.  I never figured out why Man thought we had to take the route we did, but, we got to experience walking the hills of San Francisco, one time.  That was enough!  Won't forget it.

The facades were, well, facades and might I say, well done!

Some time along here came lunch.  And, thus began the hour of a food nightmare that has had long lasting effects.  I always hope to present fun and positive posts here, but the reality is, that sometimes life tosses in some disappointment.  Lunch in China Town was one such disappointment. Or is that excitement?

Let me preface this with a little bit about my culinary likes and dislikes.  I prefer the all American burger above all else.  I have never been a huge chicken fan.  I am not very adventurous when it comes to my viddles.  I don't want raw fish, I don't want fire in my mouth due to spices, I want lean meat, no fat thank you very much.  I am anything but adventurous when it comes to my food.  Pass the fries and the burger please - -

Man found a restaurant with an appealing menu, well the photos were appealing.  The entire menu was written in Chinese.  No English subtitles.  The staff spoke, well, Chinese for all I knew, with a side of English, we think.  Let's just say, that communications were a bit difficult, from our side of the table.  So, after a few questions, with responses that were not clear, we both ordered something.  Of course, there were chopsticks, which I finally managed to get replaced, with, well, silverware, cause, mmmm, I have never mastered chopsticks.  I am not a jack of all trades, and that is one skill I do not have.

Anyway, after what seemed like a very long wait, they brought us food.  I will say that I have blocked off the memories of some of this disastrous meal, there may have been soup. Yes, Man says there was soup.  I remember it being horrible.  Then the main course came.  Man had some chicken soup sorta thing.  It was served cold.  I had some chicken sorta meal, it was not served cold, and that is the best thing I can say about it.  I kid you not, it was the worst meal I have ever tried to choke down.  The chicken was awful, thin slices of ick.  Man's was even worse, and at the bottom, well, there were chicken parts that we don't eat.

Man was rather surprised, but, I give him credit, he did not reveal the chicken parts in the bottom of the bowl to me while we were still in the restaurant.  He hid the sight from me and did not tell me about it till we left.  May be one of the nicest gifts he ever gave me.  I was already beside myself and honestly, cranky does not describe my attitude after that horrible meal.  I was spitting livid.  When he told me about his soup chicken parts I went off in a first class rant.

I could not get the taste of that awful meal out of my mouth, we even stopped later and had a tall cold bear, the taste lingered.  Probably in my mind, but, don't try to convince my tongue of that.  That chicken was so bad that it was at least 5 months before I could put another bite of chicken in my mouth, and then it had to be deep fried.  I am not sure I will ever eat any form of Chinese/Oriental/American again.

Yep, we rank that meal as a HUGE fail.  For Man it was those chicken parts, for me it was just plain awful food.  The worst tasting chicken ever.  Really it was a miracle I did not have food poisoning.  GAHHHHH.

After this less than stellar experience Man and I walked UP the block got back on the cable cars.  Next stop, Lombard Street.

Onward towards Lombard Street, a last glance at China Town.

Well, it was a lunch for the books, we will never forget it, I can tell you that!




* BTW, if you are curious, chicken parts = chicken feet.

** My apologies to any of Chinese descent.  No offense intended.  This was obviously a perfect example of our not being aware of the cultural difference in our cuisines.  We learned about yours this day.

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THE Trip, THE Encore' :: San Francisco, Day 3, Ferry Ride # 2, Cable Car Ride # 1

Copyright 2013, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

May 12, 2013.  Our last day in San Francisco.  We hoped that today would go a bit smoother as we had some experience with the ferry, the tolls, the buses, the maps.  I did have a short hit, err, bucket list, including Lombard Street.  Man had on his bucket list China Town, and of course, to ride a cable car.

On the way to the ferry I check out flowers, people, scenery, and yes, even the drainage systems, I know, I am weird, but, I find this minutia of daily life in places I have never been to be quite interesting.  "No Dumping, Drains to Bay".

We headed back to the Larkspur Terminal, paid for our tickets, chatted with people in line, all aboard, San Fran, here we come - - AGAIN!

San Quentin State Prison.  Did you know, the prison was "Opened in July 1852, it is the oldest prison in the state".  Man said he saw the prisoners in the yard exercising turn and wave to the ferry as it went by.  I missed that photo op.

Clear here, sea mist/FOG there - - - almost looks like a wall, doesn't it?

Sony Too finds the bridge, with a bit of zoom.  That sea mist/fog stuff is rolling around out there.

Part of Alcatraz Island, they have tours, we were not able to work one into our short stay in the San Francisco area.

Landing at Pier One we find that the vendors have gone home and the crowds with them, quite the difference from yesterday.

Out on the street, a reminder that all is not wonderful in the lives of many, shaving on the street, breakfast of chips and some orange drink.  Many of the homeless must sleep in late on Sunday as we saw several, some being kicked awake by store keepers who wanted to open shop, the homeless were sleeping in the doorways.

Yes, Man, you are about to ride the cable cars!

Riding, up, down, soon China Town.

China Town, and lunch time, next - -




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THE Trip, THE Encore' :: San Francisco, Riding the Bus(es), Pier 39 To Washington Square To Greenbrae

Copyright 2013, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

May 11, 2013.  We have walked, we have taken a ferry ride, we have eaten, we have seen Pier One and Pier 39 and I had a great time shooting the sea lions.  The day was growing old, we were growing tired and we still had to make our way from Pier 39 to the bus line that would take us back cross the Golden Gate Bridge to Tana in Greenbrae.

As we left Pier 39, you will find the Old Port Gate, and yes, that is a sea gull standing right at the very top peak.

From the Pier area Man and I made our way to Saints Peter and Paul Church and Washington Square.

At Washington Square since it was a Saturday, people were relaxing, enjoying the sunshine (yea, no sea mist here, but, just you wait, we shall find some again before the day is over).  Some football tossing, some sun bathing (brrr), picnic meals, dog exercising with frisbees, reading a book, taking a nap, cuddling with people you love.  Saturday afternoon in the park.

The street cars need power, there it is, interesting if I could figure it out, this way, that way, what a mass/maze.

Electric, and to the far left, non-electric.  Such a collection of different types of mass transit.  We saw old street cars, newer street cars, new street cars.  Buses of every vintage.  You could do a photo book just of the mass transit configurations!  LOL

We managed to find the correct corner, the correct bus line, the correct bus number and homeward bound we were.  The bus crosses the Golden Gate Bridge and, here ya see it, out the bus window, enveloped, in, yes, fog!  This was no sea mist, of course, on the other side of the bridge, the fog dissipated and the rest of the ride home was in clear, mist-less, fog-less, sunny skies.

I ended the day exhausted and overwhelmed by the "big" city and all that mass transit.  I was ready to head for the hills, or the ocean or ??  But, we had one more day, and Man convinced me we needed to give it another whirl.  Oh, voy!  Since we had not managed a ride on the cable cars, well, stay tuned - -




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