Below are some photos, please click on the link ⬇️
Even though we’d been up for 22 hours yesterday, and had a relatively early night, our body clocks were still in UK mode unfortunately. At least I got to write the blog for day 1, even though it was 3:30am!!
However, we did feel ok considering our broken night’s sleep as we’d slept some of the way on the plane. We were drinking a breakfast brew at 7am, so not too unsociable an hour considering.
After a leisurely get up, we headed out for breakfast. The weather at this point was as expected, it is often cloudy in SF in a morning. It was 13 degrees when we set off. We soon found Boudin, a bakers that was established in 1849, which prides itself on producing the Original San Francisco Sourdough. The breakfast choice was good; wraps, English muffins, sourdough waffles and crab specialities such as omelette or Benedict. The bread is all baked on site and the smell is divine. There are baskets of bread hanging from the ceiling being transported mechanically around the bakers’ hall, why I don’t know. Maybe to cool the bread, or deliver to the shop area. From the outside we watched the bakers in action. You can even speak to them via an intercom if you want to ask them a question!
Our next stop was a pre-booking at the Coit Tower. Booking is recommended as it gets busy and, according to the website, only 16 people are allowed up per hour. The tower is a concrete structure at the top of Telegraph Hill and is 210 feet high. It was built in 1933 after a local socialite, Lillie Hitchcock Coit, died. When she was alive she chased fires and helped the local firefighters to put out fires. She was an honorary firefighter, recognised through supporting Knickerbocker Engine Co 5 for whom she became their mascot. She bequeathed $125,000 to the city of San Francisco to “be expended in an appropriate manner for the purpose of adding to the beauty of the city which I have always loved”. So the Coit Tower was built in her name. Inside the tower, on the ground floor, are murals painted by local artists, funded by the US government’s works of art project. The top of the tower is accessible by a lift and this is where you can see incredible views of the city. It’s good to bear in mind the weather conditions as fog is very common here. Even when we were up the tower, the Golden Gate Bridge was partly shrouded in fog, even though it was clear and sunny where we were.
https://sfrecpark.org/Facilities/Facility/Details/Coit-Tower-290
Once we’d seen enough from Telegraph Hill, we headed back down Lombard Street and towards the part known as the crookedest street in the world. This is where drivers come to negotiate a road that has eight hair pin turns which are lined with beautiful plants and decorated buildings. You can access this part of Lombard Street by walking up 253 steps to the top. Here you can see brilliant views of San Francisco including Coit Tower and Bay Bridge.
From the top of Lombard Street we headed down Hyde Street and stumbled upon The Buena Vista cafe. This was one of the recommendations given to us by the locals we spoke to at the SF Brewery Co bar yesterday. This is the place where Irish coffee was introduced to the United States after the owner challenged a travel writer to duplicate the Irish coffee that was served in Shannon airport in Ireland. This was in 1952, the rest is history. Here, 2000 Irish coffees are served per day! We chose the classic Irish coffee served with a generous measure of Tullamore Dew whisky. We were then offered to try the Nutty Irishman, which the bartender recommended. He was a great salesman so we accepted. This was made using Baileys Irish Cream mixed with Frangelico and coffee, then topped with cream. It was a pricey place but listening to the bartender as his built his rapport with us was so worth it.
https://www.thebuenavista.com/home/home.html
We headed further west, with no plan of where to go next. It was not for long as we came to Umbrella Alley, just off Beach Street. This amazing place has murals on the wall which are perfect for making great phot opportunities. There is also an umbrella and balloon ceiling in progress. The place is full of bright and colourful murals with different titles such as Summer of Love and California Dreaming. A recommended donation is $5 per visitor, which helps support the artists.
Back to San Francisco Brewing Company for a couple of sours before we walked east along Jefferson Street towards Pier 39. Here it was buzzing with people there for shopping, dining and other attractions such as the Californian sea-lions. It is situated right on the waterfront.
Here we had a short period of time before our restaurant booking so headed to the bay to a small bar called the Luau Lounge. This is a restaurant and sports bar but had an outside tiki bar where we sat and had spectacular views of San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. We felt very chilled listening to a blues guitarist singing some well known songs.
https://www.playerssf.com/luau.html
We quickly finished our drinks and then headed to Fog Harbor Fish House. This was somewhere we had visited the previous times we have stayed in San Fran. Booking is highly recommended as it is always busy, unless you are prepared to wait as they do also allow walk ins.
As we had made a reservation we were quickly seated at a window seat (I requested this at the time of booking but it is not guaranteed). We could see Alcatraz from the window, and also some sea-lions sunbathing on the decking outside. Ricky was our server and was very attentive throughout the meal. It is mainly seafood on the menu but they also do steaks, chicken and veggie options. We shared chowder and sourdough bread to start, and then had our mains. We probably overindulged a bit too much as the portions were huge. If you love seafood this is the place to be.
We then headed back down Beach Street and listened to a guy playing music on the street corner. He played “The Last Time” by The Rolling Stones at our request. We had a bit of a chat with him and then he gave us a CD of his own tracks which was really kind. He’d already had money from us before this too.
Our bed was beckoning before long as we still haven’t swung round from UK time. Hopefully it will be better soon.
jctraveller 
Leave a comment