San Francisco - Day Three

After the alarm on the Husband's Blackberry went off at 4:30 a.m. (set for the other coast), I could NOT get back to sleep! Still a bit jet-lagged and too excited about everything I still have to see in the city, I tossed and turned until 6 a.m. when I finally pulled on some clothes and walked across the street to get some breakfast at Starbucks. But I didn't actually get out to begin my adventure until 8:30 a.m. when the Husband had to meet his crew. I only get to see him for the teeniest bit of time while we're here, so I try to make the most of it. Also, since he has to work and I am in vacation mode, I feel obliged to at least get him some breakfast and iron his shirt for the day!

Anyway, I started off by walking over to Powell Street to catch a cable car!!


I had to wait through a few, since there were plenty of tourists who had the same idea I did. And when there was finally a spot for me, I had to stand on the outside runner! Cool? Yes. Kind of scary, particularly when you're pregnant? YES! I held on for dear life, because they drive quickly up and down the crazy hills and careen around corners. The only concession the driver makes is to tell you to "tuck in" when there's something coming up on your side.

Needless to say, I didn't manage to take any photos during the ride. Instead I enjoyed the fresh breeze and the lovely city passing by. But here's the one I rode after I got off:


And my destination was Lombard Street, which is also known as the crookedest street in the world, even though it's not even the crookedest one in the city! Still it was beautiful and fully landscaped with hydrangeas. Also, people get to live in the gorgeous houses along the street. Sure, it's busy with tourists, but it's still damn nice!



This is the view from the bottom:


From here I took a little stroll and found a charming pubic garden:


Then I started scouting out potential houses to buy in Russian Hill, which seems like a pretty nice neighbourhood! ;-)



Then I hoofed it all the way to the water and walked out to the end of the pier. Check out this view! (See that little tower at the top right of the pic? That's where I was headed!)


After looking around The Cannery, which houses some shops and restaurants, I met my hop-on bus (my ticket was still good) and rode over to the bottom of the Filbert Street steps. This would be the beginning of my climb to the top of Coit Tower!

There were a LOT of steps! But there were also a lot of gorgeous flowers along the way:



And people live in houses along the climb! Crazy houses on the side of a cliff! So there were charming little garden gates and whimsical touches:



Check out this house right at the foot of Telegraph Hill, which is where Coit Tower is located:


And finally, the tower!


The main floor walls are covered with gorgeous murals. Here were just a couple of close-ups I took:



And then, after a disturbingly rickety elevator ride and another flight of stairs, I was treated to breathtaking 360 degree views of the city:



Those are just a couple shots. I took LOTS! I also spent a fair amount of time coveting the rooftop patios of the all the lucky people who live in the houses on the way up. They have seriously amazing views of the bay!

Also, the top of the tower is open to the sky, which was amazing on a gorgeous day like today (I could not be more lucky with the weather!), but probably isn't so fun when it's raining.


After heading back down a different way and taking a lovely walk past Washington Square Park and through Little Italy, I was DONE! So I stopped at this corner Italian restaurant from some gnocchi:


And then checked out this famous Beat era bookstore, where I bought a children's book based in San Francisco for the little being-to-be in my tummy:


Finally, I walked through Chinatown back to the hotel and collapsed! Seriously, I should have worn a pedometer, because I walked for at least 4.5 hours. and climbed more than 400 stairs. So there was some time to rest my weary bod until I could no longer resist the call of the stores, which are dangerously close to the hotel. Unfortunately, I've discovered that shopping for maternity clothes is no nearly as fun as shopping for regular clothes. Despite the presence of Gap Maternity and a huge Old Navy flagship store, I probably only had a few dozen items to choose from. I managed a tank top and a t-shirt. Sigh!

Dinner was a big bowl of noodle soup at a vegan fast food restaurant in a fancy mall food court. I needed to eat it in order to create enough energy to walk back to the hotel!! But now there's been a bath and plenty of hanging out time while writing this post, so I'm starting to feel human again.

Tomorrow? I'm thinking Golden Gate Park...