San Francisco

  San Francisco, California, United States
Sunday, December 21, 2008

The weather wasn't that great for photos, it was raining, but we got a few scenic shots. We had lunch in this small town, which was just before we entered San Francisco. We drove in over Golden Gate Bridge into SF, a great way for SF's introduction. :o).

Golden Gate 1

 









Since it was still early, we went to change the car - the oil light came on, and we'd rather have another car that have to worry about this one. After 3 tries, we finally drove out with a Ford Escape Hybrid (the first car was out of our class for hire, the second had low tire tread, so the third we struck it lucky).

New Car

 
After changing the car we checked into our hotel, it was called the Renoir hotel

Renoir Hotel Room

, where we unpacked and decided to go for a walk down one of the busy retail streets and then grab some dinner in China Town (We had to do this considering they have the biggest China Town in the world, that is, outside China ;oP). 

China Town 1

China Town 2

No Evil

There was a persistent drizzle the whole night which was disappointing as it was predicted to be there our whole stay in SF. I found out that my waterproof jacket wasn't so waterproof, especially with a cell phone in the pocket; it hasn't been the same since.

Rain in SF

The next morning we woke up to beautiful blue skies and we ended up only getting a little rain in the late afternoon.
 
The first thing we did was find Lombard Street, the most famous crookedest street in the world they call it, that was fun to do.

Lombard Street 2

Lombard Street 1

Lomard Street Video

Then we had a bit of an emergency on our hands and had to find coffee to allow Sonja to partake in the day as well. After a bit of a headache in trying to find parking close to fisherman's wharf for a reasonable price, we just made the ferry with seconds to spare - we headed off too Alcatraz. We thoroughly enjoyed Alcatraz, walking around, listening to the audio commentary and seeing all the sights there. The island itself is quite cold and very isolated, but it has fantastic views of SF, and Golden Bridge. 

Golden Gate and Alcatraz

Alcatraz

Alcatraz Warning

Alcatraz Welcome

Alcatraz Rule

Alcatraz Jail Cell

Alcatraz Cells

Sonja in Alcatraz

Steven in Alcatraz

Alcatraz Cell Block

Sonja and Steven

Alcatraz 2

SF Skyline 1

SF Skyline 2

From there we came back to Fishermans Warf, and decided to go find the clam chowder in a bread bowl, which is legendary from this place.

Clam Chowder

It was delish, and we were also grateful to get out of the wind, and being able to sit. After lunch, we continued to explore Fishermans Warf,

Crab in SF Fish Market

  finally making our way over too Golden Gate too get a few shots of the famous bridge at night. We were definitely quite tired that night from much walking, and being out the whole day.

Golden Gate 2

Golden Gate Cable

Golden Gate 3

Golden Gate 3