Day Three - San Francisco Spring 2010

Thursday, April 8th.

Very unassuming day. I didn't really have plans for the day but I knew that I needed to get out and about. Plus, they were calling for temperatures a tad colder than we had yesterday so I was a little bummed by that news. I got dressed in an attire that could shift from warm to cold and swiftly left the hotel. I had coffee at the front desk with my blueberry scone from the day before and headed out.

I decided to walk along California street, determined to pass through Grace Cathederal, slight stop at Chinatown, thus terminating at the Ferry Marketplace. Mind you, I've seen all these places before on my first visit. But I didn't get to walk the first time. I took a cable car which, as cute and awesome as it looks, does not feel safe while maneuvering those hilly terrains and costs a pretty big penny (cost was $5 three years ago). This time I decided to walk. Not a very good idea still. I had my flat boots on which are comfortable but not functional. They lacked that rubber grip in their soles that you need when walking on rough terrains. This was very much needed because those hills start and end so suddenly, they are steep ascending and descending especially the Hills along California street that you fear that you will keel. The sudden descent was the worst. Without any grip to your shoes you instantly feel as if you would topple over and come sliding down. The sheer horror! So I took it one step down at a time. Several people, what I can only assume are SF natives, swiftly passed by me doing the one step at a time move and they had that scowl on their faces, where they can identify you as an amateur tourist.

After a couple of hills and valleys, I made it to Grace Cathedral Church.  The church was magnificient, intricate architecture, impressive details. I stopped to light a candle and thank the good Lord for my trip and pray for safe travels all the way through. Seconds later, the clock chimed for noon. The day had already begun on a good note.

This bag lady instantly hid once she saw me pull out my camera. She hid but left her "bag of goodies."

Chinatown. 

Very, very briefly. Also contemplated lunch here but I couldn't decide on which one. Not wanting to make the same mistake I made the last time by deciding on a lunch location too quickly, I held out (which was very hard considering how many blocks I had walked) for lunch at the Ferry Marketplace, which has very impressive array of food options. One in particular that I had eaten in the last time I thought I could revisit this time. However, I could not find it.

Ferry Marketplace had changed considerably. A few restaurants had appeared that were not there before like, I don't remember seeing The Slanted Door. Made a big mistake and walked into this swanky environment and was greeted by the menu filled with $18 salads. Hmm...I walked around repeatedly trying to retrace my steps and when I gave up, I inevitably ate once again ate at the wrong place - Delica.  I chose the Beef Curry dish. The rice was soggy and the meal had more curry than beef. It tasted so awful. At this point, an $18 salad seemed like a good deal. I decided not to dwell on this. I quickly bought tickets to take the ferry to Sausalito. Yay, hopefully things will look up there.

The Ferry ride to Sausalito was uneventful. A mad man sat in the section where I sat, a couple of rows in front of me and he instantly stank up the place. Yeah, Uneventful. The ride took all of 20 minutes and before I could pull out my camera and take pictures of myself, we were there.

Sausalito. This is one of those places that was mentioned to me during my last visit. But then, I was a little unadventurous. I thought what if it would not look as good as the person described and just generally thought it wouldd be an underwhelming tourist city.

So not the case. It was beautiful, picturesque type of beautiful. Homes facing the bay, scenic charm, blue water all around and tourist center shops lined the streets. Very tranquil holiday atmosphere. Words cannot describe it. I cannot imagine living here. Life would be so calm, you would wake up everyday and look across at the ocean and instantly feel rejuvenated and alive. Tourists cyclists paraded the wide paved road, squealing with excitement. It was beautiful.

I stopped for some icecream and a drink at Piccolo Teatro and just sat on the patio facing the tranquil scenery. The waitress asked me why I was so quiet, I simply replied that I was just taking it all in. We don't live like that in Atlanta, so to have a place where you can just sit and take in the environment and nature's beauty and soothe away the worries of the day you just have to grab that moment. Chatted with the lady in the Green T-shirt store (apparently green means they are overpriced) and the arts store (who knew oil paintings were left to dry for months, even years).

It was hard to tear me away from there but in the end I had to, I had planned on catching the second to the last ferry back to SF but apparently, so had everybody else, every cycling tourist that had probably arrived earlier that day on their bikes. Made it into the ferry and waited in line for the bathroom with a girl who had arrived from England, here to spend 4 days and then make her way to New Zealand before heading home. The British always know how to vacation well. She was obviously with a group so she scurried soon after to join her group. There I was, with enough time to take pictures of meself.

I made it back into the city with enough time to spare. Took a long walk through Market Street and stopped at Westfield Mall to experience their food court once again. This was my last stop on my trip 3 years ago. It was raining on my last day so I had to spend the entire day at the mall. I had just enough time to eat and tryto do some shopping before the stores closed at 9pm. I ate at the same Thai place - Coriander Gourmet Thai - I ate the last time only this time, because it was so close to closing, the portions weren't as fresh and tasted very stale. They also piled it on really high in a bid to try to get rid of it at the end of the day so my tw entrees and rice looked like a meal for 3 people. I was so ashamed of the mountain of food as I walked to a table to tackle it. Pity there was no refridgerator in my hotel room, because this would have made some good leftover food for tomorrow. I was barely able to go through one side before I was filled to the brim. Now, I really needed a walk.

A hop, skip and jump and a quick dash to the shoe department at Macy's in Union Square (I know repeat visit) and I was back in the hotel right around 9.30pm in time to catch a rerun of 30 Rock.