A day in San Francisco

Sitting here at Starbucks (free wifi - & the coffee is not bad either) looking directly at the iconic Ferry Building. Beautiful day even if a tad cold and somewhat windy (typical of San Fran apparently) but lovely in the sun.

Plane arrived on time this morning (unremarkable flight best summarised as: 1. Qantas staff excellent 2. Fresh fruit for breakfast was a waste of space. 3. only one decent film: Richard Roxburgh and Radha Mitchell in Looking for Grace - a quiet, thoughtful film beautifully acted by all).

I have been walking my sox off since arriving - and after alighting from the airport train at Powell St Station (there were a few 'characters' on the street here: one sang blues; another took himself seriously as an Elvis impersonator) - I took the (also iconic) cable car from Powell St Station over to the (iconic!) Fisherman's Wharf area. This is the world's last remaining manually operated cable car.

The cable car in fact is still in use as a commuter vehicle (not just for tourists); the locals hopped on and then hung off the side - all very cool. 

It is amazingly hilly here; it would def. be beyond me to ride these hills but I know a few of you at home would be undaunted ... truly, if there is a hill climber from San Fran in the Tour de France, then watch out.

I then strolled along past the marinas with views out to the prison island of Alcatraz. I wanted a chowder but they do it in a sourdough 'bowl' which really didn't appeal.

The market in the Ferry Building is definitely worth another visit another time: nice food places, wine bars etc. I had a yummy delicious chicken risotto ball.

I aimed for Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill but had to back-track towards Fishermen's Wharf to find the steps. Past nice little parks, very neighbourly; the steps passed through gardens of roses and hollyhocks and echiums - quite gorgeous and a beautiful time of day: late afternoon now.

I don't normally count steps but this looked like a pretty decent set so I kept count as best as my b-r-a-i-n could - and smelt the roses on the way...

I got to 263 and thought that was a fair effort; wrote the number down as I didn't trust the b-r-a-i-n and realised they continued across the road! Up to 384 (more or less...) and same thing: I thought I was done, but there were MORE! Up to 414. Definitely there now; woops, not quite: up to the Coit Building itself - add another 35. Total 449 - will need to CHECK THAT!

Views out over the various bridges: the Bay and Golden Gate bridges, Alcatraz etc.

Walked back to Powell St Station to take the BART (as the public transport network is called) back to the airport. Calculated I needed to leave town by 7:30 p.m. to allow for public transport, pick up bag from storage at airport and check-in.

The walk back was incredibly steep up - and mainly DOWN (ouch!) - trams chortling past with people hanging off the running boards - def. wouldn't pass OH&S back home but all full credit to the drivers! The operation requires pumping with one foot on a brake and the gripman also pulls on a lever which enables him to grip the cable - all very manual. The turntable at each end requires much jostling and pushing by at least 1 or 2 people, one even leaning on it with his back to push it (the cars weigh 7000kg!). The conductor at the back (as well as collecting fares) controls the rear wheel brakes when descending hills. Argh!

Past lotsa oyster bars (My Friend would be in his element here) and some gorgeous residential architecture (even if it wasn't always in the best of shape): some lovely semi-detached, multi-storey Victorian rowhouses with flights of iron fire escapes.

Deliberated about a drink at a bar. I noticed it is Happy Hour until 7 pm and it's now 10 to - so purrrfect! A Canadian girl (and she was a girl - well, a young woman...) I had talked to at the top of Telegraph Hill (puffing from her exertions; I am proud to say I found the climb pretty straightforward - show-off!) told me she found they make the drinks strong here compared with Canada. I'm glad we had that conversation - she's right! She and I had shared a sheltered space out of the cold wind at the top while I ate half a salami & cheese baguette I had bought at the market at the Ferry Building earlier.

So I am having an *Old Fashioned (whatever that is) in a packed bar (suitably called The Last Drop) in central San Francisco - and it will definitely keep me going for my departure at 11:30 p.m. tonight...


* An Old Fashioned is essentially a cocktail with sugar, bitters and brandy or whiskey.