Thursday - September 2nd, 2010
Ah, San Francisco, we're finally here. We stayed at this, I guess you could say rundown place. The view from our room wasn't too bad except if we have the windows open, we could hear the whirring of trains which runs quite efficiently every few minutes.
The good thing about this rundown inn is that they do 'serve' complimentary breakfast which on the first day was quite elaborate consisting of little chocolate cupcakes, cereals and oats, and coffee along with some sort of juice and milk. Not bad considering the arguments we have to deal with due to inconsistencies of product and services offered to all rooms.
First stop: Pier 39 at Fisherman's Wharf. Weather was slightly chilly (if stay in the shade) otherwise sunny.
Guess which shop we headed to first? Zoom into the picture, see if you spot a trend :)
We strolled along the entire Pier 39, bought some souvenirs and a small bag of cherries which costs a bomb $14, and proceeded to the end of the pier to snap pictures of AlCatraz Island.
Mom bought mooncake from this HK pastry store where we also bumped into two policeman on wheels so took the opportunity to take a picture with them hehe Now San Francisco is a very hilly town, so I asked the Asian cop, must be a workout having to ride bicycle up and down those hills, he replied he's only pretending to work, his partner does all the work hehe
Most buildings in SF are of Victorian theme, same is the case in Chinatown but of course they were decorated with Chinese elements.
South Gate Entrance
Mingling with the locals -- one final stop before moving to the next location.
Presenting: Lombard Street
It was quite fun driving down this most crookedest street in the world. But the thrill only lasted less than 45 seconds. This is a one-way-street as you can see the No Entry signs posted at two different locations at the exit.
After driving down this crooked street, we found parking nearby and notice the posted sign, we need to park at 90deg to the curb because the incline was so bad, my guess is probably 30deg? So the only safe way is to park as posted. Mom was constantly nervous about these 'situations' hehe
Pedestrians are allow to climb vertically (vs zig-zaggy) on this particular stretch of Lombard St. It takes less than 5 mins to finish that little climb. Once on top, great view overlooking the ocean and Coit Tower.
As evening approached, we noticed it was starting to get a little chilly followed by fogs rolling in from the distance. We stopped by a street lined with these infamous Victorian houses and snapped a few:
Next: Coit Tower at Telegraph Hill
Actually, we thought this marks the entrance to Coit Tower, so we tried to find parking and boy it was hard to do so because it was all packed. Well, we finally found one after 10 mins or driving around and we climbed up those stairs (sans Mom and Sean Ee) to the tower and discovered that there's a whole bunch of parking spaces available up there! So, I went back down, bumped into PCC who was on her way up the street and told her that I'll bring the car up.
The result of that, more photo-ops :)
Coit Tower with statue of Columbus erected in the foreground. Inside the base of tower were murals painted by local artists during the Great Depression. It was already 7PM when we reached there and they close at 730PM so it wasn't worth the $15 admission fee to get up to the tower. I asked the staff if it was enough time for me to get up there, thinking that I'd have to take the stairs, he said yes, then I asked him by stairs? He said no, by elevator!
View from atop with fog already well in.
After Coit, we settled for dinner at a El Nuevo Frutilandia, a Cuban/Puerto Rican restaurant. It was almost closing but we got there just in time before the owner locks the door. It seemed like the small restaurant was run by the owner herself, food came out pretty slow but was decent.
Ah, San Francisco, we're finally here. We stayed at this, I guess you could say rundown place. The view from our room wasn't too bad except if we have the windows open, we could hear the whirring of trains which runs quite efficiently every few minutes.
The good thing about this rundown inn is that they do 'serve' complimentary breakfast which on the first day was quite elaborate consisting of little chocolate cupcakes, cereals and oats, and coffee along with some sort of juice and milk. Not bad considering the arguments we have to deal with due to inconsistencies of product and services offered to all rooms.
First stop: Pier 39 at Fisherman's Wharf. Weather was slightly chilly (if stay in the shade) otherwise sunny.
Guess which shop we headed to first? Zoom into the picture, see if you spot a trend :)
We strolled along the entire Pier 39, bought some souvenirs and a small bag of cherries which costs a bomb $14, and proceeded to the end of the pier to snap pictures of AlCatraz Island.
We also bumped into a group of seals sun bathing by another part of the pier:
And here's another attempt of panoramic view of SF from the pier:
And here's a couple of the lau langs trying to walk backward in attempt to shield themselves from the sun... on flat surface!
San Francisco CHINATOWN!! Sooo SYOK!! Lunch at one of the oldest restaurants (so they claimed) and came up with a hefty bill and so pandai, included 15% tip factored into the bill already. If you don't calculate carefully, probably thought it was part of the food and then will add more woh!
Mom bought mooncake from this HK pastry store where we also bumped into two policeman on wheels so took the opportunity to take a picture with them hehe Now San Francisco is a very hilly town, so I asked the Asian cop, must be a workout having to ride bicycle up and down those hills, he replied he's only pretending to work, his partner does all the work hehe
Presenting: Lombard Street
After driving down this crooked street, we found parking nearby and notice the posted sign, we need to park at 90deg to the curb because the incline was so bad, my guess is probably 30deg? So the only safe way is to park as posted. Mom was constantly nervous about these 'situations' hehe
Pedestrians are allow to climb vertically (vs zig-zaggy) on this particular stretch of Lombard St. It takes less than 5 mins to finish that little climb. Once on top, great view overlooking the ocean and Coit Tower.
As evening approached, we noticed it was starting to get a little chilly followed by fogs rolling in from the distance. We stopped by a street lined with these infamous Victorian houses and snapped a few:
Next: Coit Tower at Telegraph Hill
Actually, we thought this marks the entrance to Coit Tower, so we tried to find parking and boy it was hard to do so because it was all packed. Well, we finally found one after 10 mins or driving around and we climbed up those stairs (sans Mom and Sean Ee) to the tower and discovered that there's a whole bunch of parking spaces available up there! So, I went back down, bumped into PCC who was on her way up the street and told her that I'll bring the car up.
The result of that, more photo-ops :)
View from atop with fog already well in.
After Coit, we settled for dinner at a El Nuevo Frutilandia, a Cuban/Puerto Rican restaurant. It was almost closing but we got there just in time before the owner locks the door. It seemed like the small restaurant was run by the owner herself, food came out pretty slow but was decent.
1 comment:
The Lombard street looks like quite a maze. Cantik noh the place
Post a Comment