Week 5: San Francisco, Day 4

Woke up to foggy San Francisco! We took the bus down to Fisherman's Wharf to prepare for our tour in a vintage car with Mr. Toad's Tours.The weather report was for 69 F and sunny so we put on shorts, grabbed a sweater and headed downtown for our tour with Mr. Toad's Tours. The tour was great but the weather didn't follow the forecast and instead hovered around 51 F and freezing. Good thing there were blankets in our car but it was a chilling ride through a beautiful city. We did enjoy seeing the sights of San Fran from our vintage vehicle. I was especially blown away by Pacific Heights and loved seeing the gorgeous Victorian houses. This is the house from the movie, Mrs. Doubtfire.

Our tour guide had great insider information and it was a treat to get such an up-close look at the city. Fog shrouded the city views all morning but at least the bottom of the Golden Gate was visible! Here we are in blanket skirts trying to stay warm!

We enjoyed a stop in China town to see how fortune cookies were made and ate the most incredible pot stickers we've ever had. We drove by beautiful Golden Gate park and found our way to the "Painted Ladies", a row of 6 Victorians that a man built for his daughters so that they would continue to live nearby!

It was a great taste of the city and gave us a good idea of where to spend more time. We enjoyed a classic lunch of clam chowder in a Boudin Bakery Sourdough bread bowl. Yum!

After a dash back to the hotel to put on winter clothing, we decided to take a ride out to the Castro area of town. This is where Harvey Milk began his journey towards becoming mayor of San Francisco and fighting for the rights of gay people. His former camera shop is now a beautiful interior design store but this mural on the wall is a memorial to Milk's presence in this part of the city. The only disappointment was my losing my brand new transportation card after only using it for one ride!
In the meantime, we replaced my card, took a fun and thrilling cable car ride, stopped at the top of Lombard street and took in the breathtaking view of the city with Coit tower gleaming in the background, headed back to China town to try and get some more pot stickers but the little place was closed, and eventually found our way to Ghiradelli square where we indulged in amazing hot fudge sundaes!We were delighted with our first day in this amazing city. We loved the diversity of the neighborhoods, the ease of public transport and the wonderful sights and sounds of a bustling, beautiful city.
Tomorrow we'd head to Alcatraz.