Claire L
<font color=blue>Enjoys a good broadway show<br><f
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2002
- Messages
- 10,782
Saturday June 17th 2006
We were up by about 8am so showered and headed down to brekkie at Knuckles. The package I had booked included a full American breakfast so we were pleased to see a full cooked breakfast or a hot and cold buffet was offered. We both opted for the buffet and had eggs, bacon, toast along with various fruits. Also available was hot tea which actually tasted rather good. After having sufficient food for the day we headed out and first port of call was to Pier 39 to see the sealions.
We sat and watched them for a while before taking a look over towards Alcatraz that was slightly hazy looking in the warm morning air.
It was then time to have a wander down the pier and we stopped once again at the little food market and marveled at the size of the strawberries
They are huge even other American were exclaiming at how large the strawberries were. Resisting temptation to buy some with the dipping chocolate we went for a walk down to Ghirardelli Square as we had not got to go in 2003. On the way down we noticed a huge mist coming in, a normal sign for San Francisco, and it looked very pretty rolling in over and under the bridge.
By now it was 11am and we were rather thirsty so went into the little cafe in Ghirardelli Square for a drink and had a free sample of the chocolate, mmmmmm it was rather nice and we did mention about going back later in our stay to buy some but never did
We then walked back to the hotel and got the Jeep and went for a drive as there were certain things we wanted to see that we had missed in 2003. First stop was Steiner's Painted Ladies at Alamo Square. Eventually after going round and round several times and coming across one way streets, no left/right turns (which would be commonplace over the next few days) we found a place to park. These lovely Victorian houses are maintained as they should be and the backdrop of the city behind them is such a lovely picture.
It was a lovely sunny summer's day and being Saturday everyone was out and about. Next stop was Golden Gate Park and we drove around part of it and stopped by Stowe Lake where there is a hilly island in the middle. We decided to go off for a walk up the hill and were met with this view at the top it is hard to believe we were in a city really.
It really is amazing how big the park is but seeing it from the air gives a totally different perspective. Golden Gate Park is the huge rectangular area and the odd shaped one is the Presidio where we were next headed.
After our little walk we drove out to the coast and viewed the Pacific and then went onto seeing the Golden Gate Bridge.
We slowly made our way through the Presidio and noticed a lot of the old military buildings were still in a state of disrepair although some building had been refurbished and looked like an University was now using them. For our final place to visit for the day we went to the Palace of Fine Arts and had a wander round as it featured in the film 'The Rock'. I must say it was very pretty and tall!!
It was nearly 5pm and we had a quick nosey into the Exploratorium which looked very interesting with all of its science exhibits which were interactive with the visitor, but sadly it was closing so we only got a very brief look. Back at the hotel we had a short rest and then headed out for dinner deciding on the Hard Rock Cafe. We had to wait about 15 minutes for a table so got a couple of Bud Lights at the bar. As we didn't want an appetizer each we decided to share the nachos and then have a burger each. Service was quite slow and then our burgers appeared before the nachos so the burgers were taken back and the nachos soon appeared. We were only half way through the nachos when the burgers appeared which again was too quick for us Nathan asked to see the manager as the service was not what was expected and a discount was taken off the bill. After eating we had a walk back to the hotel and soon fell asleep.
Claire
We were up by about 8am so showered and headed down to brekkie at Knuckles. The package I had booked included a full American breakfast so we were pleased to see a full cooked breakfast or a hot and cold buffet was offered. We both opted for the buffet and had eggs, bacon, toast along with various fruits. Also available was hot tea which actually tasted rather good. After having sufficient food for the day we headed out and first port of call was to Pier 39 to see the sealions.
We sat and watched them for a while before taking a look over towards Alcatraz that was slightly hazy looking in the warm morning air.
It was then time to have a wander down the pier and we stopped once again at the little food market and marveled at the size of the strawberries
They are huge even other American were exclaiming at how large the strawberries were. Resisting temptation to buy some with the dipping chocolate we went for a walk down to Ghirardelli Square as we had not got to go in 2003. On the way down we noticed a huge mist coming in, a normal sign for San Francisco, and it looked very pretty rolling in over and under the bridge.
By now it was 11am and we were rather thirsty so went into the little cafe in Ghirardelli Square for a drink and had a free sample of the chocolate, mmmmmm it was rather nice and we did mention about going back later in our stay to buy some but never did
We then walked back to the hotel and got the Jeep and went for a drive as there were certain things we wanted to see that we had missed in 2003. First stop was Steiner's Painted Ladies at Alamo Square. Eventually after going round and round several times and coming across one way streets, no left/right turns (which would be commonplace over the next few days) we found a place to park. These lovely Victorian houses are maintained as they should be and the backdrop of the city behind them is such a lovely picture.
It was a lovely sunny summer's day and being Saturday everyone was out and about. Next stop was Golden Gate Park and we drove around part of it and stopped by Stowe Lake where there is a hilly island in the middle. We decided to go off for a walk up the hill and were met with this view at the top it is hard to believe we were in a city really.
It really is amazing how big the park is but seeing it from the air gives a totally different perspective. Golden Gate Park is the huge rectangular area and the odd shaped one is the Presidio where we were next headed.
After our little walk we drove out to the coast and viewed the Pacific and then went onto seeing the Golden Gate Bridge.
We slowly made our way through the Presidio and noticed a lot of the old military buildings were still in a state of disrepair although some building had been refurbished and looked like an University was now using them. For our final place to visit for the day we went to the Palace of Fine Arts and had a wander round as it featured in the film 'The Rock'. I must say it was very pretty and tall!!
It was nearly 5pm and we had a quick nosey into the Exploratorium which looked very interesting with all of its science exhibits which were interactive with the visitor, but sadly it was closing so we only got a very brief look. Back at the hotel we had a short rest and then headed out for dinner deciding on the Hard Rock Cafe. We had to wait about 15 minutes for a table so got a couple of Bud Lights at the bar. As we didn't want an appetizer each we decided to share the nachos and then have a burger each. Service was quite slow and then our burgers appeared before the nachos so the burgers were taken back and the nachos soon appeared. We were only half way through the nachos when the burgers appeared which again was too quick for us
Nathan asked to see the manager as the service was not what was expected and a discount was taken off the bill. After eating we had a walk back to the hotel and soon fell asleep.Claire
Worth it though!
