The San Francisco Chronicles – Days 1 & 2
As I mentioned last month, I went to San Francisco for a week. I hadn’t been there since I was three years old. Dr. Awesome has a yearly science conference there called AGU (American Geophysical Union). This year (and I mean 2011) was special because his father was being honored as an AGU Fellow, which is a rare honor to receive. While Dr. Awesome was busy doing science most of the week, I had a fun time running around with his mother and brother seeing the various sights. But not before Dr. Awesome and I had some quality weekend time for him to show me around. Please be warned that this post is photo AND video heavy.
I had made reservations beforehand at a couple of places that I heard were great. One of them, Absinthe Brasserie & Bar, we had heard of because of a random cocktail book I got Dr. Awesome for Christmas one year (the book is called Art of the Bar, if you’re interested). I got in, in the late afternoon. We had reservations at 7:30pm and let me tell you, their cocktails were amazing and I definitely recommend eating there. The prices were about NYC level, maybe a bit more expensive for certain things. You can make reservations on OpenTable easily enough and I recommend that because the place was packed!
We then walked back to our hotel to get some sleep and gear up for a nice long walk/romp around town. We stayed downtown in a great area which was walking distance to a lot of things. Anyways, Dr. Awesome and I got up early (jet lag, though he was in California a week before me) to set off to Fisherman’s Wharf.
Cables for the buses and trolleys.
Some cool art and my shadow.
The next few photos are walking along the pathway to the wharf.
Seals! Apparently they weren’t around last year. Did I mention that I had 60 degree sunny weather all week?
Alcatraz! There will definitely be a post for that.
The Golden Gate Bridge.
And for your viewing pleasure, seals talking! (Please ignore the crying baby…he/she goes away at some point.)
A little knowledge lesson on the seals.
This was pretty cool. I forget exactly what it was…I think an abandoned railroad track? Wish I remembered.
A Boudin sourdough alligator.
And finally! The wharf.
I ate so much crab this trip.
A trolley car.
And we finally made it to the Hyde street cable car terminal to make our way back to our hotel.
It’s cool how they turn them around. Here’s a video of them doing that:
Apparently my parents and I went to the Buena Vista Cafe back in the day and they had their Irish Coffee that they’re known for.
Our cable car had Christmas decorations.
Here’s a cool video of the ride. We went up and down some pretty steep hills.
And you can’t not stop by Crooked Lombard Street. This was just the top of it. I have photos from walking down it another day.
I love how all these places are built on a slant.
Hello cable car operator.
We got off at Union Square to see what was around there since it was pretty close to our hotel. The Macy’s had adoptable dogs and cats in their windows. I was very tempted.
Our cable car.
That night, Dr. Awesome and I went to the Slanted Door for dinner in the Ferry Building. It’s upscale Vietnamese food. I think we either hit it on an off night or something cause while the food was good, the quality control wasn’t there. The inside of our pork belly appetizer was cold and the plates everything was served on was cold and it cooled down our dishes quickly. It’s pretty pricey too.
The Ferry Building at night.
I’m heading up to the Berkshires this weekend to see my brother who just got back from a tour in Afghanistan. Glad that he’s home safe and sound and can’t wait to see him 🙂 Plus there will be some good eats there too. Please forgive me if there’s radio silence.
I YUM New York 