San Francisco Here We Are!

Well - here we are on a new adventure.  This time the MA in MARJI are in San Francisco - the city by the bay - the city on the hills - the city with soul, snap, savvy, savoir faire...

We'll put all our pictures in one place.  With links to the first one of the day on each blog entry.
And we'll put each days videos (taken with a Flip Mino) each in their own folders.
Here's the videos for the Saturday April 9th.

M joined A at the airport and we took the BART from SFO into Powell Street station.  We had prepaid for round-trip vouchers online - so just had to pick up two round trip BART tickets at the SFO information desk.  We went to the wrong place and had to withstand a rude BART employee tell us (twice) that we were in the wrong place to pick up the tickets.  Sheesh...excuuuuuse me!

We were amazed that the BART was grungier, louder and in most sections under ground.  It is also electric - so we didn't clomp around in our big carbon footprint boots...ha!

We disembarked the BART and immediately went to the San Francisco Visitor Center (just off the Powell Street station).  We got advice on how to get to 750 Sutter Street with our luggage.  We have a City Pass which gives us...(http://www.citypass.com/san-francisco)
- 7 day Municipal unlimited transportation (busses, san fran trains and cablecars)
- Admittance to 4 museums, 1 aquarium and 1 boat ride on the bay

So - they recommended catching the bus - or just walking it.  It's about 5 1/2 blocks...uphill (it turns out a relatively mild uphill compared to others around here...).  We arrive too early to check in (our room was still being cleaned) so they checked our luggage into the bellhop and recommended places within three blocks for lunch. 

We lunched at Lori's Diner - which had relics from an earlier time than either of us really remember.  They had a nice tribute to Liz Taylor with a bunch of memorabilia too (sorry - didn't photo that stuff).  We had a terrific lunch and used our 20% off coupon.  Had a Chocolate Coke.  Check the photos for the scoop on that.

Wyndham called and let us know our room was ready.

We headed back and unpacked.  Check out the pics and video of the room - it's a 1 bedroom (the smallest on the floor because of the stairwell cut into it - but it's verrrry nice.  There are only 12 rooms on this floor (there are 10 floors) - so everything is compact and nice and close.  Laundry at the end of the hall.  We got room 702 so we're on the 7th floor.  No great view from the rooms but no matter.  Super spiffy digs.

We decided just to explore and ended up on a grand adventure that took us...
...up some gradual hills into Nob Hill neighborhood
...to see the Powell-Hyde cable car stop in the middle of an intersection (turns out that that IS the stop for the cable car)
...to see 90-degree parking lots
...to the top of Russian Hill and the beautiful plants, gardens and smells it has.
...down, down, down to Fisherman's Wharf and the Powell-Mason cable car terminus (where they turn the cable cars around by pushing them on a roundabout).
...To a great little clothing store (one of hundreds) that had some nice comfy San Francisco windbreaker jackets (the wind really really needs breaking...) for 13.49 each.  His and Hers matching - how cuuuute.

...To the waterfrontpiers, Boudin's Bakery (home of sourdough bread to the world) and finally Pier 39.
...Bought a shamrock shake at mcdonalds so we could legimitately use their bathroom.  (The public bathrooms were closed and lots of people and kids were "dancing in the streets"...
...Headed out to the ends of piers to get great - but chilly - views.
...Ate at the Pier Market on Pier 39.  Mmm - fantastic seafood and yummy beer.
...Took our first "Muni" ride on the 8x bus from the wharf(-ish) to Sutter street (actually Union Square because the driver didn't let us get out at Sutter).

We stopped at Walgreens and picked up some highly overpriced groceries.  (ok - maybe just moderately overpriced - but when they know they've got you - they know they've got you). 

8:30 pm - finally got back to the condo and got the pictures and videos off the camera.

Tomorrow - plans are to go to the Marin Headlands on the 76 bus (which runs right in front of the condo - out over the Golden Gate bridge and into a nature and preserved area north of San Francisco).  This bus only runs on Sundays so we've got to take advantage when we can!