SF in a weekend.

Melina and I decided to go to San Francisco for our anniversary. We woke up late on Saturday and got down to the airport to catch a quick 90 minute flight to SFO. From the airport we used the BART to get us into town and then grabbed a taxi to our hotel. It was about 3 pm by the time we got settled in.

First order of business was to "Bike the bridge", so we headed off to the Bike rental place (huge and does a very good bit of business). Along the way, we stopped and took a look and some pictures from the top of Lombard Street (the crookedest street in the world). At the shop, we got two very decent bikes and headed off. Our route brought us down Hyde street, along the embarcadero and eventually up some pretty killer hills leading up to the base of the bridge. We stopped a few times while riding across to take it all in and snap some photos. On the other side we coasted down the hill and then eventually had another climb or two before rolling into Sausalito. We had time to kill before the next ferry left so we grabbed some pizza and a bloody mary. The ferry left right at sunset and we were treated to an amazing orange and red sky as we were shuttled back across the bay to San Francisco. It turns out we hopped on the wrong ferry, because this one took us all the way back to Pier 1, and we wanted Pier 41. It turned out to be a nice mistake because it gave us the opportunity to ride our bikes all the way back along the wharf, on a beautiful night.

After turning in the bikes, we got back to the hotel in time to get ready and go off to the Mission district for dinner at Foreign Cinema. The food was good and wine was great and the company was perfect. As it turns out having hot sauce on everything you eat from breakfast through lunch can cause some distress in your digestive system. Who knew?

I felt better the next morning and we got up early and hit the Buena Vista for breakfast and Irish coffee. Then we rode the cable cars all over town stopping in China Town and Union Square. Down in the financial district we hit the SFMoMA and the Yerba Buena gardens, before settling down at an Irish pub for lunch and drinks. Later in the evening we cable carred back to the Wharf and walked down to Pier 33 where we hopped on the Alcatraz ferry for a tour of the old prison. It was every bit as much fun as we had expected.

Monday we hit the Boudiin bakery for some clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl and then got dessert at Ghirardelli. We had enough time to relax and buy some gifts before heading back to the airport for our trip home.