San Francisco

28/07/13 to 30/07/13 – Our first challenge in San Fran was to navigate our way by car around the city grid. Not so easy as you might expect due to an usual one way system and the steep hills. Luckily, the signage was excellent, and we found our way to into downtown quickly, even if a little by accident. All the hostels were full, but luckily we found a hotel which was actually cheaper anyway.

The next morning we queued in line to take the very popular cable car up to the top of Nob Hill. The ‘cable car’ is basically an old fashioned tram which takes people up the huge, steep hills, which would take hours to walk up. The cable car is mostly for tourists, but a few locals still use it too. The drivers are strict in making sure there are spaces so people further up the hill can jump on too, which increases the time you have to wait at the bottom. It was fun to ride up (hanging off the side) and the views of Alcatraz when we got to the top were pretty neat.

We took a stroll down the hill (you’re constantly going up and down in SF) to the marina. Famous for seafood, crab and clam chowder stalls and restaurants. We shared a bowl (made of bread) of clam chowder which was really good. From the marina we got a better view of Alcatraz, the view you get from the films. We eyed up the swim and reckon that Clint probably made it (to the shore, but not to Pebble Beach).

We spent the rest of the day walking around the heart of the city and Chinatown, which is the biggest Chinese community outside of China) and as usual it was full of shops selling kitsch ornaments of Buddhas and waving cats.

San Francisco is a fair bit pricier than the rest of California, and is definitely not cheap. However, it is known for being a foodie city, so we had to spend a few bucks to appreciate this side of it. We went to a sushi restaurant, and tried some new concoctions, different from the typical menus in UK, France or Japan. All very nice, and of course we had to try a California roll.

The following day we took the car to see more of the city districts outside of downtown. To begin with, we visited the hippy district of Haight, where we took a Breakfast Burrito (filled with egg, beans and cheese), pretty nice. This area was a bit like Camden Town, but with a less punky feel. We drove on to Alamo Square, where there were the ‘painted ladies’, a row of old wooden houses, painted different colours which apparently featured in a TV show called ‘Full House’ (we were informed by an overexcited American girl who described us the opening scene which featured these houses ).

Perhaps the most famous sight of SF is the Golden Gate Bridge. We ditched the car in a parking lot and took a walk along the shore near Seal Rock to appreciate the view through the fog. Then we went closer and parked near Fort Point for a closer peek.



After a quick stop at the picturesque Fine Arts Museum, with its tranquil lake, we took a drive down Lombard St, otherwise known as ‘Crooked St’, with its S-bends winding down one of the steepest streets of the city.



It’s not often that we eat Mexican twice in one day, but we had to try one thing which originated in SF, especially as Dave used to work for a Mexican food brand. The Burrito that most of us know in Europe is actually not Mexican at all, but comes from the Mission district of San Francisco, and is actually called the Mission Burrito. This is the version with meat, beans, lettuce, salsa and cheese. We stopped in Mission itself to try it at a Taqueria. It was good, but perhaps better was the Chocolate Mole Enchilada (chicken with a chilli chocolate sauce), which was so tasty, we’ll definitely try and make one at home. 

With our bellies full to bursting, we hit the freeway, and drove up to Mt Diablo to a campsite near the top. A racoon was trying to get into our car as we ate dinner at the camp, and we had to repeatedly chase him away, as he didn’t seem scared of us at all. We were the only ones in the campsite, and we heard constant russling, we think ‘Bert’ must have been trying all night to get at our food, but by morning he was nowhere to be seen.