I Heart San Francisco

this was the big day. we bundled up and prepared for a full day away from our cozy hotel to venture into "the city." i had been looking forward to this day since my dad came home from business trips and brought us treasures from chinatown and san francisco. but i never imagined it would be THIS fantastic.

some watery shots from inside the ferry heading into the city.

our hotel.
actually, alactraz is the number 1 tourist destination in the city.

fresh off the boat and landed on pier 39 (actually we landed on pier 41, but pier 39 is where all the fun is at.)

"mom, why are we going in circles?" i adore carousels!

the candy baron. should be called the poison factory- you'll buy so much delicious, sugary treats you'll get sick on sugar for a month. needless to say, it was glorious!

the sea-lebrities of pier 39 -sea lions in season.

this is the place to get yourself some killer clam chowder and sourdough bread.

could someone please get this child a larger piece of bread? thank you.

and my, oh, my this soup is delicious. I did tease our waitress about wanting a bigger bowl, though. I believe this one was made especially for a giant. or the seven dwarfs if they shared.

so far, all-time favorite shot from the trip

ring-a-ding-ding!

home away from home -the chocolate factory and store.

"correct me if i'm wrong, ed, but diversity, I believe, is an old, old wooden ship from the civil war era." ladies and gentlemen, i present "diversity."

this was a sight to behold. some gent with a foreign accent (can't tell where he was from) was having his tour -which travels by land and sea, if you couldn't guess- blow these duck whistles on que. lord knows why, but barry, thanks for taking us on mr. toad's tours instead. and, no, we didn't have to croak like frogs.

all bundled up and ready to take our terrific tour of fabulous frisco!

that's entertainment! broadway like you've never (or at least i've never) seen it before -it's all grown up and going to the frat house!

one of the houses featured in the film mrs. doubtfire. the irish lads on our tour were a heck of a lot more excited about this than seeing the golden gate bridge.

the fairmont

original tiffany windows

beautiful victorian homes

the anatomically correct robot guarding a home in one of the insanely expensive areas of town. Oh, wait- that's everywhere! Silly me.

the presidio -my favorite

city view from the presidio driving towards the golden gate

no caption necessary. though a group of irish guys did ask why the bridge was such a big deal.

lombard street -notoriously (though incorrectly) the crooked street in the world.

the end of our tour! a fully restored 1924 roaster bus and a terrific tour guide named rebecca -or meredith, depending on who you ask :)

the gate to chinatown -which contains the highest concentration of chinese in the world besides mainland china.

gold stars to the in-laws who watched wilder while i spent nearly an hour looking in one tiny store.

our ferry did not await us, actually we missed it by 10 minutes, so....

to kill an hour we swaggered into sinbad's and grabbed a pint. of course we met some interesting characters -namely a retired fbi agent who unabashedly shared his life story and recommendations on site-seeing, politics and life in general.

the day finished off with an insanely delicious meal at scott's restaurant right by our hotel. i still am dreaming about all that fresh seafood we devoured. my, oh, my was this a wonderful day! THANK YOU, BETTY AND BARRY, SOOOOO MUCH!