Day 2 - Neighbourhoods
Day two in San Francisco was much sunnier than it was supposed to be, in fact, it was so beautiful out that I spent most of the day feeling too warm in my mid-weight spring jacket and a scarf. Score! In the morning we set out for a famous breakfast joint near our hotel called Dotties but even at 10 am on a Thursday the line was already too long for some hungry tourists like ourselves. We settled for a ‘meh’ family restaurant where Tim ventured to try the pumpkin crepes and I had a tex mex-style omelette. Following the meal we wandered through Chinatown, past North Beach (the Italian neighbourhood) and found ourselves at Fisherman’s Wharf. If we were from anywhere except Victoria we may have found ourselves more pleased with Fisherman’s Wharf but overall it was touristy and busy and kind of reminded me of Victoria’s inner harbour if it was more touristy and busy. Nevertheless we wandered, watched, and bought ice cream before catching a historic cable car along the Embarcadero to the Ferry Building. The Ferry Building was everything I had hoped. The fresh vegetable stands outside were gorgeous, the food inside was gourmet and lovely (we bought some fancy vinegar) and I loved the vibe. Tim was a little pissy at paying over $4 for a container of mints but … overall it was cool. While there we stopped for a mid-afternoon meal at the Slanted Door (http://www.slanteddoor.com/). This was the point in the trip where I realized that in California you are either hungry or stuffed. We were looking for a small meal and it seemed that they were serving small plates. Should work out, right? Well I ordered a wonton soup and the spring rolls (which were more of what I would call salad rolls, but delicious nonetheless). Tim wanted to try the Caramelized Catfish. After consulting with the server who suggested that the Catfish would need probably rice and a vegetable Tim decided that since we weren’t that hungry he would just order the Catfish and a side of rice. However, for some unknown reason we ended up with Catfish, rice and a side of Asparagus. Apparently the server thought we deserved it!?! Anyway, needless to say we walked away feeling stuffed and having spent quite a bit of money (we tipped big because of the Asparagus!) C’est la vie!
After the Ferry Building we headed all the way down Market street on public transit until we reached the famous Castro area. It was cute and cool to see some of the sights from the movie Milk but there wasn’t much going on there on a Thursday afternoon. After teaching some teenage baristas how to make a London Fog we ventured over to the Mission neighbourhood. I have heard great things about the Mission and really wished that I would have known what we should do there but we didn’t so we just wondered. We saw the Mission Pie shop but were too full to go in. We saw many Burrito places but were too full to experience the San Francisco burrito just yet. The one interesting thing that happened as we walked until our feet ached was that I found a Ziploc bag blowing across a street with two one-dollar bills in it and the label “Sophia’s Lunch Money” on it. I late gave the bills to a homeless man who was asking for change and seemed shocked that I translated the word ‘change’ into ‘bills’ - what the heck, I am from Canada! In Canada two dollars is change!
After the Ferry Building we headed all the way down Market street on public transit until we reached the famous Castro area. It was cute and cool to see some of the sights from the movie Milk but there wasn’t much going on there on a Thursday afternoon. After teaching some teenage baristas how to make a London Fog we ventured over to the Mission neighbourhood. I have heard great things about the Mission and really wished that I would have known what we should do there but we didn’t so we just wondered. We saw the Mission Pie shop but were too full to go in. We saw many Burrito places but were too full to experience the San Francisco burrito just yet. The one interesting thing that happened as we walked until our feet ached was that I found a Ziploc bag blowing across a street with two one-dollar bills in it and the label “Sophia’s Lunch Money” on it. I late gave the bills to a homeless man who was asking for change and seemed shocked that I translated the word ‘change’ into ‘bills’ - what the heck, I am from Canada! In Canada two dollars is change!