Having spend the night in a motel on the cusp of Silicon Valley, we felt suitably acclimatised to our urban surroundings. Comfortable enough to ride the peaks and troughs of undulating San Francisco. We rocked up at our next pit stop early, another motel nestled in the heart of Broadway, keen to spend as much of the day exploring the new neighbourhood.
The Motel.
We headed straight to the coast in search of San Fransisco’s famous bridge. Fortunately we landed next to a pier than stretched out far enough into the bay to get some unrestricted views of the ‘most photographed bridge in the world’.
The concrete pier. A little crumbly, a similar texture to a gluten free biscuit.
We walked along the pier, out into the harbour; surrounded on one side by swimmers braving the cold waters, and many a yacht on the other.
First glimpse of Golden Gate Bridge.Looking back across San Fransisco.Added bonus, Alcatraz. The escape proof island prison, America’s Chateau d’If.
The pier was home to many a humble traveller. There were fishermen, cyclists, rebellious teens kicking bits of the pier into the sea, and a man flying a kit; his intention to fly it as far out to sea as possible.
The kite expert, his kite (far distance), and a couple miles of string (stage right).
We continued further West… toward the bridge, it had captivated us in all of its glory. We had to touch it, or at least break a small chunk off and wear it as a pendant for the rest of our lives. I joke, this is about as close as we got (below), we swung South away from the coast to explore Pacific Heights.
Fort Mason; a refurbished military facility used by the performing arts, set against GGB.
Like a scene from Christopher Nolan’s 2010 film Inception, the streets appear to curve upwards as if they are about to fold in on themselves! We began the ascent.
A scene from Inception?
As we headed inland we passed San Fransisco’s Palace of Fine Arts. The standard gallery upgrade.
The palace’s classical Architecture in all of its glory.Wooden shingles used tastefully to clad this house; allowed to weather naturally.Views on reaching the summit of Pacific Heights.The view across the bay from up top!
Having felt a little touristy traipsing around the coast looking for the principle views, it was a nice change of pace to be strolling through the Heights. Occasionally passing a couple walking their dogs, or a family arranging halloween decorations on their front porch. It felt like we’d momentarily become fully fledged San Franciscans.
Well kept houses fringed the almost vertical streets.A glistening red fire truck.A modern development using wooden shingles.Slender Victorian homes squeezed between more modern developments.Finally we decided to head down the hill, H. glad she wore the Velcro shoes.As per, we found an elevated park to take a quick pause and soak in the views!Soaking.We noticed there was an activity involving the steps we were sat on, I gave it a shot.The occasional high rise peered above the skyline. This one looked rather impressive.A more conservative Halloween arrangement.We headed back to the motel to regroup and search out a suitable eatery for our evening meal!The sun began to dip as we walked along to the chosen Pizzeria.After a quick wait, we returned to the Motel with, ‘Andy Warhol’. A mushroom & pesto masterpiece.
The next day we decided to explore Fisherman’s Wharf, The Financial District and Russian Hill; all to the East of our hotel.
Fresh paint.Heading East along Broadway to the Financial District!Turns out San Fransisco has a second bridge…Copper clad building with a beautiful patina.Approaching the high rises of the Financial District.Good to see some older, more brutal, skyscrapers still looking crisp & modern.H. tells me this building features heavily in the Charmed (TV series) intro.On seeing Coit tower, we decided this should be our next target. How to get there…?More hills of course! Coit tower looming above the tree-line!The views from Coit tower were stunning, on another marvellous day!We weaved our way down to the wharf. This arch historically acted as a loading dock between ships and rail.We stumbled upon a vintage arcade, we exchanged a couple dollars for quarters and got playing!Vintage Scalextrics… wind along horse racing.An early claw crane, hopefully they switched out the bubblegum…Not many classic cars left in San Fran, possibly deterred by the steep gradients!We passed Lombard street on the walk home, a street that famously breaks the grid iron pattern in favour of a zigzag.The vintage tram that takes tourists up to Lombard.Coit tower, now seen from inland… and afar.Back on Broadway, we paced back to the Motel hungry for some grub.The leaves were beginning to turn, we were soon to see Autumn in full swing!
We decided to catch an early night in anticipation of the early rise the next day as we made our way up to Canada!
I like the unfussy Halloween decorations. They are a breath of fresh air from the overwhelming crass ones in Peterhead! 😄
I bet a gluten free biscuit tastes like the pier too 😂
The architecture of San Francisco is very quaint. I love all the wood cladding and the Victorian houses.
What an amazing city! Great photos James:) x
I like the unfussy Halloween decorations. They are a breath of fresh air from the overwhelming crass ones in Peterhead! 😄
I bet a gluten free biscuit tastes like the pier too 😂
The architecture of San Francisco is very quaint. I love all the wood cladding and the Victorian houses.