Down by the water - Day 3

Fisherman's Wharf

  We arose early and headed downtown on the BART, getting off at Powell Street and had breakfast at Lori's Diner with a great view down on Powell Street.  We then got on the cable car and travelled up and down the steep hills to Fisherman's Wharf.

The Iconic Cable Car

     We walked along the shoreline, past the many Piers, then headed inland and up the 450 steps to the Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill.  It was a spectacular Art Deco building and had a fantastic panoramic view of the bay and the city.

Coit Tower

     We walked back down the steps (much easier!), saw and heard a humming bird and admired the wonderful gardens en route.  We had a tasty and filling lunch at Pier 23 Restaurant, then made our way over to Pier 33 to take the ferry over to Alcatraz.  It was quite creepy looking and reminded me of the opening scenes of Shutter Island (dun-DUUN!), but there was a beauty amongst all of the decay.

Alcatraz Silhouette

Alcatraz Garden

     We took the audio tour which was very informative and compelling.  Afterwards, we wandered around quieter parts of the island and discovered many succulents in flower growing on a sunny hillside.  It was then back on the ferry to the mainland.

Adios Alcatraz

From there, we worked our way inland along Stockton Street to Washington Square and the large, spanish cathedral,  then through Little Italy and Chinatown and caught the cable car back downtown.

Chinatown

     We ended up at Bar Norcini just in time for happy hour so indulged ourselves with Proseco, antipasti, a 3-cheese plate (locally made and very tasty) and some Chianti.  Happy hour indeed!  Then, it was time to do some shopping at H+M and Club Monaco where we both got some great deals (happy hour continues!).  After spending a busy, productive day in the city, we headed back to the apartment to wash up then crash.

Happy Hour!