Walking the town - Day 4

Mission Street

     We woke early, as usual, and had coffee and pastries from Nora's then headed back downtown on the BART, this time getting off at 26th and Mission, the Mexican part of town.  We were told by KH to eat at a nearby restaurant, but it wasn't open yet and we weren't hungry, so we continued on along Mission Street.  It's a bit rundown and there are many dilapidated movie theatres that now serve many other functions including one that had been gutted to make way for parking!  A shame really as the buildings are from another time and quite ornate.  We turned left on 16th and made our way to the Castro, passing a lovely church en route.

The Castro

     The Castro was full of beautiful shops and omnipresent rainbow flags of course.  We had brunch at the Cove on Castro and had a friendly, jovial (dare I say gay?) waiter!  The owner asked us where we were from and also demonstrated the San Francisco charm - warm and friendly.  From there, we walked up Castro and turned left on Haight and ended up at Haight-Ashbury which has undergone quite a bit of gentrification since the 60's.  We then went up to the Panhandle, a sliver of a park that was full of enormous Eucalyptus trees which had a very aromatic scent.  It was then a hop, skip and a jump to the Golden Gate Park, an incredibly beautiful oasis of plants, trees and animal life.  We saw the very modern de Young Museum but didn't have time to stop in.

Japanese Tea Garden

     Instead, we visited the Japanese Tea Garden and had a relaxing stroll around the grounds and even stopped for some tea and mochi.  I had an encounter with a very tame squirrel, who let me pet it!  It took quite a while, but we walked through the entire park and ended up at the Ocean!  It was warm, sunny and clear blue sky as far as the eye could see.  Our reward was to take off our shoes and walk into the water, which was absolutely freezing!  It was a good cool-off from all of the walking though.

Cold comfort

     We dried off and headed up Point Lobos Avenue to Cliff House and looked down to see the Seal Rocks and the ruins of the Sutro Baths.  We headed along to the end of the bus line and caught a bus that went along Geary Avenue past Japantown to Powell Street.  We dined at John's Grill, home of the Maltese Falcon (!), and had some very fresh seafood and incredible service.  It was then another cable car ride to Lombard to view the steep, one block section that contains eight hairpin turns!  There were some breathtaking views and gorgeous houses in the neighbourhood.  We walked down to the Wharf and got on a streetcar to the Ferry Building to look at the market inside and the night views from the pier.  It was then a quick walk up to the Embarcadero station and home for a well-deserved rest.

Sutro Baths