From peaceful to exciting

Morning tour around the Presidio (pics below) with Lisa, a rep of the Presidio Trust, an organisation, which is so-to-say doing the work while the NPS owns the land. The Presidio is a almost completely self-sufficient piece of land, with many historic structures, like a bowling alley, an officers' club, a hospital, golf course, nursery, stables, military baracks, officers housing, church, etc. - most of the buildings are rented out, privately and to organisations. 

 

                                           National Military Cemetery, GGBridge in the background

                                           Baker Beach

Newest addition, opening in summer, will be a new park, which connects Presidio to the waterfront and Crissy Field. This Tunnel Tops park was constructed above a new tunnel for Hwy. 1, with different areas like nature playgrounds, picnic lawns, amphitheater or fire pit. Looking forward to seeing it once it's accomplished! 

Before we left our "green oasis" - the Presidio - towards hectic downtown, we went to the Walt Disney Family Museum, next door to the Lodge and - surprisingly! - spent over two hours there. So interesting, to get to know about Disney's roots and his early beginnings as the true "inventor" of animated pictures. He raised animation to an art and was a very clever businessman. So was his brother, Roy (right on the photo, his father Elias in the center). With interactive galleries and exhibits narrated in Walt’s own voice alongside early drawings, cartoons, films, music, a spectacular model of Disneyland, and much more, you can spend hours here. Wouldn't have expected as interesting from the outside!

 

                                             Disneyland model

Moving to The Clift Royal Sonesta Hotel closeby Union Square. A sleek and modern hotel with historic roots: Commissioned in 1913 by Frederick C. Clift as a hotel with 300 rooms, it opened 1915 to serve crowds attending the Panama–Pacific International Exposition. It was advertised as the first hotel in San Francisco to be fire and earthquake proof. In 1924, it became the largest hotel in California. The hotel's Art Deco Redwood Room bar was added in 1933, paneled with wood from a single redwood tree. We got a suite on the 12th floor, huge, with great views towards Nob Hill! 

Out again soon again for the SFMOMA - to see the new addition with lots of interesting modern art and photography (pic below) and the Diego Rivera exhibition, a mural from the Art Institute SF (far below)

 

 

Back for a meeting in the hotel lobby and immediately after, out again by F-Line Streetcar to Pier 39, where we had dinner arranged at Fog Harbor Fish House on Pier 39. Great waterfront dining experience with views of the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. After a cup of the award-winning clam chowder topped with fresh crab meat, we had mixed grill (salmon/cod/shrimps - see photo) and Cioppino - crab, fresh fish, shrimp, clams and mussels, stewed in a seafood tomato broth. Besides having been delicious, good thing is, that they use local freshest 100 % sustainable seafood, and, that it's a long-time family operation.   

Checked out Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf after dinner, but sealions were already asleep,,,