Sun is out for the first time on Friday morning, no fog! Staying at the Presidio for the last day, we decided to take the beautiful ocean trail and walk over to the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge (1/2 mi/8 k roundtrip) after breakfast.
On one side we had the skyline of SF in the fog (below),,,
,,, on the other the bridge. Pic below was taken while we were passing underneith Hwy. 101 with a pet cemetery underneith (what a location!?)
We would have been faster by bike, but didn't like the sturdy rental bikes.
Approaching the Golden Gate Bridge which crosses the Golden Gate (bay) into Marin County on the other end.
Golden Gate Bridge Visitor Plaza with a visitor center, a café, parking and a statue of the famous bridge creator, Joseph Baermann Strauss . He was the engineer who planned the Golden Gate which opened in 1937.
On the way back through Crissy Field marshland, passing by Coast Guard installations:
Bye-bye Presidio, it was such a quiet, relaxing place for the beginning of our visit!
Next, a short 15 min-drive into another world: to downtown San Francisco. We moved to another hotel nearby Union Square and Nob Hill, the Julian Hotel. Below: Nob HIll and Grace Cathedral:
Your typical SF parking situation - parallel on steep slopes:
The Cable Car Museum - terrific to watch how the unique cable car system works!
Andrew Smith Hallidie realized the idea for San Francisco's cable cars in 1869 after
witnessing horses struggling with a streetcar on a steep hill. First street car went into operation in the early 1870s.
On to Chinatown, mural below was on the cover of our very first guidebook in the 1990s!
More recent mural:
Grant Street - Chinatown
Labubus and Gashapon machines - the latest hits!
Union Square, the "Heart" of SF:
Streetcar traffic
Day ended nicely with drinks and bites in the Julian Hotel's bar!
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