Is there a better symbol for SF than a cable car? Well maybe the Golden Gate but that happened to be shrouded in low-lying clouds while we were there, so the cable car will have to do.

On BART...

We took and early Monday morning flight from San Diego to SFO, jump on the BART which dropped us off a few yards from our hotel, the Wyndam Parc 55.

Soon we were off exploring Union Square and then the rest of the City on a "red bus" tour. It was kind of chilly so we didn't "hop on and hop off" like they said we could.

We just stayed on past City Hall, through the Haight and Golden Gate Park, across the GG Bridge and back through the Presidio and finally arriving at Ghirardelli Square.

This cable car was stopped at the Powell Street turn-around near Fisherman's Wharf. We didn't stop at Jack's but I liked the sign.

We had an OK lunch at Tarantino's, then walked along Pier 39, and then kept walking.

Well, I guess we sat and rested a little here and there.

We headed toward Coit Tower which looked to be a long way over and a long way up.

It was! I counted 442 steps from Sansome Street to the base of the Tower.

It was worth it though. We took the rickety old elevator to the top for some great views!

...and here they are!

Alcatraz!

In the photo on the left you can see the Ferry Building where we visited the next morning.

We walked down the other side of Coit Tower to catch our red bus to take us back to our hotel.

Our Hotel Room (one of them - we had two!)

The Red Bus. Mal Mal on the Red Bus.

We had a great dinner at "Scala's". That's our server dude, Bruce.

Dinner was capped off with the traditional spoon-on-the-nose competition which Mal won. She's a pro.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010, San Francisco

On the left is a view out the window of our hotel room. We walked all the way down Market Street to the Bay and the Ferry Building.

There was a good farmers' market outside and a bunch of shops and restaurants inside.

They even sell live crabs!

We walked around looking for a likely spot for brunch.

We picked Noah's New York Deli. I had smoked salmon and cream cheese. Is that what you're supposed to eat in San Francisco?

No trip to SF is complete without a ride on a cable car. We hopped on the California Street car and rode it back to Union Square.

Chinatown

After a stop at our hotel, we walked up the hill to the sights, sounds and smells of Chinatown.

It's a pretty colorful place!

We had a good but confusing lunch of dim sum at City View Restaurant. The food was good but we weren't quite sure how to order it. We got enough to eat though, and enjoyed the experience.

Soon it was sayonara to Chinatown and time to head to the airport.

We made a final stop at the St. Francis on Union Square where we rode the glass-enclosed elevator to the top floor for another great view of the city. It was a fast action-packed couple days and a lot of fun in SF!