Thursday, January 12, 2012

San Francisco: Gold Rush Tour, Hayes Valley and the Usual Suspects

Our second visit to San Francisco in 2011 was a mix of old favorites (North Beach, touristy Fisherman's Wharf) and new sights. We did lots of wandering around in search of Fair Trade coffee for breakfast (found some in the Haight), a little vintage shopping and of course lots of eating.

A first for us was participating in one of the city's free walking tours. We selected the gold rush tour and learned some fun facts about life for the '49ers. Our knowledgeable guide spoke about tales of love, loss, and fortune. It was highly enjoyable, save for the crazy weather: one block coat on, one block coat off.


Transamerica Redwood Park -- The fountain is a tribute to Mark Twain, who met Tom Sawyer nearby.
Transamerica Pyramid -- the meeting point for the Gold Rush Tour


Portsmouth Square in Chinatown, site of the first public square when SF was known as Yerba Buena

A flamingo listening to the tour guide ;-)

Hot tea and...
sustenance at House of Nanking

Coit Tower in the Distance

Lombard Street: a.k.a. the Crooked Street
Origami decor at Suppenküche: yummy German food and beer
Breakfast at La Boulange de Hayes


City Hall
Click here for details about our other trip to San Francisco.

5 comments:

Elisa @ Globetrotting in Heels said...

I love San Francisco soooooooo much!! I want to live there. Please gods and goddesses and all the saints, please let me live there one day :-)

Great pics!!

Elle Sees said...

Did you see the Bush Man? I read he makes 50k a year!

Amanda said...

@Elisa -- yes! One day, I too will live there!
@Elle -- I did not :( Next time...

AsianCajuns (Lar) said...

Wonderful photos of SF, Amanda! I absolutely love that city and all the food in it - hahaha!
p.s. Thanks so much for you tips on healthy eating! It's so encouraging to hear about other peeps who've had to cut things from their diet (fellow sweet-toothers unite!) and have lived to tell the tale... and feel happier for it. Woohoo!

Sara Louise said...

I have never been to San Francisco and I want to go so so bad! It just looks like a fun city!

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I am a Mexican-American gal back in my hometown of San Diego after a wonderful life adventure in Switzerland with Isaiah, my husband. Thank you for stopping by and please feel free to leave comments!