Good Bye San Francisco

Flying books in North Beach

It's been a long day...

I'm typing this blog post late at night in San Francisco International waiting for our flight to D.C.  I'm kind of sad to be leaving San Francisco.

We've had a very busy day at museums - first the SF Museum of Modern Art, then the Cartoon Art Museum (this is a bit of a hidden treasure, and well worth the $7 to get in!  I'd recommend this gem!)

SFMOMA was great.  It's one of those weird experiences to see work by artists you've heard about but, being on an island in the bottom of the Pacific you never get to see - Picasso, Matisse, Pollock, Warhol, Kahlo... Well worth it if you're in town.

Then when you get to the top of the gallery, there's a rooftop garden cafe where you can order a decent coffee and where the staff have hidden photos of Waldo on sky scrapers around the building - hilarious!

Today was a bit of a tidy up day, finishing off things we hadn't got around to - walked through Chinatown and found the Gate, up to Coit Tower, the Painted Ladies (WooHoo!  Full House Moment had.), finished off one final walk along the Waterfront to the Ferry Terminal Market (very cool, don't miss this for shopping!).

So my final thoughts on San Francisco...

One of the first things you notice about the city is the architecture.  The city suffered a major earthquake and fire at the turn of the 20th century and many of the houses were rebuilt in the Victorian/Edwardian style, which makes this a truly beautiful city with a lot of character.  The houses (and the gardens) have been very well maintained, with each having its own personality without them feeling out of character.  It's truly a wonderful city to explore on foot.

The people I had the pleasure of interacting with were exceptionally friendly - everyone I met was happy to help with directions, offering to take photos of the two of us, generally smily, happy folks.  This extended to the roads as well - drivers were courteous and we had no problems being pedestrians. 

The public transport is cost-effective and easy to use.  Purchasing a three-day pass was our best option and we took the subway, street cars, cable cars and buses throughout.  They were frequent, clean and easy to use.

Generally speaking the food is great - plenty of options and the areas that specialise are wonderful - seafood at Fisherman's Wharf for instance.  Coffee was... mixed.  I don't like strong coffee but even I found this weak.  Hrmm... not a good sign.

All in all, a great place to visit.  I haven't ever flown into LAX, but I don't understand why you would when this experience has been so easy and enjoyable.

Next up... DC.

Here we go!!!