Day two of my tour of San Francisco proved to be a very tiring day - mainly because I had a lapse of judgment and didn't realize my poor legs and feet are not as young as they used to be:(
The first tour of the day was to China Town and North Beach (the Italian side of town). The tour book that I used took me first to the actual China Town versus the touristy part of China town. So there I was - a sore thumb - but enjoying the view of the crowded sidewalks with people buying fruits & vegetables at the market! I didn't want to be that tourist - shoving a camera in everyone's face, so I refrained. Below is one of the first photos I took.
The tour book took me to some places that I definitely would not have gone to on my own, and this traditional Chinese music store was one of them. Everything was handmade and gorgeous - this was my favorite photo.
This is how I knew I was in the touristy area - very neat!
I love the vintage look of the photo above. I also love the symbolism of this photo. The microcosm wrapped up in a big city of skyscrapers...
If I wasn't already impressed with the architecture of the city, the Chinese influenced architecture did it!
This was the only booth that wasn't swamped, because it was on a side road - the booths on the main road were a lot larger, but I thought this was a good representation of what I saw.
The second part of the same tour was to North Beach (much like NY's Little Italy - I'd guess). This photo is how I knew I had made it!
Another neat example of architecture, this building was one of a few (maybe several) triangular-shaped buildings in the city. It is home of some important people's offices, and on the bottom floor is a very nice Italian restaurant. For probably the first time, I ate, by myself, there, but was only able to afford a small salad and a glass of wine! So I left, and as I was leaving, our friend texted me and recommended a gelato place down the street...
WOW! I can honestly say I'm not sure if I've ever had better gelato! They had so many choices, and if you know me at all, you know it's not a good idea to give me choices, so about 30 minutes and 30 sample spoons later, I picked out Blood Orange and some kind of wonderful Chocolate mix - YUM!!! That's all I can say:)
My first tour was over, so I sat down for a break at one of the many parks in the city. I want to say this was Washington Square, but I can't be sure of that. This nice gentleman sat next to me while I was there, and I thought he was interesting, so I took his photo - he's probably used to that.
While sitting there, I realized it was only 3 or so, so I had a lot of time before dark and before I needed to have dinner (I was apparently a little absent-minded because let's remember that I had only had a tiny salad and gelato - so the energy level was LOW). I decided that with my extra time I'd take the tour of Telegraph Hill...Big Hill = Big Mistake! Telegraph Hill is a tour that climbs its way, up a very steep and long hill, to Coit Tower a historic Tower that you'll see here in just a minute.
But first, some more of the architecture that I couldn't get enough of! Believe me - I'm sparing ya'll about 100x this many photos in my collection!
There it is at a distance - Coit Tower
Thought this was a neat perspective overlooking the city...
More stairs to climb before I got to the tower...Also, a great opportunity to take a break and catch my breath:(
Again, I'll spare you the many photos I took on the rest of this tour. Just know that it was a lot more than I bargained for and it was dusk (as you'll see below) before I stopped moving, because the tour weaved in and out of some inconspicuous places, and I didn't want to get caught there after dark, alone. Nothing dangerous, but I was pretty lost by the time it took me up and down several steep "hills" including a staircase with about 500 steps - I'm pretty sure I'm not exaggerating!
Anyway, as you can see, the hike was worth the view:) I ended up in a neighborhood with this view at everyone's doorstep - pretty amazing and breathtaking if you ask me!
When I arrived at this point, I met a landscape photographer there. He was prepping to get many pictures of the moon coming up over the city. I took the photo above and was about to head back to my hotel to get some much needed rest, when he asked if I wasn't going to stay to get a great photo of the moon. He was right - I didn't want to miss that opportunity, so I waited....and waited....and waited some more, but we never saw the moon. Meanwhile, I took a lot of photos like you see below as it got darker and darker, and probably have about 50+ of those. Overkill, I know, but they're all gorgeous, and maybe I'll frame them someday!
I eventually got back to my hotel, after taking a few wrong turns (mostly because I couldn't think straight since I had eaten hardly anything that day).
Needless to say - I slept well that night!
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