Ding Ding! San Francisco

We had a couple of days to play in San Francisco and a list of things that we both want to see and do while we were here. As a motorcycle driver the hilly streets are crazy difficult and traffic is generally crazy. 

If you go up to the Twin Peaks Site you can cut to the chase and see the entire city and surrounding neighborhoods all at once. 

Done and done.

It has been said that there isn't anything more Californian than In and Out Burger.
We were underwhelmed.

Organized chaos

The houses in San Francisco are distinct from anywhere else we have been. Each one has a unique characteristic. This one house on the block where we stayed had a security door to keep out those pesky people in wheelchairs.

The biggest to do on our list was to tour Alcatraz. It turns out the tickets to take the tour sell out weeks in advance so we settled for the street-side diorama and take pictures from afar. .

ooohhh aaaahhh..

We continued to explore the Fisherman's Wharf area and walk around through the sunset. 

Since driving was an issue here we used public transportation to get around. At the top of my San Fran bucket list was to ride a trolley. Yeah I know, you can ride trolleys in a lot of cities but there is something nostalgic about the San Francisco Rice-A-Roni style trolley.

There are only 3 remaining cable cars still running as part of the public transportation system, and these are mostly used by tourist as they cost more than the regular public transit.

Interestingly, the cable cars are the only moving Historic Place listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Totally worth it.  

Weeeeeeeeee!!!

We had a great room with a view of the city thanks to our Air BnB host. Hi Kieth!

Night Pan from our room

Day Pan from our room

We were walking distance from the famous Haight Ashbury neighborhood which is known for being the birthplace of the hippie subculture. The "Summer of Love" has passed and there were no hippies in sight.. only hipsters. There are some fun shops and restaurants to visit if you are in this area.

Up next? How about 8 hairpin turns in one insanely steep city block, while on 2 wheels and 2 up at about 1000 pounds?

Lombard Street is know as the crookedest street in the world and we're just crazy enough to give it a go. Matthew says that if you want to take selfies of it DO NOT stand in the street or you may get cursed at by motorist

Public service announcement... Think before you selfie.

Zoom

Zoom

People standing in the street to take pictures.

This is what it looks like from the air (not our picture).

After an intense rush of adrenaline from Lombard Street we made our way to Blue Bottle Cafe in Oakland. 

They have coffee cupping hipsters behind glass to make sure the roasting standards are up to par. This is by far the most gourmet cup of coffee I have ever had. 

Don't tap the glass, they hate that.

Mmmmm Mocha!!