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Thursday, September 8, 2011

San Francisco Extravaganza - Day Two - Part Two

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Once we'd arrived on the Embarcadero we slowly meandered towards Fishermans Wharf and the infamous Piers stopping to take a few photographs along the way.


We didn't actually take a cruise out to Alcatraz as they were all booked and we had not made prior reservations. One of the night time tours is what we were most interested in and would have been quite the thing I think. Next time we visit we'll book ahead. We could see Alcatraz from along the Embarcadero.




We noticed a large vessel cruising through the water and took a few pictures.




The S.S. Jeremiah O'Brian was out for a tour. It later docked at it's berth on Fisherman's Wharf where we took more pictures. According to their website: "The Jeremiah O'Brian is one of two remaining fully functional Liberty Ships of the 2,710 that were built and launched during WWII. The O'Brian has the distinction of being the last unaltered Liberty Ship and remains historically accurate."

There were a lot of other vessels in the water. These two caught my eye.




Before long we arrived at Pier 39.


We wandered and saw some sights. We were early enough it wasn't too busy when we arrived.




We wandered into a store that was supposed to have goodies for dogs and cats. It was about 95% for dogs though. It did have this awesome sign posted on the door. For some reason we both thought it was something we could see Geoff posting at his house. Must be because of his great sense of humor.



We walked though the Pier and then to avoid the growing crowds walked outside the main thoroughfare and along the backside with a view of Forbes Island Restaurant, where they have underwater dining rooms.


At this point we couldn't help but hear the sea lions. They sure were small compared to the ones we see in Newport. Must be a different species or there is more competition for food in California.



(All those who need a nap raise your flipper)

We decided we were getting a little hungry, but not enough for a big meal. We happened upon the Crepe Cafe.


We went in and took a look at the menu.


We decided to share a Veggie Crepe full of avocado, roma tomatoes, alfalfa sprouts and feta cheese. Troubadour proceeded outside to watch it being made while I waited for it inside.



(Still missing avocado at this point)








Very tasty. Two thumbs up. With our bellies sufficiently full we wandered some more. What's that over there? A chocolate shop? Mmm dessert. At Chocolate Heaven we saw many kinds of things covered in chocolate. These were two of the oddest.

(Chocolate covered potato chips)


(Chocolate covered licorice)

Most things were quite expensive at $5.25 per quarter pound. Yes, that is right, the chocolates were $21 per pound. We did purchase 6 pieces: two pecan turtles, 2 chocolate covered English toffee and 2 chocolate covered sponge toffee (like a Crunchie bar for those of you that know what that is). Those 6 pieces cost $7.98. Ouch, but oh so tasty.

Now that we were experiencing a sugar rush we pressed on. A little further we passed the Boudin Museum and Bakery. Making sourdough bread since 1849.


The windows to the sidewalk gave us a view of the bakers doing their artistry with dough.








Inside they had baskets of bread going around a track through the bakery overhead.




If it wasn't midday we would have bought a loaf to take with us to eat later. Neither one of us wanted to carry it all afternoon though. Little did we know at the time, there was sourdough in our future.

A little further and we finally made it to Fisherman's Wharf. Or so said the sign.




I will leave the sights of the wharf for the next post. I am trying to keep these from getting too long, but at the same time give an accurate depiction of our adventures.

Here is a teaser for the next post.


- Au Revoir

" Too much work, and no vacation,
Deserves at least a small libation. So hail! My friends, and raise your glasses, Work's the curse of the drinking classes." ~ Oscar Wilde.

8 comments:

  1. LOL. I was wondering when the temptations of all the food shops would suck you in. After all those stairs you chose a very healthy snack. Can't say I would have given crepes a second look before today. But they only crepes seen out this way are at IHOP. The thought of avacado in crepes is enticing.

    Interesting ships. I hope the wind doesn't shift quickly for all those people sitting with their feet dangle over the side of the sailing yacht.

    And I thought deep fried twinkies sounded revolting. I don't think I could stomach chocolate covered potato chips. Just so wrong!

    LOL

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  2. It looks like you are doing a lot of walking in this one day. Pier 39 is definitely one of my favorite places to wander around. Unless it is a sunny Saturday when half of the city seems to be there. I like the shot of the racing boat heeled over. Interesting design.

    The veggie crepe sounded pretty good though I must admit I generally only see sweet rather than savory crepes around here. Sweet and salty seem to go together well so the chocolate covered potato chips didn't sound too off the wall. Though I would have passed on them based on the price per pound.

    I like this tour, thank you.

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  3. Fantastic!
    I often say I don't like crowds (and I don't), but I would brave the crowds for a great city walk like this. Nice job of capturing the flavor of the area.

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  4. Trob,

    That's a nice shot of the sailboat, it had me distracted the entire time I read the rest of your post. (sorry.) I've never been on anything so big, but have sailed quite a bit, it's a lovely thing to do. Also, the crepes looked very good. Very good indeed, it's been a long time since I've had one.

    Brady
    Behind Bars - Motorcycles and Life
    http://www.behindbarsmotorcycle.com/

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  5. Simply magnificent! I've been to LA a few times but never 'frisco and with these photos, I'd very much like to visit. More expense, sigh....

    Thanks so much for the sign, that's fantastic. Wonder whether I should erect one down our drive? Must give it serious thought.......

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  6. "frisco", as Geoff so delicatey puts it is certainly on our bucket list the next time we visit the USA. You seem to be managing to see a lot in a short time. Great pics.

    Interesting to, I am not vegeterian but since reading your blogs I have been more challenged to try different vegie dishes. The Pancake, although simple looked great.

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  7. Loved the sourdough animals. Wow.

    I just love the Bay Area. I've spent much more time on the Oakland side than in San Francisco. My what a beautiful City. Heather has never been. We must do something about that. Of course, she's never been the Pacific NW either. Probably ought to do something about that, too.

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  8. @BeemerGirl - Yes the food shops lured us in. There are good eats to be found.

    @Richard - The later the day on Saturday the more people arrived at the Pier and surrounding areas.

    @Bluekat - We too are not into crowds, but sometimes the only way to see some really neat things is to brave them. We have broad shoulders and can push our way through when need be.

    @Brady - Glad you like the sailboat shot. I haven't been on too many boats but it looks fun.

    @Geoff - I've never been to LA, now that would be a big city. Glad you liked the sign.

    @Raftnn - Glad to see you are eating more veggies. Sometimes we miss meat but because of meat production in this country I just cannot stomach the thought anymore. It is amazing how good of food you can create with veggies though. The biggest reason for me to continue to eat vegetarian is that my Crohn's is pretty much nonexistent. I can't go back to the other way no matter how good bacon smells, lol.

    @CircleBlue - I too loved the sourdough animals. Thought they were so creative. We were only in Oakland on the BART and to get to Alameda on Sunday so we didn't have a chance to explore. Maybe next time. If you ever get tot he PNW let us know. We'll take you to the coast for chowder.

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