Palace of Fine Arts and Exploratorium |
Japanese Tea Garden |
We walked over to the Japanese Tea Garden and in the Japanese tea-house we savoured Genmai-Cha Set tea and Hawaiian Mochi cake amongst the Bonsai trees and water features. Then we were back on the bus, taking in more sights before finally hopping off at Union Square, where we went straight to Macy's Cheesecake Factory to thaw out after the freezing open top trip. The temperature in the city had plummeted over the last few days into the 60s, and the wind chill factor on the open bus was certainly felt by all on the tour.
Sample of Victorian Architecture |
Riding the Cable Car down Hyde Street |
Not deterred, we took a cable car to Hyde Street terminal and walked back to the hotel via Ghiradelli Square. Ghiradelli was an Italian who had emigrated to San Francisco to make his fortune during the gold rush. He failed miserably as a miner, and started to make chocolate instead. Within a few years he had made so much money that he bought the complete block of land where the "chocolate heaven" is.
We rounded off the evening in a popular and noisy steakhouse. The procedure here was to give your name and seating requirements on entry to the restaurant, and take a seat at the bar until your table was ready; partaking in the liquid refreshments of course. Occasionally a waitress would walk down the length of the noisy bar shouting out for Mr. Jones, or Mr. Smith or what have you, and lead the appropriate people to their table. We sat for a while, before noticing a small, wizened, old fellow doing laps around the bar mumbling something. On the next lap we could just pick out above the noise Mr. Douglas. Still, we got there in the end.