Today began at a leisurely pace: we had a very light Starbucks breakfast and returned to base for showers. The first real event was our 1130 reservation for dim sum at the Stevenson Street branch of an old favourite, Yank Sing.
After a satisfying brunch, we then began a long walk that took in Sutter Street, Kearny Street and Columbus Avenue, initially heading towards North Beach and Washington Square.
We continued on Columbus Avenue, Beach Street, the Hyde Street cable car terminus, Aquatic Park, Municipal Pier and up the first part of the pedestrian trail until we were overlooking the Festival Pavilion at Fort Mason.
On the way back, we walked via Fisherman’s Wharf, calling in at the Mermaid Bar of the Argonaut Hotel for a Bloody Mary. It was a well deserved refreshment in nice surroundings. Continuing along the Embarcadero, we rapidly got tired of the crowds and the tacky profusion of garish attractions and purveyors of tourist tat. Seeking an escape route, we turned up Stockton Street, eventually using the steps to avoid the tunnel under California Street. We turned right on Pine and came close to being on the summit of Nob Hill – but no cigar on this occasion. Finally, our route took us down Taylor to the Tenderloin, then along 6th Street – which looked like some kind of war zone! – to Howard.
On our return to base following a day spent mostly on our feet, we were quite certain that we had earned the right to a very nice Dry Martini in the hotel bar, conveniently using up a credit in the process. To round the day off, there then followed an excellent in-room picnic, but sadly there aren’t any photos of that.
