San Francisco

Thursday – May 3

The Zaandam was just approaching San Francisco Bay when we pulled back the curtains. Bob saw that we were getting close to the Golden Gate Bridge so he grabbed my camera and went out to the promenade deck to get some photos. I wasn’t dressed yet, so I enjoyed the view through the window. 

Not being dressed shouldn't have stopped me from going outside...it obviously wasn't an issue with this lady!

I put my cell phone on my mini tripod and set it up in the window to record a time lapse video as the ship sailed past the shoreline and into port. The time-lapse video was funny to watch with people zipping past the window!

After a hearty breakfast, Danny stopped by our room to begin the day. He was going to join us as we explored on our own. Up until 2 years ago I had never even been to the state of California and now this would be my third time in the city of San Francisco!

Each of us downloaded the San Francisco MUNI app and purchased a one-day pass that was good for the cable cars, street cars and city buses. The F-Line streetcar stopped right at Pier 27 where we were docked and we jumped on and rode to Fisherman’s Wharf. From there we walked to the Hyde-Powell cable car turn-around. The line was pretty short, but we waited a long time to board. Seemed they must have been spacing the cars in certain intervals.

The cable car routes + some of the places we visited.

Once we did leave, we only rode a short distance to the first stop at Lombard Street…billed as the “crookedest street in the world.” There is some debate as to whether it is even the most crooked street in San Francisco, but regardless it does draw a crowd! Bob and Danny walked part way down while I sat at the top watching the tourists taking selfies and also a hummingbird flitting among the many flowers.

Looking down the street...

...and looking up the street.

Just like everyone else, we had to take a selfie! That is Coit Tower in distance.

When we had taken a sufficient number of photos, we jumped on the next cable car that came along and rode as far as the Cable Car Museum.  We had just visited the museum a year ago, but Danny had never been before. It was still fascinating to be able to look at the large wheels pulling the cables under the street that drive the cable cars. 

Lots of historical photos of the city. I especially enjoyed seeeing the ones that were taken after the earthquake in 1906 and the fire that followed which destroyed most of the city. Such a tragic time in San Francisco's history.

It was only a couple of blocks to Chinatown, our next stop, so we walked. I had watched numerous YouTube videos on where to find the best eats in Chinatown and had marked the location of Good Mong Kok Bakery on a Google Map as a good choice. When we got there the line was out of the door…a sign of good food! I knew I wanted to try the BBQ beef buns. A lady in front of us suggested the steamed buns (which Bob and I ordered) and also the sesame balls filled with red bean paste (which Danny tried.) We shared bites with each other and agreed both were good. I was surprised at the sesame balls which in spite of being filled with beans were sweet.

Waiting in line...

This was AFTER I tore into the bun to see the filling.

The shops along the street are so interesting…some selling meats, others fruits and vegetables and many with clothing and other goods.

Those are sea cucumbers on the left. Not a vegetable, but a sea creature. We saw them when we were kayaking in Alaska, but not sure I would want to eat one.

Pork rinds were hanging in several different shops we passed.

The Golden Gate Fortune Cookie factory was our next stop. It is located in an alley (Ross Alley) so unless you specifically look for it, you probably won’t run across it accidently. The “factory” is just a tiny room off the alley where you can watch the cookies being made and purchase different varieties.

Ross Alley...on our way to the fortune cookie factory.

One of our other goals was to find a place to have dim sum and we made the mistake of first trying to find the main gate to Chinatown. By the time we got there, we realized it was a much more touristy area and there were none of the more authentic dim sum restaurants. In hindsight, we should have bought some at the Good Mong Kok Bakery or someplace near there. At that point I was getting really tired of walking so decided it wasn’t worth backtracking.

The main gate of Chinatown.

Once we found a cable car stop, we were able to catch the next one on the California route which we took to the Financial District.  From there it was a short walk to the Ferry Building. We walked from one end of the building to the other checking out all of the unique (and expensive!) shops.

Sampling olive oil.

By that time, I was shot. We went back to the ship via the F-Line streetcar, caught the end of lunch at the buffet and went back to our cabin and crashed.

At 5:00 we left the ship again and began part 2 of our day in San Francisco. Once again we took the F-Line streetcar back to Fisherman’s Wharf. It made things much easier since we were familiar with these routes because on our first visit to SF we made good use of the MUNI system! Danny wanted to buy some chocolates so we first walked to Ghiradelli in order to get there before they closed at 6 pm. <Side note: Danny started the cruise with 9 pounds of chocolates which he continuously handed out to the staff and crew. He took time to get to know many of the crew personally and wanted to get them some of the “good stuff” from Ghiradelli.>

After Danny made his purchases we walked back through Fisherman’s Wharf and stopped at the Boudin Bakery...famous for their sourdough bread. There is an observation area on the second floor of the bakery where you can look down and watch as the sour dough is prepared and made into bread. Very interesting!

That is a manequin in the photo...not a headless employee. 

The giant mixer is dumping a huge batch of sour dough to be made into loaves.

The sun was starting to set by the time we got to Pier 39 and it was windy and very chilly. We watched the sea lions for a while but didn’t take time to go through any of the other areas at Pier 39.

The sea lions are always fun to watch and we would have stayed longer, but it was COLD!

One last ride on the F-Line and we were back at the ship…just in time to get something to eat before the buffet closed. Not sure if this was the menu that night, but it gives you an idea of what is served in the evening. A great alternative for the nights you can't...or don't want to go to the dining room.

Before going back to our cabin we walked around the ship getting “just a few more” photos of the San Francisco skyline.

Coit Tower at night.

There was only one show at 9 pm in the theater...a comedian named Rodney Johnson...but we were too tired to attend. The When & Where also shows a game show called "Majority Rules" in the Crow's Nest at the same time. Didn't make it to that either!

I guess this might be why I was so tired!
The health app on my iphone shows just how much ground we covered in our day in San Francisco!!

The ship left the city at 11 pm but by then we were fast asleep. That is…until around 2 am. I heard my phone “ding” indicating that I had received a text message. A big oops. Since we were still in port, I had used my cell phone up until I went to bed but then forgot to put it back in airplane mode. The text message was from T-Mobile and said “Welcome to the Cruise Ship. Out of plan coverage $.50/text and $5.99/minute talk.” I got a sick feeling knowing that it wasn’t the calls or texts that I needed to worry about, but the data. I quickly turned on airplane mode and hoped that my phone hadn’t been updating apps while I was sleeping.

Update: All was well with my phone bill…no extra charges. I realized I had data roaming turned off so I hadn’t used any data while connected to the ship cell service. Since I have unlimited data at home, I don’t usually pay attention to something like that…but I surely will in the future!