The plan for this day was to go visit Downtown, heading towards the Ferry Building and from there, walk back to Union Square, passing by the Civic Centre.
So, after a good breakfast, we were ready to hit the road… on foot!
Beautiful sunny Union Square
On the way towards our first stop, we strolled through the expensive shopping area of San Francisco. You find all the well-known brands, such as Chanel, Dior, Gucci, and so on, on the streets surrounding Union Square. Another little reminder we had to keep walking, as this wasn’t a neighborhood for our wallets.
Onwards to our first stop: One Montgomery Terrace.
According to our travel book, this terrace has great views of Market Street, as well as new parts of San Francisco. And indeed, it had!
We took a little break there, with some snacks and off we went.
From here, we took Market Street towards the Ferry Building, with a few stops here and there to warm up and drink some coffee, and grab something easy for a lunch break once we would arrive at the Ferry Building.
Once we got there, it was indeed lunchtime, and we could see many business people rushing to get their meals before heading back to the office.
For a few seconds, I felt sorry for them…
Inside the Ferry Building, and even though I have no proper photos (Sorry!), I had the same feeling as getting in Mercado da Ribeira, in Lisbon.
Basically, it just looked like they had used the structure of what has been a Ferry Station (it still is, but it doesn’t feel like just that if you know what I mean), and opened up some cute shops, gourmet little grocery stores, and restaurants.
Like I said, it felt like I was getting in Mercado da Ribeira, but then we ferries.
We sat outdoors to enjoy our sandwiches (how Dutch….) but eventually it got very fresh (cold, I’d dare to say), and it was time to get moving.
Excuse: we had to warm up… LOL
We took Mission Street towards the Civic Center.
This took us through the financial district, where you find those big flashy/glass covered buildings. It’s nice but not my thing to be honest.
Halfway towards the Civic Center, I noticed that the vibe has changed; the people on the streets were no longer tourists, and it just felt wrong…
I don’t know; I got this feeling like “get out of here asap before something happens”.
Maybe I was over exaggerating, but I just didn’t feel safe in this part of town.
We finally got to the Civic Center area, where we saw San Francisco’s, City Hall.
The plans were to visit it, if possible, but with “airport-like” security, we just turned around and got back to “our hood”.
Not before I freaked out, once again; I could swear there were people following us and that we were walking the wrong direction.
Well, it happened that both things were wrong! I was having an “off day” I guess.
I felt much better once we got to Powel Street, despite the rain that finally had arrived.
We found shelter in an Irish pub, and after a few snacks and some drinks, we headed back to our hotel room.
The plan was to freshen up for dinner, but instead, we fell asleep! LOL
We skipped dinner… I woke up in the middle of the night, and it wasn’t nice.
Day 4 Walking from Pier 33 to the Golden Gate Bridge
I can summarize this day in a short sentence:
If plan A goes down the drain, regroup, and go for plan B.
Plan A for day 4 was to go visit Alcatraz, but this got canceled the moment we tried to buy tickets and we were informed that they were sold out until Friday afternoon.
We would travel back home Friday evening…
Alcatraz wasn’t happening.
I repeat: I was in San Francisco, for a week, and Alcatraz wasn’t happening…
I needed a moment to drain my frustration.
But then we looked at the map and had the marvelous idea:
It’s sunny, rather warm, let’s walk to the Golden Gate Bridge!
Sure… why not, right?
Well… Just watch the vlog and you’ll understand why not. hahaha
Here we had arrived at San Francisco’s Maritime National Historical Park, which offers great chilling areas, and beachfront. We even saw someone swimming…
Crazy peeps, there in San Fran.
After some climbing, we got to Fort Mason.
Then, we took off towards the Yacht Marina, via Marina Boulevard.
Here, we started to get some looks like “are you guys really walking??” and yes, we were, and we were nowhere near our destination.
Halfway, maybe?!…
At some point, as you’ll see in the vlog, I really thought we were crazy for doing what we were doing. After all, we were walking many kilometers, and in all honesty, we are not the most athletic people out there.
Well, I am not!
But eventually, we got closer and closer of the lovely Golden Gate Bridge!
It felt like “mission accomplished” once we got there!
So, we decided to walk just a bit further and find a place to appreciate the view, relax, recover and just observe the beauty around us.
We almost fell asleep! LOL
I could have stayed there for a little longer if only it wasn’t so windy. The sunset over there must have been breathtaking.
Next time, maybe.
It was time to head back to the center, but this time by bus!
Crazy yes, but not suicidal! LOL
Vlog on YouTube
If you made it this far, thank you!! You’re awesome!!!
I hope you liked this long post and the stories that came with it.
2 Responses
wow, fiquei cheia de vontade de visitar!!
Beijinhos
Último Post:
https://eyeelement.blogspot.com/
Ahhh que bom. Recomendo bastante visitar esta cidade! Fiquei fã e quero muiiiiito voltar. 😊