san francisco, feb 05 

 

 

After eight years, we finally decided to return to San Francisco. Over the five days that we spent in the city, we walked many miles, and celebrated the Chinese New Year with lots of food and fun!


This is our third trip to San Francisco so we can't wait to visit our favorite placesWe arrived in Chinatown just in time to help celebrate the Chinese New YearNo CaptionSan Francisco's Chinatown is the largest Chinatown outside of AsiaNo CaptionNo CaptionNo Caption
No CaptionThe Chinese New Year Flower FairOur hotel was located on the edge of Chinatown so we smelled heavenly dishes all the timeDim SumNo CaptionLots of great Italian food in nearby North BeachMolinari's Deli made great prosciutto sandwiches!
No CaptionTime to stop eating and start walking. The Embarcadero Waterfront near the Bay Bridge.No CaptionHistoric streetcarsFisherman's WharfNo CaptionChowder in a sourdough bread bowl...
...with a side of crab!Hundreds of sea lions have taken over the marina at Pier 39No CaptionAlcatrazThe SS Jermiah O'Brien is the only liberty ship from the D-Day invasion to return to Normandy for the 50th Anniversary of D-DayRich playing with one of the 3" gunsGhirardelli Square
Home of the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company!No CaptionOn to the Cable Car MuseumEvery cable car is pulled along it's hilly track by an underground cableLombard Street is the "crookedest" street in the world It was created in the 1920s as a way to deal with the extreme forty-degree slope of Russian HillThe steepest street in the city (no curves) is Filbert Street, not Lombard, with a 31.5 percent grade
No CaptionBay area architecture: rows of Victorians and streets of bay windowsNo CaptionNo CaptionBuilt in 1972, the Transamerican Pyramid is 853 feet tall with 48 floorsThe "wings" which start at the 29th floor are necessary to support elevators on the east side and a stairwell and smoke tower on the west sideThe Shakespeare Garden in Golden Gate Park
The Japenese Tea Garden in Golden Gate ParkNo CaptionNo CaptionNo CaptionThe Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate ParkNo CaptionNo Caption
No CaptionNo CaptionNo CaptionNo CaptionFort Point was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1853 and 1861 to prevent entrance of a hostile Confederate fleet into San Francisco BayThe Presidio's former enlisted men's barracksOfficer's barracks
Fort Point State ParkThe Golden Gate Bridge is the recognized symbol of the San Francisco Bay areaIt spans the mile-wide Golden Gate strait that connects San Francisco Bay with the Pacific OceanThe pier of the bridge is only 1,215 feet from the shore, the distance between the two towers that support the cables, which in turn, support the floor of the bridge is 4,200 feetJoseph B. Strauss was the chief engineerThe two great cables extending from the bridge contain 80,000 miles of steel wire, which is enough to circle the equator three timesNo Caption
The two towers of the bridge rise 746 feet, which is 191 feet taller than the Washington MonumentThe bridge is painted with a shade of "International Orange," or orange vermilion. It was selected for the way it blends with the natural elements surrounding itNo CaptionLillie Hitchcock Coit, philanthropist and admirer of the fire fighters at the 1906 earthquake fire, left funds for the beautification of San FranciscoThe 210 foot tall art deco Coit Tower's design is reminiscent of a fire hose nozzleA view of the Bay BridgeNo Caption