City by the Bay

Each time we find ourselves downtown in San Francisco we immediately make for our favorite spot.
It's the Ferry Building and it is on the water. This is the place to forget the 4 hour plane flight and to get into the relaxed rhythm of SF. I hear gulls. I see ships. I smell food-there is a fantastic collection of coffee, pastry and hot food shops within the Ferry Building. Artisan-staffed cheese shops, organic this and that. Seafood aplenty. Empanadas! (my favorite snack). Outdoor restaurants. Peete's Coffee always gets a visit for some double espressos and a pastry. There's always a line but it moves fast and the staff are fast and cheerful. There are benches to sit on and gaze at the calm water while you wait for your ferry to the far reaches of the Bay. The ferries run back and forth endlessly and disgorge commuters and cyclists. After you get out of work you have a 20 to 30 minute ride on the water to collect your thoughts and decompress, while watching the beautiful bay scenery go by. The wind in your hair.

It's a relaxing place despite all the comings and going of the other people who have to be somewhere, do something. For us, just arrived, it's a place to sit and savor and plan our next meal...

The Bay Bridge, heading to Oakland and Alameda, which is a special place for us.

Let's go inside the Ferry Building briefly.......

As it was hungry-time and Anthony Bourdain had recommended the Buena Vista cafe for their Irish Coffee, we thought it wise to get a bite to eat and follow in the Great Man's Footsteps, although we didn't actually walk but rather, having purchased the Muni Transit card, we rode in style on an olde world bus from maybe the 1950's. North driver! To Fisherman's Wharf from where we would walk the last few hundred yards in search of victuals and libations.

The long walk from Fisherman's Wharf to the Buena Vista cafe.