Morning routine

Getting up early on vacation is habitual with me and maybe you can see why in the video that will come with this blog.

We've stayed at the Omni a few times now and will do so this July so my routine will continue no doubt.  I walk North on California to St Mary's Square. It's a steep climb but only a block or so.
I have a Starbucks coffee in hand and a big camera bag over my shoulder.

The square is a nice calm, quiet place to sit and reflect on the day just passed and look forward to today's adventures-in today's case we are planning to revisit the Botanical Garden to the west of the city, something we had first visited back in 1999 when we were in San Francisco for some Wagner Opera.

We would return with time on our hands and better cameras to capture the beauty there.

Once the first cup of coffee is drained it's time for another but this one I get down at the Ferry Building which is a good 15 minute steady walk downhill until the Omni it flattens out . Most of the places that are open at this hour  (7 am) are called Starbucks.

Across from the Ferry Building is a park where many of the homeless men are waking. They have shopping carts which they somehow forgot to return to the supermarket, piled high with-well, with anything.

There is also a daily street market geared towards the souvenir buyer-photos and paintings of San Francisco, cheap jewelry, bags and general bric a brac. They set up in a leisurely fashion as they have a long day ahead.

There may be a drummer in the center of the Embarcadero on an island between the wide traffic lanes, setting up his collection of inverted plastic paint tubs and beaten-up cymbals for today's improvised performance.

Most of the Ferry Building's shops are still shuttered as the crowds aren't here yet. The one that matters most at this hour is already doing a roaring trade from the people who are already arriving/departing on the Ferrys- Peets Coffee where they get you in and out quickly.

Once outside I find a bench by the water and relax, looking at the eye-candy bay.

A treat for the eyes.

Soon the commuter ferries will dock and people will walk of or ride their bikes off to head to work in the many office buildings, shops and restaurants nearby. All the shops in the Ferry Building will spring to life-artisinal cheese shops, bread shops, hot takeaway stands, seafood restaurants, meat purveyors, bookstores and so on.

On the deep sidewalk on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays there will be a fruit and veg market spring up. The Saturday one is the biggest and includes some stalls from local restaurants giving you a taste of their hot food. That draws a big crowd of munchers.

There's also the very excellent kitchenware store Sur La Table in the Ferry.

Here's the video from that morning........