San Francisco

We didn't sleep very well Friday night so got up a little later than planned and found a Denny's for breakfast. After looking into parking in San Francisco we decided we weren't that rich ($9 a hr seemed the usual), and found that there is free parking at the BART train stations and it is only a ~$10 round trip. Prefect. We got in at about noon and walked over to the wharf. They had some great markets on along the way. 

Alpaca wool. So soft!

 There were also lots of street performers out. They were better than the ones in San Diego as they were more original. This guy was our favorite. He had all these peace signs out and was just happy drumming away!

Peace drummer.

 One thing I wanted to do was ride the trolleys. But the queues were so long, it wasn't worth the wait. Still I did manage to get a photo.

San Francisco trolley

After getting some bits at the markets we walked along the front to Pier 39, famous mainly for the sea lions. We found a cruise that went around the bay, the bridge and Alcatraz. So we got to see a lot without having to walk too far!

Pier 39

San Francisco skyline

Golden Gate bridge

Bridge close up 

There really is a lot of fog!

 There were lots of kite surfers (I think that's what you call them). It looked a lot of fun. Though a few came a little too close to the boat at times.

Kite surfing

 We sailed around Alcatraz. It would be fun to visit but we didn't have much time and you have to book weeks in advance. The cruise had a narrator but there were a lot of people on the boat and it was really windy so we didn't hear most of it.

Alcatraz

Housing block 

Run down

 We got a good look at the sea lions on the way back into the harbor.

Sea lions.

After the cruise, I had to get a hot drink. (Rachel thought it was very funny and British that my first thought was a cup of tea. But the wind was really cold on the boat!)
Rachel really wanted to find the parrots (they got loose years ago and someone fed them and they spread wild in a few parts of the city). We found the first street and nothing. So we had to go up Telegraph Hill. It was a big hill. :-( But eventually we did manage to find a parrot. There was another somewhere but we couldn't see him.

Passion flower 

Parrot

The walk up the stairs was actually very pretty with some nice views and pretty flowers.

Stairs up 

Nearly there

One of the best things about San Francisco I think is the architecture. I love the differences in the building. They are all difference colors and shapes. It's very cheerful. (If you have ever seen Charmed, I love that house!)

love the buildings

 We wanted to go to Golden Gate Park (oddly no where near Golden Gate Bridge) but needed a stop first. We found a great little bar with live jazz/blues/country music and stopped for a rest and cold glass of wine/beer.

Jazz band

 We ended up getting a taxi to the park. We just couldn't face walking it and the bus system is very confusing. The park is nice, and home to the Science academy. Unfortunately we have very bad timing. Everything had just shut.

Golden Gate park

 We really wanted to go to the Japanese Tea Gardens. But they shut at 6pm. The doors were cool!

Tea garden doors

 There were some interesting/questionable statues in the park.

Lady sphinx?

Not idea what the kid is doing or why no one has any clothes on.

 We found the lily pond and it was under construction! :-( But the conservatory of flowers garden (there was a private event on in the actual conservatory - our timing sucked!) was very pretty.

Colorful

Conservatory gardens 

Clock

 We needed up at our sushi restaurant very early! We were so cold!  But as we were there early we went next door for a hot sake while waiting for our table. Great way to warm up. :-)

Lots of sake choices

Thanks to Groupon we had a voucher for $70 worth of sushi! So we indulged in a sushi feast. One of the main rolls was a snow crab and soft shell crab roll, which was enormous! It was really not elegant to eat but very tasty.We ate a LOT of sushi. It was amazing

Spider roll

 And then the highlight of San Francisco. Opposite the sushi restaurant was a dessert lounge. It's like a cocktail bar and they do sell cocktails but they also sell desserts! It was amazing! There should be one of these in every city and town across the planet. It's a brilliant idea. They also had a bunch of board games you can borrow and play. Seriously. These should be everywhere. I would happily spent many nights here!

Desert

Epic meal

After a tough day friday and to celebrate the end of our first week (and Duncan's only week), we went to a seriously nice restaurant called Maison Akira for an epic meal. It was a lot more expensive than I expected but worth it. We all had the the 6 course taster menu with paired wines and a glass of champagne to start. And it was the real stuff, not just sparkling wine.
We got a small starter compliments of the chef. Honestly we have no idea what it was. We think the waiter mentioned cauliflower but we could find or taste any.

Looking forward to our meal, with champagne

Something with cauliflower maybe?

Our first course was asparagus, seared scallops and sweet tomatoes. The scallops were amazing! And there some little red balls in with the petals which had a really strong sweet flavor. Very tasting.

Asparagus and scallops

The second dish was actually my favorite! It was tuna sashimi with a quail egg, wasibi caviar, and pumpkin puree. I can't remember what the pink dot was. The tuna was the best I have ever tasted! I could happily have just had a whole meal of that!
We also got a glass of saki to accompany it.

Tuna sashimi

Next was a consommé with either shrimp or lobster and some white fish in a ginger soup. Tasty but not our favorite by far. It also had some thing called kinki in it. But we have no idea what they was!

Fish and ginger consommé 

Then we got a choice. I chose the chefs signature dish, miso chilean sea bass.  He served it to the emperor and empress of Japan when they came to visit. And I could see why. Rachel and Duncan got the days special, Mediterranean sea bass with a saffron sauce.

Miso Chilean Sea Bass 

We then got a little palette cleanser before our main course. So cute!

Pomegranate palette cleanser

 I chose the 24-day aged angus beef ribeye in a Marchand du Vin sauce (no idea but tasty) with gratin potato and some summer veg. The beef was amazing!

My main course! So tasty!

The others got Kobe beef (super expensive and famous) and lamb. But we all tasted each others meal which was great as I have heard of Kobe beef but never tried it. Though I think mine was the nicest.
 We also got a second glass of champagne to go with our deserts. However the measured sizes were a little different! And I got the baby one. :-(

More champagne

But desert was really cool. Rachel and Duncan ordered baked Alaska. They then set fire to it at our table.  

Flaming baked Alaska

Filled with green tea ice-cream

I choose a flour-less chocolate cake with ice-cream (it was a given really). Yummy! It was so light. I could have eaten 2 or 3.  And wanted to lick the plate. I am amazed I eat a complete 6 course meal and didn't leave anything - it was too good to not eat.

Chocolate cake

I also let Duncan borrow my camera and direct. (This was after a few glasses of champagne which always goes to my head.)

Tragedy and anger

Love (though I look more smashed) and distain

It was a really nice night and an amazing meal. Probably my best. The food was amazing. The only bad part of the night was when they brought the bill. Ouch! But worth it.

All enjoying our night out.