San Francisco – Day 1.5

I got into San Francisco yesterday morning after a slight delay… surprise! there was fog in San Fransisco. The BART system from the airport is wonderfully convenient, and walking to Green Tortoise Hostel wasn’t a big deal from the Montgomery Station. The hills are pretty epic, but nothing too major.

Yesterday was quite the adjustment in terms of weather. I had almost gotten accustomed to the Las Vegas heat. I remembered when I was sitting at the Hostels sauna last night that I had been walking around in weather like that just days before.

I wasn’t sure what to do after I got checked in and put away my luggage. But my policy on travelling is when in doubt, WALK. So I went on a walk with no destination in mind, and ended up seeing a bunch of things I wanted to see anyway.

First thing I did was visit The Nature Shop (1336 Grant Ave, San Francisco) it’s within easy walking distance from my hostel and I picked up a special blend of juice for colds (I caught one in Vegas.) It had carrot, garlic, parsley and something else in it. Sharp and delicious.
From there, I walked towards the Embarcadero and the various piers, I stumbled upon The Plant Cafe, but I got there just as happy hour was starting (and they weren’t making any food), so I decided to come back later and try them out later when dinner was on.

I kept going, and turned towards downtown, and started seeing signs for various art museums, so I followed them. I remembered that admission to the Yerba Buena Contemporary Art Museum was free (First Tuesday of the month,) so I had to visit. They had a bunch of interactive things to do and create, so that part was a lot of fun. Some of my friends will be receiving really terrible handmade postcards in the next few days.

I know I said I was going to avoid the SF MOMA on it’s free day, but it was right across the street from the Yerba Buena Museum and I thought… what’s the worst that could happen? It was pretty full people, but it wasn’t too unmanageable a crowd, so I’m glad I went. Lots of tourists. I really wonder how many locals take advantage of it, I know the Edmonton Art Gallery get’s packed on the free nights. I saw some of my favourite pieces, and it was mind blowing to be in the same room as pieces by greats like Lichtenstein, Baselitz, and Gerhard Richter.

It was getting late, and I was getting hungry, so I wandered back to The Plant Cafe for something to eat. I know I don’t say this often, but I didn’t enjoy my meal. I really wanted to like it, the location was amazing, the staff were friendly. My plate had beautiful colours, a decent sized portion, but it was missing something. At first I chalked it up to having a cold, but as I was telling myself this, I realized I could taste it, it just wasn’t very good. The cupcake was too sweet, and moist in a tolerable but not necessarily pleasing way, and the burger (I ordered the Wasabi Plant Burger on whole wheat bread, ps. their buns aren’t vegan) was a weird combination. The wasabi patty with sauerkraut and thick raspberry aioli was kind of absurd. I was hungry, I ate most of it, but it due to a focus on sustenance rather then the usual food related delight. I probably wouldn’t eat there again. Okay… something positive… the pickles were good.

Today I walked over to the Exploratorium. It was such a great place, it reminded me a lot of the Space and Science Center in Edmonton (now called the Telus World of Science) when I was little. That same feeling of excitement came over me and I was running around to displays and playing with different things. IT’s definitely targeted towards kids, but I’m pretty sure anyone can get something out of it. This was also free today, so the line was pretty long to get in (and I was early.)

Since I was so close to the Golden Gate Bridge, I figured I might as well try and cross it today. It was pretty cold and foggy, but it looked beautiful anyway. It was full of people also, and I’m not sure how there aren’t more bike/pedestrian accidents because no one seems to look where they are going. The view from the bridge towards the city was fantastic.

So far it’s been an awesome day. Tonight I’m checking out the Souley Vegan restaurant in Oakland and hopefully running into some other San Francisco vegans off of the PPK.