Polk Gulch & Russian Hill: Part One

We have a deck of San Francisco city walk cards that friends gave to us and yesterday we chose #7:  Polk Gulch and Russian Hill.  It was a really fun afternoon, starting at Pacific and Polk and ending at Macondray Lane, the area that Armistead Maupin used as his inspiration for Tales of the City.  I saw a lot of things I'd never seen before:  new parts of Polk Street, the original Swensen's Ice Cream Shop, and Lombard Street in all its glory (yes, I know, it was sad that I'd never actually been there before).  We logged several extremely steep hills and probably at least 4 or 5 miles on our walk.  So no guilt for indulging in a Swensen's cone!  Swiss Orange Chip, of course :)

We were hungry for lunch upon arriving at the intersection of Pacific and Polk, so we stopped at the famous cheese shop there, Cheese Plus, and sat outside to eat our sandwiches.  It was sunny and in the 60s, with a nice breeze (that later turned into a full-fledged gale).  But at noon the weather was perfect for an outside lunch.

This shop has every sort of cheese imaginable, along with an impressive selection of wine and chocolate, as well as a machine that grinds peanuts into peanut butter right before your eyes!

After lunch, we followed the card's directions:  "Over the course of the next few blocks, you'll pass a string of small shops, including the eclectic Molte Cose (#2044), which carries assorted baubles, and the Russian Hill Bookstore (#2234).  Be sure to check out Prize (1415 Green), around the corner.  Back on Polk, the popular Boulange de Polk (#2310) carries authentic French pastries in a cozy setting."

While we missed Prize, and did not stop in to the Boulange, seeing as how we had just eaten, we did linger in Molte Cose and Bella Cose, where I saw this lovely vintage wedding dress, among many other amazing vintage finds.  The Russian Hill Bookstore was similarly enticing, with a lot of new and used books as well as a great selection of paper goods.

Checking back in with the card, it advised us to "Turn right on Union and left on Hyde--note Swensen's Ice Cream (#1999) and the low hum of cable-car cables circulating under the tracks--and stop at Lombard."

Getting up to Hyde via Union Street was a major climb.  Here's Cole partway up.

More to come tomorrow, starting with our visit to Swensen's!