Polk Gulch & Russian Hill: Part Three

After some wandering and serious hill climbing (we're talking hills so steep that stairs are cut into the sidewalks), we headed over to Macondray Lane, taking a brief detour to enjoy a view.

This is what the way up to Macondray Lane looked like--sidewalk stairs and hobbit houses.

Finally, we turned left into Macondray Lane.  According to our trusty card, this is "a narrow, tree-lined cobblestone pedestrian alley.  This is the street upon which Armistead Maupin based Barbary Lane in his beloved Tales of the City series."  I've seen the PBS series; now I need to read the books.

Macondray Lane was pretty spectacular, with beautiful homes lining on side of the alley and a lush wall of vegetation lining the other.

At first I thought these metal stairs were part of the inspiration for Barbary Lane's fabled stairs, but those were still to come.  On the right is the view from the end of Macondray Lane, looking out at the bay and Coit Tower.

These have to be the stairs that inspired Maupin.  I love them!  They take you from the alley down to the street.

At this point, we bid farewell to Macondray Lane and climbed a few more hills to get back to Polk Street.  We were wandering on our own now, with no help from the card.  Back on Polk, we stopped to marvel at the old Alhambra Theatre, now home to Crunch Fitness, a trendy gym. But timeless in its architecture.

We explored the rest of Polk Street, taking it almost to the bay.  We stopped at an interesting garage sale and scored a great lamp, which we then had to carry on the rest of our adventure.  Taking Bay Street west, we walked over into the Marina area and turned left onto Fillmore.  We explored Fillmore for awhile and then turned onto Union Street, where we collapsed at Nettie's Crab Shack for a drink and some crab cakes.  By this point our feet were weary and it had turned chilly and windy outside.

It was a great day, though, filled with new sights, strolls, shopping, and ice cream.  A perfect Sunday!

Polk Gulch & Russian Hill: Part Two

The climb up Union to Hyde Street led us to the original Swensen's Ice Cream Shop.  We stopped for a cone and, as directed by the card, to appreciate the "low hum of the cable car tracks" on Hyde Street.

I think Cole looks somewhat grim in this photo because she had realized that my Swiss Orange Chip was far better than her Carmel Marble.  I shared with her.

We then headed up to Lombard Street, where a throng of tourists was snapping photos and speaking in various languages at the top of the hill.  The view was amazing--you can see Alcatraz, Coit Tower, and the Bay Bridge all from the top of the street.  Not to mention the homes and gardens along the switchbacks.

We again followed the card's advice:  "Savor the glorious views from this popular perch, watch the cable cars climb Hyde's steep incline, and peer down Lombard Street, the city's most scenic and famous street, paved in signature pink brick and lined with abundant  hydrangeas and handsome homes.  Built in 1922 with an astonishing eight switchbacks packed into one block, the street was designed to make the hilltop accessible to automobiles."  And accessible it is--I wonder how the Lombard residents like having tourists driving down their street all day long.  On second thought, they're probably too busy eating truffles and being waited upon in the sanctity of their mansions to even notice...

After descending the crooked street, the card wanted us to check out the Diego Rivera mural at the San Francisco Art Institute on Chestnut, but since it was Sunday and probably closed, we bypassed that.  Raincheck!  Instead we wandered further into the neighborhood, climbing more hills and happening upon this idyllic little park. Fay Park has both a house and the garden that were bequeathed to the city by their wealthy owner.

I can't even begin to describe how good this garden smelled...roses were in bloom everywhere!

Tomorrow I'll post about more hill climbing as we looked for Macondray Lane...

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!