San Francisco, Day 1.... Part 1 of 2

I promised myself that I would not get up at zero dark thirty for the sail into San Francisco but I did anyway.  It’s just so beautiful sailing in during the early morning hours…  We had to individually clear Customs early so we got off the ship and headed along the Embarcadero to San Francisco’s iconic Fisherman’s Wharf.  At the wharf, we had a great view of Alcatraz and the sea lions.  We continued to stroll along the to the shore to Ghirardelli Square.  It was our intent to visit the Maritime National Park but instead we were able to secure, thanks to the concierge at the Argonaut Hotel a limo driver/guide.  Santi was our guide for the next 3 1/2 hours and it was money well spent.  Santi took us first to see the stunning Palace of Fine Arts, a building in the Roman design.  Next, we took a look at the Golden Gate Bridge up close to the bridge at Fort Point.  Then we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge to the North Vista Point.  Great views… We continued along entering Marin County driving through Sausalito and stopping at Issaquah Point Houseboat community in Marin City.  The houseboats were diverse in their architecture and it was very interesting to meander amongst these unique houseboats. There were lots of flowers which made it even nicer.  Returning to San Francisco, Santi took us to Baker Beach on the property of the former Presidio Military Base. The Presidio's coastal bluffs are renowned for their spectacular views of the Golden Gate and Pacific Ocean.  I had just read about this Beach last night and was quite excited when we visited the site today.  What a great look at the Golden Gate Bridge.  Our next stop was Legion of Honor and Holocaust Memorial Palace, a replica of the Invadlides in Paris.  We drove through Golden Gate Park the second largest park in the United States on our way to Haight Asbury.  Haight Asbury was known as the home of the 1960’s Hippie movement.  From Haight Asbury we drove through San Francisco’s LGBT section known as Castro making our way to the Mission District, known for its wall art. I just kept snapping photo after photo…  I love street art.  We had an amazing day and we are so very thankful to our very knowledgeable tour guide to show us the many hidden gems of cosmopolitan city of San Francisco….  Once back on the ship, we had a wonderful dinner and spent some time visiting with our friends Gyl & Howard. Loving every day!!!!