San Francisco - Day 1

Arrived at SFO and took the BART downtown to the Embarcadero stop for $8.10 each. We were staying at Le Meridien San Francisco. We found a great rate of $82/night for this hotel. Hotel is generally $250-$300 and up. Not sure if it would be worth it for that price. Le Meridien was in the Financial District which seemed pretty quiet even when we arrived in the middle of the work day on Friday. The rooms were large, the bed very comfortable, and the bathroom very nice. A very nice hotel but not much that makes it stand out.

We enjoyed staying in the Financial District. It was nice and quiet and not overwhelmed by people. We were able to walk almost everywhere. The two other main areas for hotels in San Francisco are Fisherman's Wharf and Union Square. Fisherman's Wharf was our idea of hell on earth. People everywhere, all tourists, tour busses and tour groups going by, overpriced restaurants, lots of kids. Union Square is still pretty crowded but not like Fisherman's Wharf. Lots of shopping in the area.

We started our trip with lunch at Swan Oyster Depot. But first we had to walk there. Big mistake. SF's hills kicked our asses. Walking up California Street almost killed me.

Should have taken the cable car.

Excellent seafood at Swan Oyster Depot but go on an off hour. We had a long wait and we showed up at 2:15.

They only have one long counter for people to eat at.

We both started with a glass of wine and the clam chowder. They're apparently famous for their chowder and while it was good, it wasn't even the best I had all weekend. Then we moved on to the crab cocktail. This was delicious and we both highly recommend it.

Finally, I decided since I was at an oyster depot, I needed to try the oysters. I got a plate of 6 oysters which they added 1 clam to. Then they gave me another clam to try. Altogether I had 8 raw oysters/clams that I ate. Too much raw for me. I much preferred the oysters to the clams. Payment is cash only and it's also only open until 5:30 pm.

We stopped at Grace Cathedral and wandered through Chinatown on the way back to the hotel.

For dinner we headed to Andalu in the Mission District to meet some friends. It was very good. My favorite was the cambazola fondue although we also enjoyed the flatiron steak, Coca-Cola braised short ribs, sliders, mizo glazed sea bass, wagyu beef tartare, and ahi tartar tacos. Only disappointing thing was the polenta fries. Highly recommend this restaurant.