San Francisco #2

Tuesday early evening in San Francisco. 
It's been a really fun couple of days since we arrived very late Sunday night.

Yesterday I explored Market Street and then wandered down to the old ferry building and the marketplace.  The building is extremely well-restored, and has an amazing selection of gourmet foods.  Lunch was a fantastic hot freshly-cooked fish sandwich, plus an unbelievably good steamed chicken bun from Out The Door (the takeaway version of Slanted Door.  After lunch I headed to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA).  A fantastic exhibition of Henri Cartier-Bresson photos, plus lots of other good stuff.  Last night a fun and really good dinner at Farmer Brown - 'farm fresh soul food'.  My first experience of Southern food - we had fried chicken and catfish, each served with a biscuit (like a muffin) and salad, plus greens and macaroni.  I washed it down with a shot of bourbon and a Pabs Blue Ribbon beer.

Today wandered back to the old ferry building and my first really good coffee of the trip - at Blue Bottle Coffee.  The waitress seemed almost emotional when I told her they served the best coffee I'd had in America and how it reminded me of home.  Walked around the fisherman's market - very touristy, and lots of claws everywhere.  Wandered around and found the North Beach neighborhood.  Walked through it and sat in Washington Square park, then trolley car back to the Fairmont.  This afternoon shopped around Union Square.  For an Australian, American shops are very, very reasonably-priced at present.