San Francisco's Pier Side (Golden Gate Bridge and Cable Car) - Pt. 2

Sorry for the delay in posting Part Two of San Francisco's Pier Side. There has been many changes happening at work and school, so it's been quite busy for me.

Anyways, continuing where I've left off. We had originally planned to rent a bike to cross the Golden Gate Bridge. However, we didn't realize that there were no bike rental shops near the ends of the bridge. So for future reference, if you plan to bike across the bridge, make sure to rent a bike near the piers as that's where most of the rental shops are located. Since we were bike-less, and the weather was decent, we decided to walk across the bridge instead. It was a good afternoon stroll and definitely helped in digesting our morning consumption. The walk took approx. 45 mins each way, so 1hr 30 mins in total. You'll want to account for a bit more time if you wish to stay on the other side to take some pictures of the piers in the background. Fair warning: it does get windy and a bit chillier when you're on the bridge, so make sure you bring a windbreaker and an toque of some sort!

San Francisco's Pier Side (Farmer's Market and Fisherman's Wharf) - Pt. 1

We visited the pier side on a Saturday and luckily for us, the weather was perfect, with close to no clouds found among the blue sky and a shining sun to keep us warm from the typical wind that is synonymous with San Francisco. It seems we chose the right day to do all of our outdoor activities. We begun our day by parking at the Golden Gateway Garage (268 Clay Street, San Francisco, CA 94111), which is mere 7 minutes walk from the Ferry Plaza building. For those who are planning to visit by means of driving, Golden Gateway Garage costs only $3 for the entire day if you receive validation from participating merchants (we received our validation at parking booths found at the Farmer's Market).

Bouchon Bakery

To complete our trip in Las Vegas, we made sure to grab some last minute goodies from Bouchon Bakery before boarding our flight. Bouchon Bakery is a bakery opened by the famous Chef Thomas Keller, an American chef who is widely known for opening The French Laundry. After having come home, I did some further research on Keller and a couple things stood out to me that I thought would be neat to share. The first is this interesting fact: the first Bouchon Bakery was opened within walking distance of The French Laundry, with the original purpose to provide Keller's restaurants with his own homemade unique breads.

The second item I'd like to share is a tidbit of Keller's philosophy "A great meal is not one that just fills you up. A great meal is a journey that returns you to sources of pleasure you have may have forgotten and takes you to places you haven't been before." I really cannot agree more. Of course, having a full belly is satisfying, but a meal isn't just merely the act of filling up one's belly but also comes with it many other layers of fulfillment. Whether it is to be in a new restaurant with a special ambiance, thus allowing you to experience that foreign and new sensation that is often missed, or to be able to taste a familiar dish that you'd never thought you'd be able to find again, or even the simple pleasure of sharing a special moment with a close friend.


Enough about Thomas Keller and onto Bouchon Bakery! (If you wish to learn more about Keller and his achievements, you can do so at www.thomaskeller.com)