No breakfast offered at the hotel at weekends. Ruth had found a chocolate trail, based in the Mission District, south of the high included the suggestion of donuts and coffee for breakfast, so off we went. We caught the cable car to Market Street and then a number 14 bus to 24th Street at Mission. The journey down Mission showed us a seedier part of the city and took ages as the bus stopped at just about every block. We walked east along 24th for nearly 10 blocks until we found Dynamo Donuts, a most unprepossessing place, but the home of the best donuts in San Francisco. And they were good, we had the spiced chocolate each along with a passion fruit and milk chocolate, and a ginger and orange with a large mug of typical American coffee.
Back along 24th to Alabama, then Florida streets to look at the street art or murals. Some politically motivated,some telling the history of the local people. Some had been commissioned as part of the New Deal, just at the end of the Great Depression, but many were more recent. On again to find Balmy Street, a narrow (by American standards) lane, with brightly coloured murals on both sides of the street. Time for lunch so we headed west back to Bryant Street and turned north for a few blocks to,find El Metate, a Mexican restaurant, just a neighbourhood restaurant but the food was very good. We had Chicken Mole, the house speciality, slow cooked chicken a spicy sauce that also included unsweetened cocoa powder. It was good and together with their guacamole we ate far too much.
In the warm afternoon, we wandered on north to find Charles Chocolates, an artisan chocolate maker, but due to our heavy lunch were unable to bring ourselves to eat any chocolate then, but we did buy seem for later. Caught the next bus back to the City where we picked up the California Street cable car. This took us up to Powell Street where we caught the cable car towards Fishermans Wharf. Off at Lombard Street, which is famed for its steepness - 27% grade and its 8 hairpin bends, all in very short order, at the top. We walked up the hill to the top of the hairpins and waited for the next cable car to take us back to Sutter Street and our hotel.
Back just in time for the evening complimentary glass of wine where we met a couple originally from Toronto but lately moved to south of Los Angeles. He was a recently retired lawyer and after short conversation we could tell he would not have been an easy opponent. We shared our travel experiences and oddly, talked about gardening! Ok, after the Mexican lunch we weren't that hungry so just had a chicken Caesar salad while Ruth watched an American comedienne on TVs whose jokes were all about sex.
