Chinatown & Cable Cars

For dinner, I knew I wanted to check out Chinatown.  I asked the lady at the hotel what the best way to get there would be and she said I could try the cable car.  I walked down to the station and got my ticket and waited for the next one to arrive.  When it pulled up to load the passengers, the car filled up fast and I didn’t see a seat left for me.  The ticket taker told me to go to the other side with the other people.  When I went to the outside, I noticed the people just grabbing on to the poles and hanging off the side.  Was this really a way to travel?  I followed their lead and found a good spot to squeeze in and hold on. Wheeeee! We went up and down the crazy San Francisco hilly roads and “ding ding” along the way.  Then the driver grabbed the huge lever that operated the brakes and leaned his strength and the car came to a stop when he yelled, “Chinatown!”  This was the stop, and with a hop, we were off.

I heard about a place called Empress of China that I wanted to try. When I found the sign and went in, I was confused at first since I saw no tables or anyone to greet me.  Then I noticed an elevator and a sign that said to go to the 6th floor, so I did.  one the 6th floor, the doors opened and a lovely restaurant appeared.  There was a nice view of the city from this height and very yummy recommendations from the waiter.  The tea was flowing and the fortune cookies were made fresh.

It was pouring rain when I started to head back, and the cable car had stopped working, so I took a bus instead.  There are plenty of ways to get around San Francisco.

~ Mr. Bear