San Fran...The rest of the story

I really thought SF was a beautiful place. You need to look past the street life with its dingy, dirty sidewalks and buildings. It is quite charming the way it is set up into neighborhoods. It has a foreign feeling to it as there are many people from other countries living and working in the area. Europe and England were well represented as of course was Mexico and China.
Our first night we explored Chinatown with its many shops and restaurants. Unfortunately, we ate bofore we got there. It was fun watching the sushi boats circle the tables of people who would pick a dish from the boat and eat it. Had I been there I would have picked the pretty pink ones. I probably wouldn't have enjoyed the taste, but it just looked so good! Chinatown looked so authentic with the Chinese people living above their stores, many for a very long time. They were very friendly and I was honored to experience this place.
SF has the bohemian feel to it. There are coffee shops every couple of stores, and they are always filled with people out catching up with friends or reading a favorite magazine or book. I am fascinated with the blogs of the young who move to San Francisco to find themselves and are doing a great job of living out there.
besides the bohemian feel, one gets the feeling that a lot of money is exchanging hands in this city. I felt out of place at the hotel, feeling I would have been better prepared with a little black cocktail dress or two. There were many great looking menus on the outside of the restaurants, but when you glanced inside, it looked to be a little to fancy to enter in our khaki tourist shorts. Our hotel did have a nightclub on the 21st floor that was open to "riff raff" between 6 and 8. There was an incredible view of the bridges, but after 8 it was strictly formal attire. The waiters were in tuxedo's and the women were in black gowns. We had a Cosmo and that was about it.
Fishermans Wharf can be skipped. Very tourist with its little shops. Pier 39 was very crowded and we had to wait a long time to get a seat in a seafood restaurant.
We did take a boat out into the bay, under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz. It was a spectacular view and we had a lot of fun on that trip.
We took in the Casto district. Long known as the gay capital of the world we found it to be friendly and fun. We checked out a Jewish film festival where the director and some of the actors came up and spoke after the film. That was unique and well worth the nine bucks a ticket. The Castro theatre has been around since the 20's and has elegant designs that you just don't see anymore. We bought some gumby items at a shop and lunched at an Italian restaurant. We also sipped coffee and read about some of the film festivals at the Starbucks. It was a lazy day of exploring and relaxing.
The trip was all about new foods and exploring the unknown. I would recommend SF as a great vacation spot, but suggest you leave a day to rent a car. We did not have time to do that so we missed out on the surrounding areas of Sasalito, Berkeley, Oakland, and going over the bridge. A long weekend was just not enough time to get to everything. Ahhh, there is always next time.
Tomorrow we are going to Chicago for the night. We have no actual plans, but I would like to go down by lake Michigan and view the skyline. Other than that I am up for anything. Summer is great, but alas, almost over. I must get every last drop out of it for it will be a long winter.