San Francisco, 3-Nov

Melody's conference started today, and I took the opportunity to head out on my own. She did have some free time in the afternoon, so we took a guided walk on Nob Hill, then went to the conference dinner (which was really dinner on your own in one of a series of restaurants). Melody needed to register for her conference before 8:30, so we were up a bit earlier and she headed out. She ran into a former colleague and was chatting outside the front door when some conference organizers asked them to direct people into the building (it was a good thing we looked for it yesterday, since many people had trouble finding the entrance).

In the meantime, I hopped onto the bus to Treasure Island and walked around most of the island's perimeter. The weather was overcast and breezy, so I didn't get the best views, but still saw a lot of both the city and the Bay Bridge. The views of Berkeley and Oakland/Alameda were mostly of the ships, however.

Bay Bridge and the city from Treasure Island

Birds looking towards the Transamerica pyramid

Having finished looking around, I headed back and walked around Rincon Park, which is just north of where the Bay Bridge comes into the city. The Ferry Building was my lunch destination, and then I headed back to the room, where I met up with Melody (who grabbed a quick lunch of leftovers).

Cupid's Span at Rincon Park

We then hopped onto the cable car (today was the last day our transit passes were valid, so it didn't cost us any extra) up to the Stanford Park Hotel. We met the guide for the Nob Hill tour we were going on, and the weather was some drizzle mixed with some non-drizzle. Even though we covered only a few blocks, the guide was filled with information and trivia, and we saw the sites of mansions of the major railroad tycoons of the era (Stanford being one). The tour ended in the Fairmont Hotel, where we wandered past the Venetian and Gold Rooms (which were in use, so we couldn't go in), and the last stop was at the hotel's public garden.

Fairmont Hotel garden

Melody went back to the conference for a couple more talks, then we went with a couple other people to dinner, which was at the collection of restaurants along Belden Place. We chose to eat Italian, where we had a great meal and enjoyed the conversation. Since we had gone early (to make sure we could get a seat), we also left early, and wound down for the evening.