During one of my solo days, I hit up a series of touristy and/or historic spots. One of those being the Coit Tower. The tower is pictured on the left in this photo I took from the Pier. The tower is perched at the top of the hill in the Telegraph Hill neighborhood.
I approached the tower from the Lombard Street side, so before ascending the stairs, I got a great view of the water, the Bay Bridge and some of the piers below.
There is a lot of interesting history about Lillie and the tower, beyond what is included on this plaque. Here is a link, if you are interested in learning more about this wealthy lady who defied gender stereotypes.
The frescoes at the base of the monument have an interesting history of their own. I have to admit, though, that I was in it more for the views from the top, so I didn't get too into them. I did like taking a look at the scenes and having a little giggle at the cow getting her bum showered.
The stairs were out of order, so I got to the top via the elevator. The windows all around the top offered great view of the city and the surrounds.
After I finished soaking in the views, I headed down from the tower. My next goal was to try my luck at finding the wild parrots of Telegraph Hill. I had my eyes and ears out for them on my way up to the tower, but didn't see them. I asked the concession person if he had any wisdom to share when it came to finding the parrots. He said he had been working there for a month and hadn't seen them at all. I headed towards the Greenwich Steps to see if parrot-luck was on my side.
It wasn't but I still enjoyed the walk down, through the quirky neighborhood on the side of a hill.
The gardens were a fabulous mix of wild and manicured. At one point on the way down, there is an area that has a little path in to a bench. I sat on the bench, across from the repurposed parking meter and had a bit of peace while observing a hummingbird making its way around the garden.
Soonafter, I found myself at the other side of the hill as the sun was getting low in the sky.
Sometimes travelling solo is wonderful. You can do what you want at your own pace. The lack of talking and interacting on this little bit of my trip was wonderfully timed and allowed for me to really soak in the place. As much as I appreciated the time to myself, it was equally wonderful to transition from this solo time to a lovely dinner with my friend Nina. Nina has been in San Francisco for a number of years and picked out a delicious restaurant for us called Dosa. Sadly, I went out with minimal stuff so I didn't have my camera there to capture Nina or the food. You will have to trust me that the company and food were both top notch!
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