San Francisco Day 1

It's almost 10 pm and I have been in San Francisco for two days...well, technically a day and a half, but that's not important. I LOVE it!

Here is a little recap:

• I finally made it to my hotel at 7 pm last night. There were some issues with flying from Chicago to San Francisco (see my Couple Entitlement post) and then after I finally landed and took BART to Powell Station (downtown) I went to Nordstroms (yes, with my luggage) and wanted to get a free sample of Smashbox cosmetics, but they were out.
• So I ended up buying a 7 day pass for MUNI transportation system and walked 5 blocks to my hotel. The hotel, Maxwell, was not as luxurious as I thought it'd be, but it's comfortable and quaint and has really interesting details.
• I ended up changing and taking one of the Cable cars to the Fisherman's Wharf. It took quite some time to get on the Cable car because they are super crowded and there are lines! But it's a San Francisco thing to do.
• The Fisherman's Wharf area is very touristy but was gorgeous at night: white Christmas lights, glittering water, etc.
• It was absolutely freezing and my light jacket did nothing to keep me warm: so I went shopping :) I bought a fleece jacket in one of the touristy stores and it was only $10.99! Great deal.
• Afterwards I went to Ghirardelli (used to be a factory, now a huge store and cafe complex) and received a free sample of chocolate: I was very tempted to ask for a dark chocolate, but resisted the urge :)
• After a little bit of walking I went to get some dinner at the Blue Mermaid Chowder House and Bar. Apparently it's a very San Francisco thing to do to eat chowder in the sourdough bread bowl. I chose Dungarees crab and corn chowder: awesome!!! I ate outside and the restaurant was nice enough to turn on one of those heat lamps. Plus there was an musician playing jazz outside: super romantic! There were several couples slow dancing!
• After dinner I walked around for a bit: it's interesting that there are so many art galleries that are still open after 10 pm, but I was still operating on Eastern time and decided to head back to the hotel.
• The Cable car was packed again, but it was a cheaper option than taking a cab.
• Set an alarm clock for Sunday and went to bed.

So far the City is lovely. I'm staying in Union Square and it's incredible how many stores there are in the area: anything from DSW, Nordstroms, Tiffany & Co to Sacks, Marshalls and Old Navy. I have to be super strong and see the city instead of going shopping.