Great Views and Great Drinks

San Francisco CA

There are a few reasons I like hitting up different bars. Of course one reason is having an excellent cocktail or draft beer. The other reason is one that differs from bar to bar and that is The View. Below I document 3 bars with great views.

The Pied Piper Bar in The Palace Hotel

The Pied Piper Bar has no windows and yet the view is amazing. Sitting at the bar you stare up at a 16 foot wide painting by Maxfield Parrish. The painting is amazing and lighting really brings out the colors.

The Pied Piper of Hamelin

There are 2 more paintings in the bar. I really like this one because it shows Mark Twain as well as Emperor Norton I

Grandviews at The Hyatt

The Grandviews at The Hyatt is on the 36th floor. It offers a different but equally impressive view.

Looking down on Coit Tower from the 36th floor

The Top of the Mark doesn't look so toppy from up here

Even normal parking garages look cooler from the 36th floor

Hawaii West Bar

Sometimes the view from the bar you are in comes from the interesting people you meet in the bar. This is the case with Hawaii West. It's a Tiki dive bar boarding Chinatown and North Beach.

I wish I could have taken photos of everyone in the bar because many of them were as interesting looking as our bar tender.

That's it for now but keep an eye out for more posts in the near future.

Jon

One A Day - On This Day in 2008

San Francisco CA Alcatraz Island

On this day in 2008 we went to Alcatraz Island with a few friends. It was a really cool night time tour. It was very spooky and picturesque. You can find photos of the trip here.

One A Day - On This Day in 2008

San Francisco CA Pearl's Burgers

On this day in 2008 we went to our favorite burger joint in The City. Pearl's Burgers serves up great burgers, shakes and fries. They were featured on The Food Network on The Best Thing I Ever Ate.

One A Day - On This Day in 2007

San Francisco CA Chrissy Field

On this day in 2007 I was on my lunch and I saw this bird taking a bath in a mud puddle in Chrissy Field. I took 4 or 5 shots and this is the best one.

Also things are a bit busy and I didn't have time to queue up November so the One A Days won't be Once a Day for a bit. I am going to take a little break and come back with more photos here and there. Keep checking back, I'm not going away, just taking a break.

One A Day - On This Day in 2008

San Francisco CA

On this day in 2008 I had The Floor Tortillas. They aren't as bad as they sound.

One A Day - On This Day in 2009

San Francisco CA Pearl Burgers

On this day in 2009 We went to Pearls (the one featured on The Food Network) and I had my camera. We enjoyed a great burger, some good fries and a shake. I also took this picture.

One A Day - On This Day in 2007

San Francisco CA San Francisco Comedy College

On this day in 2007 we went to see a friend perform at The Comedy College. His racket is Nerd Comedy so I usually get every joke. It's fun to live in The City because there is always something to do.

One A Day - On This Day in 2009

San Francisco CA The ILM Halloween Party

On this day in 2009 we were at the ILM Halloween Party. We dressed up as Typing of the Dead Characters and found a Zombie to pose with. It's a fun party and it's one of the things that we will miss about not working for Lucas but the new adventures we are having outweigh anything that we miss from our past.

One A Day - On This Day in 2008

San Francisco CA

On this day in 2008 I was out and about with my camera and I took this photo of neon. I like neon and I like signs so I have a lot of photos of neon signs.

One A Day - On This Day in 2009

San Francisco CA The Presidio

On this day in 2009 I took a photo out my office window at LucasArts. I like rainy days especially when I can be near a window and watch the drops run down the glass.

One A Day - On This Day in 2008

San Francisco CA Hyde Street Pier

On this day in 2008 we walked down to the Hyde Street Pier and saw the classic boats they have there. this is a Tug called the Hercules. It's a fun thing to do for a few bucks if you are ever in the area.

One A Day - On This Day in 2009

San Francisco CA Our Apartment Building

On this day in 2009 it rained a ton and the drainage pipes couldn't take it. One of the open out door areas within our building (I am sure they have an official name but I don't know what they are called) flooded pretty bad. Shortly after this shot was taken our apartment manager was out there trying to fix it.

One A Day - On This Day in 2008

San Francisco CA The San Francisco Bay

On this day in 2008 Fleetweek practice was under way. We all walked down to The Bay to watch the Blue Angels practice. Fleet week is great. It's crazy being in a city and seeing fighter jets buzzing around. The sound reflects off the buildings and you have no idea where they are coming from. It makes me very glad that we don't have hostile fighter jets flying around our city.

One A Day - On This Day in 2009

San Francisco CA

On this day in 2009 I took a photo on the say to work. I was in a photography class at LucasFilm and needed to take a photo with a narrow depth of field. You can see that only part of the sign is in focus.

One A Day - On This Day in 2007

San Francisco CA St. Marks Church

On this day in 2007 we went to St. Marks. It was dog blessing day so many people had their dogs with them. I snapped this cute picture during the proceedings.

One A Day - On This Day in 2009

San Francisco CA Union Square

On this day in 2009 USC was in town to play Cal. They always have a really cool pep rally in Union Square and we were there. We happened across this event in 2008 and made it a point to go in 2009 and we will be there this year too. It's really fun and I enjoy band music.

One A Day - On This Day in 2008

San Francisco CA

Here is a sunset in San Francisco taken in an alley. I don't remember what I was doing or where I was going so there isn't much story about this photo. Just a sunset in San Francisco.

One A Day - On This Day in 2007

San Francisco CA Chinatown

On this day in 2007 the sky was awesome in San Francisco. I bet if I knew a bit about how to process HDR photos this would be a good one..

One A Day - On This Day in 2008

San Francisco CA

On this day in 2008 I walked to work and took this photo of this cool sign. If you watch James Bond in A View to a Kill he goes to a Hot Tub place in Japan Town but the sign to the Hot Tub place looks a lot like this one.

One A Day - On This Day in 2008

San Francisco CA The Embarcadero

On this day in 2008 it was Sunday Streets! For a few Sundays during the summer they shut down a major street and people can walk, bike, skate or do whatever along the street that is closed. On this Sunday it happened to be The Embarcadero. Various businesses set up free booths to do things as well as advertised. The group had a big pile of jump ropes and you can see a giant parachute in the background. Remember playing with a parachute and a ball when you were a kid? Well I did that on this day in 2008.