After arriving in the Russian Hill neighborhood we were almost immediately greeted by some of the most famous residents, part of the flock of parrots that are now wild in the city. This group was hovering around a third-story residential porch, so we felt a little voyeuristic taking videos.
The rain continued, so our walking descent down the iconic and windy Lombard Street was a bit precarious. From there, it was a just a 10 minute walk to the waterfront Aquatic Park. I had failed to research correctly, and we arrived to a closed-on-Christmas-Day Ghirardelli Square, which was a reminder to never promise ice cream sundaes to children on holidays. We activated our full-day MUNI passes to tour the city via Cable Cars (those on a track) and Streetcars (those attached to wires overhead). Near Aquatic Park is the start of the Powell/Hyde Cable Car line, so we used it to make our way back toward Union Square and to our lunch destination.

That evening we reboarded the Cable Car near Union Square and returned to the waterfront. I don’t know what a normal night looks like at Fisherman’s Wharf, but Christmas was especially packed, so we made a beeline through the crowds for an obligatory stop to see the sea lions at Pier 39. From there, we took a very retro streetcar back to Union Square.