Lombard Street, San Francisco

Lombard Street, also known as the World's "Crookedest" Street, was definitely a must-see while were in San Francisco!

The street was made this way to ensure drivers honored the 5 MPH speed limit necessary since the street is built on such a steep hill. Apparently, it used to be a two-way, two-lane road... but I bet that was dangerous!! 

After an amazing breakfast at Cafe Divine, we decided to walk on over to see this landmark. Yes, it was over a mile walk, but we were really walking everywhere this trip (we walked almost a mile to breakfast already), and I figured it was a good opportunity to walk off my delicious (yet not-so-healthy) breakfast.

Whew. I had NO idea what we were in for! I knew San Francisco was hilly, I just didn't imagine the entire walk there would be at a 30-35 degree incline. 

Even the young and healthy 8th-grader-to-be that we were with was out of breath after our long trek to the Crookedest street. Plus, I had also put in a workout in the fitness center that morning. By the time we trekked it back to the hotel, my calf muscles were quivering. They continued to twitch all afternoon long and were sore for 3 days! You'd think after almost 5 weeks with the trainer that my little legs would have been able to handle it better!!

The landscaping on Lombard street was beyond gorgeous, and all the flowers were so fragrant!!

It really was such a neat place to visit, but I can't imagine having to live on this street! There were several houses whose driveways back up directly onto this maze... what a mess! Between tourists and the crooked downhill drive, it must be a real headache getting out of the garage some days!

We also visited Alcatraz on this same day, but it was SO awesome it deserves its own post! I will be back with more on our San Francisco trip soon!