After the great fire of 1906 destroyed 80% of San Francisco, the city rebuilt rapidly and in grand style. Banks, business and government buildings, many in the neo-classical architecture, were erected quickly, but built to last, and still stand over a century later. So rapid was the reconstruction that the city was able to celebrate its recovery a mere 11 years later by hosting the 1915 World’s Fair (Panama–Pacific International Exposition).

We’ve spent a lot of time in the San Francisco Bay area over the decades, and even lived there for a few weeks before crossing the Pacific Ocean on our round-the-world trip in Dirona. But most of that time was in the southern Bay, in and around Silicon Valley. We’d spent relatively little time in San Francisco proper. When James had a business meeting one Friday in downtown San Francisco, we took the opportunity to explore the city the following weekend.

We stayed in a wonderful room at the Four Seasons, with a sweeping view across San Francisco to the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco Bay. In the few days we were there, we experienced the range of San Francisco weather, from bright sunshine to thick fog.

Prominent in the skyline is the Transamerica Pyramid, the eighth-tallest building in the world when completed in 1972 and the tallest in San Francisco for 45 years until eclipsed by the Salesforce Tower in 2017.

The Salesforce Tower also is hard to miss, as is the company’s presence, with a dedicated transit center and employee gym. Salesforce is headquartered in San Francisco, and employs roughly 10,000 people here, nearly 12% of their 83,000-strong global work force.

We roamed throughout the city, checking out many of the historical buildings erected during the early 20^th century following the devastating fire. We also stopped at one of the few to survive: the James Flood building.

Much of San Francisco’s infrastructure also was built during the reconstruction period following the fire, including tunnels, railways, water supplies and sewers. And the streetcar system, which survived the fire, was completed then as well. We had hoped to ride one up the iconic Powell Street, but the lines to board were too long. We walked the steep grade instead, and got some great views to the packed and passing streetcars.

We also made a quick tour through San Francisco’s famous and colorful China Town, including watching the old men play Mahjong in Portsmouth Square Park and passing through the famous entrance gates.

No visit to San Francisco is complete without spending time along the water, and we had several excellent meals there, enjoying the water activities and Bay Bridge views. And we got one final waterfront view on our flight home.