Loving San Francisco's cable cars and trolley busses today! We bought a day pass for $13 and have been hopping on and off, following the maps and having a great day - despite the typically changeable San Francisco weather, which has shown us most of its moods in the last 12 hours...
We started with a cable car ride up Russell Street and down again to have breakfast at Pat's - a funky little art cafe a few blocks from Fisherman's wharf. No coffee though - the espresso machine was broken (we've heard that story in most restaurants in the USA so far!) Then the rain came down - we had prepared with rain gear and managed to stay reasonably dry (except for soggy shoes) while we wandered along the wharf area where crab and souveniers are the order of the day. A fascinating (and free) mechanical museum holds hundreds of working antique arcade machines, have your fortune told or start a grand prix of tiny wooden racing cars - or perhaps a peep show is to your liking?
Walking on up to the maritime area we managed to find a national parks booth and buy our annual pass - at $80 for a year it's a bargain for the americans and not bad value for tourists either if you plan to see more than a few parks in the trip. A bonus was that we also got free entry to all the ships moored at the wharf for visitors.
Just as we headed for the ships we spotted a break in the weather coming (pale blue patches over near the bridge) so headed off to pier 39 to spend a few more $ and take a boat trip on the bay.
The water was great and the boat trip gave a fabulous view of the city, the bridges and Alacatraz island - bonus was an interesting commentary that we could actually hear at the back of the boat. The city is spectacular from the water and we spotted seals, dolphins and lots of sea birds around Alcatraz. Yes, I took several photos... (OK lots of photos) but that's what travel is about, yes?
Back on the pier we scored a fabulous lunch of calamari for him and I couldn't go past the clam chowder, which they claimed had been voted the best in the world. Can't argue with that and for about $10 including taxes and tips it was great value. After that we strolled around the amazing mixture of shops and entertainment - best entertainment though was the local sealion colony, sunning themselves on the floating docks beside the pier. Sleeping, scratching and swimming seems to be the order of the day, with a friendly call to the watchers on the pier every now and then.
Jumped on a tram after that and managed to get to Haight street - hippie heaven in the 70s and still pretty much that way now. A walk down the street to the golden gate park was interesting for the architecture, the people, the murals and the incense even in the take away shops. The park was a nice break from city streets, but we soon headed back to the trams to work our way back into the city and Union square.
We started with a cable car ride up Russell Street and down again to have breakfast at Pat's - a funky little art cafe a few blocks from Fisherman's wharf. No coffee though - the espresso machine was broken (we've heard that story in most restaurants in the USA so far!) Then the rain came down - we had prepared with rain gear and managed to stay reasonably dry (except for soggy shoes) while we wandered along the wharf area where crab and souveniers are the order of the day. A fascinating (and free) mechanical museum holds hundreds of working antique arcade machines, have your fortune told or start a grand prix of tiny wooden racing cars - or perhaps a peep show is to your liking?
Walking on up to the maritime area we managed to find a national parks booth and buy our annual pass - at $80 for a year it's a bargain for the americans and not bad value for tourists either if you plan to see more than a few parks in the trip. A bonus was that we also got free entry to all the ships moored at the wharf for visitors.
Just as we headed for the ships we spotted a break in the weather coming (pale blue patches over near the bridge) so headed off to pier 39 to spend a few more $ and take a boat trip on the bay.
The water was great and the boat trip gave a fabulous view of the city, the bridges and Alacatraz island - bonus was an interesting commentary that we could actually hear at the back of the boat. The city is spectacular from the water and we spotted seals, dolphins and lots of sea birds around Alcatraz. Yes, I took several photos... (OK lots of photos) but that's what travel is about, yes?
Back on the pier we scored a fabulous lunch of calamari for him and I couldn't go past the clam chowder, which they claimed had been voted the best in the world. Can't argue with that and for about $10 including taxes and tips it was great value. After that we strolled around the amazing mixture of shops and entertainment - best entertainment though was the local sealion colony, sunning themselves on the floating docks beside the pier. Sleeping, scratching and swimming seems to be the order of the day, with a friendly call to the watchers on the pier every now and then.
Jumped on a tram after that and managed to get to Haight street - hippie heaven in the 70s and still pretty much that way now. A walk down the street to the golden gate park was interesting for the architecture, the people, the murals and the incense even in the take away shops. The park was a nice break from city streets, but we soon headed back to the trams to work our way back into the city and Union square.
After a change of clothes at the hotel we headed off on the cable car again - the wharf is so much better when it isn't pouring rain. Bought a jacket to keep me a bit warmer in the national parks - a reversible bargain at $20. Then we cable car'd it bac into the city and dinner at Jimmy's Bar - a San Francisco icon with live jazz and great steaks. We're learning about the USA portions though and one of us orders a steak, the other a salad and we share.
It's art month in the city and there's sculpted and painted hearts in San Francisco's Union square - so there's another song - I left my heart in San Francisco - but I haven't really; it's a beautiful and interesting city though.
It's art month in the city and there's sculpted and painted hearts in San Francisco's Union square - so there's another song - I left my heart in San Francisco - but I haven't really; it's a beautiful and interesting city though.
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