San Francisco

We had a rather nice drive in from Monterey, having stopped to look at Pebble Beach golf course and 17 mile drive... 

However, the fun was spoiled when we took in a not so great aspect of San Francisco...It's evening traffic. Peter was pretty freaked out by the rather aggressive city drivers, but we made it all the same.

The next day, we went on a tour of San Francisco, taking in loads of sights including the amazing Chinatown, City Hall, and of course, the Golden Gate bridge. We took in examples of fine Victorian architecture, and reminders of the awful 1906 earthquake which destroyed three-quarters of the city. We saw the beautifully made buildings in San Francisco's civic centre like City Hall, the Hall of Veterans, and the centre of Asian arts. 

And, of course, the one you've all been waiting for... The Golden Gate Bridge!

Picci from here

Which was shrouded in mist...

I know, it's disappointing, but apparently this happens almost every day on the 'most photographed bridge in the world'. After enduring the biting wind for two journeys over the bridge (there and back) we'd had enough of that one landmark!

For lunch we stopped in Chinatown, the 2nd biggest Chinese community outside China. We were handed multiple flyers by frantic workers vying for our business. We ate at a lovely authentic restaurant and enjoyed fresh seafood dishes as well as super spicy Kung Pao chicken.

That afternoon we experienced some of the great shops in San Francisco such as Levi's, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Macy's. Juliet finally managed to spend some of her well earned money on jeans, tops and hoodies!

The next morning we got up ready to experience as much of the city as possible. Our first stop was 50's themed diner 'Loris' where we stopped for a breakfast of awesome stuff like pancakes, omlettes and chicken fried steak! Next up, we took an intense walk up one of San Francisco's really steep streets in order to catch one of the famous cable cars. San Francisco's cable cars are the only official landmark which actually move! Juliet and I hung off the edge and felt the wind of going downhill on the sloped streets of the city.

After that, we began to walk slowly over to the pier area in order to catch our ferry over to Alcatraz. I purchased a piece of original screen-print art of Batman which I can't wait to put up when we get home! We then moved into the ferry building where there was a little farmers market. We bought lunch and some nice Italian ice-cream! om-nom-nom! At Pier 33 we set off to the island of Alcatraz. We took an audio tour around the cellhouse, learning about prisoners, escapes, and riots in the prison, as well as infamous criminals like the Bird Man and Al Capone who were detained there. 

After a rather choppy ride back into harbour, we caught the last bus back to Union Square, which was near the hotel, and had dinner in the room. Juliet and Peter had a sudden urge to ride the cable car again, so went out to ride up and down the streets in the cold night air, before returning after a very long day.

We really enjoyed our time in San Francisco, and watch the next post as we head to Yosemite National Park to enjoy giant mountains, giant trees, and a giant amount of wildlife! (see what I did there!)

Caroline :)

PS. Happy Birthday Grandma! :)
PPS. Enjoy these random city photos...