We initially found San Francisco a bit of a shock to the system after our time in Canada and it took us a day to adjust to the noise, hustle and bustle, not to mention the traffic! We were staying in a pretty neighbourhood called Forest Hill and after hiring a car at the airport, we had to negotiate the San Francisco traffic to get across town. No-one seems to drive to the speed limits here, you really have to have your wits about you with cars darting in and out of lanes without indicating, at speed, and everything is unfamiliar, of course. We did make it unscathed much to our relief!
The sun was shining when we arrived in the Bay City after leaving Calgary under the grey skies. After arriving ans unpacking at our Air BnB, we then ventured to the nearby MUNI station to travel into the city for a bit of exploring, taking in the waterfront up to Fisherman's Wharf. It was late afternoon by this stage so we had a wander, something to eat (yummy crepes) and then made our way back to our accommodation for a relatively early night.
The next morning we woke to sunny skies and took ourselves off to explore Golden Gate Park where we spent a pleasant few hours looking at the Japanese Tea Garden and the Conservatorium of Flowers, plus a walk along Stow Lake where we saw little turtles lined up on a branch, basking in the warm sun.
That same afternoon we made our way to see the famed "Painted Ladies" a row of pretty Victorian era houses painted in lovely pastel colours, with the cityscape as a backdrop. There was quite a scene happening in the park from where you get the best view, with people having picnics and dressed in their best to have a photo of themselves in front of the Painted Ladies. Al had wanted to visit the Haight and Ashbury (hippie district) area and while there, he had a trim and I had the hairdresser trim my fringe, or bangs as she called them. We found a delightful shop to buy some fresh fruit and something for our dinner, then made our way home.
Alan had heard about and then researched the beautiful 16th Avenue mosaic steps, a community project inspired by a lady who, as a child, had once lived near a set of beautifully tiled steps overseas. We had a wonderful morning around the Golden Gate Heights area, even if it was chilly in the wind and with grey skies overhead.
By the time we had got ourselves to the city again via the MUNI, the sun was shining but we got all rugged up for a trip across the Bay to Sausalito. We decided to stay out on deck and it was a very windy trip but we got a great view of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge on the way over. Once disembarked which took quite a bit longer than usual, apparently, although we never did fond out exactly why, but the captain of the vessel had to have many attempts at bringing the ferry in and docking. Once finally ashore we had a lovely stroll along the waterfront and in and out of the quaint shops before heading back to the city to see if we could get a cable car ride.
We did get sidetracked from our cable car mission by the Giradhelli Chocolate Shop where we were buying a couple of presents and Al spied a young lady eating an ice-cream sundae and decided we should get one too but share it - what a scrumptious indulgence that was! We walked up to the Union Square area and must have looked a little concerned as a man asked if we were having fun, to which I replied we would be if we could figure out where was best to get the tram up to Lombard Street to see the flowers. He was very helpful and had loads of suggestions for things to do, and set us in the right direction to get the cable car. We had a fun ride and arrived at Lombard Street where we took some great photos and admired the flowers and the view, before catching a bus and the MUNI back to Forest Hill where we had a very nice meal at the local dumplings restaurant.
The following day the fog and grey skies had rolled in but after coffee and a bagel at the local cafe, we proceeded back to Golden Gate Park for a quick look through the Academy of Sciences at the aquarium, rainforest area with the butterflies and birds, and the Botanic Gardens, after which, hoping the skies might have ckeared a bit, we went to Land's End to get a photo of the Golden Gate Bridge before heading down the coast to our next destination of Pacific Grove near Monterey. We walked along a path through some beautiful Cypress trees for a bit and were pleased to see the bridge fairly clearly even though the skies were grey. We got some photos after which we set off for our next stop-over. Only the trip down the coast back to LA to go before our time is up.
