San Francisco - Day 2

Posted on March 3rd, 2007 by bryan.
Categories: Holidays.

After a much needed 12-hour sleep, we were collected by coach from the hotel for a tour of the city. I can’t remember everywhere we visited, but we covered a fair chunk of the city - Fisherman’s Wharf, North Beach, China Town, the Civic Centre (where we got to see The Great Seal of California - of the legal, not mammal, variety), the Presidio (a former fort and army base and now a park), etc etc. We also had a few short ‘photo breaks’ at Twin Peaks (where we got great views of the city and were asked to pose for a San Francisco ‘gay partners’ photo - not to be stereo-typical, or anything!), Golden Gate Park (a huge metropolitan park with Chinese Tea Gardens) and, of course, the Golden Gate Bridge. Apologies now for all the photos! This really is a great way to spend a morning in the city, especially if you are only visiting for a few days. Just remember to tip the driver more than 5 Dollars - oops!

Lunch was very Frisco - clam chowder served in a sour dough bowl. Sounds disgusting - but tastes great! It’s pretty much a seafood broth, but you also get to eat the bowl. Just beware of the ever present sea gulls and homeless people!

We then had a Bay Cruise, which took us from Pier 43.5 along the coast, under the Golden Gate Bridge and back around Alcatraz. We were really lucky both today and yesterday - the weather was excellent, giving great views (and smooth waters) in all directions.

After the cruise, we went to what was formerly the Del Monte Cannery, but is now a plaza with bars, coffee shops and live performances. We spent an hour or so relaxing and listening to a singer, and we even bought a couple of his CDs as a reminder of our visit. Then it was off to Ghiradelli Square, where the San Francisco chocolate of that ilk was once made. They still have a gellateria there - wow, the strawberry cheesecake ice cream is good!

We took the cable car from Ghiradelli Square to North Beach, where we had an Italian meal sitting next to a woman with very big hands! We then wandered down to Grant St, the centre of China Town, where the whole city seemed to be enjoying the celebrations for the Chinese New Year (of the boar). We caught the end of the parade, bought some bangers and walked for miles! It was then back to the hotel for another long sleep …

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