An interesting day so far! Woke up early, but lazed.. Ben went down to Starbucks to get tea and we drank it with our leftover muffins from yesterday - a very tasty start to the day. We were picking up our hire car at around/after 10 AM, so we moseyed down at around 10:45 AM, heading towards Union Square.
When we arrived at ‘Dollar’ (the hire place) there seem to be a sizeable queue, so we went on, nipping into Macy’s to use the restrooms. Got back to the queue at about 11:50 AM and got in line, standing outside - it was quite cold! An hour later, we had made a bit of progress - a couple of metres. Rumours were rife - people had been there for three hours… And it sounded like there was a wait to actually get the car too…
Two and a half hours later - we were served! Incredible! In answer to the “and how are you today?” question, a rather curt, “ I don’t think you want an honest answer to that”, put an end to the small talk. It took about 5 minutes to actually get the paperwork sorted, which makes it staggering that we waited so long. It cost a further $70, as we needed to increase the breakdown insurance to cover towing away and replacement.
Left the place rather dazed, having lost a good chunk of the day to a queue. Decided not to get the car immediately as we hadn’t had any lunch. Went to Subway to pick up a sandwich to take with us - though where we are actually going was yet to be decided as the day has drifted away! Popped into a T Mobile shop to enquire about an American Sim card, but no joy. So, headed to get the car. They couldn’t find the key for the designated car, so we think we got an upgrade. Anyway it’s a Chevrolet Sprint - a big saloon (quite dwarves our KA!). Had a quick lesson in automatics from one of the managers and then set off.
Headed south, vaguely towards Santa Cruz, but stopped off in Palo Alto, home to Silicon Valley (Google, etc). Pulled over for a break and decided to wander. And we were glad we did! A really pretty little place - very leafy and lots of little restaurants. We fell into The Cheesecake Factory, and decided to order dessert, by way of dinner. I had the plain cheesecake with some strawberries, and Ben had chocolate cheesecake. We both got most of the way through, but took a doggy bag home. So full!
On the way back to San Francisco, we passed by Google International and the place where we think Facebook is, though it wasn’t marked, so we stopped for a photo opp. We tried to have a look at Microsoft, but got entangled in some concert parking.
Had a very good journey back and Ben negotiated the traffic and the car beautifully! We parked in a LAZ car park we had spotted before, a couple of blocks from the hotel, which was much more reasonable than the hotel parking ($45) as it only charged $25 overnight. Got a bit lost coming out of the car park, but made it. Dumped stuff at the hotel, and then headed out to Chinatown to see the lights. A little disappointed, however, as it wasn’t as bustling and well-lit as we thought. Took some photos and then walked back - up all the hills of California Street! Ordered a pizza from the village pizzeria again and scoffed at about 11 PM.
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![]() | Posted by Danica Scott at 23:31 |
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As we had got in late yesterday, we had a slightly more leisurely morning. We did wake up quite early, but dozed for a while. I went down to Starbucks next door and got tea (I keep forgetting that you have to order ‘hot tea’ here, and you need to ask them to leave ‘room for milk’ as they don’t drink it like us Brits!) and chocolatines - they had even warmed up the chocolatines, so they were extra-tasty, chocolatey goodness! We had showers and then had a chat with Lorna, Audrey, and mum and dad via Skype, catching up and telling them about our activities.
We headed out, planning to withdraw some cash for the day. Started to use the cash machine, although found out that it would charge us a flat fee of $5, so changed our mind. Then changed it back again - instead, we decided to withdraw more, to make the fee more palatable. So, we nipped back to the hotel to leave the extra cash in our room safe.
Then, we headed out properly. We got the tram to the Ferry building and switched onto the F-line around Fisherman’s Wharf, getting off near the bike rental place we had seen before. Stopped to use the restroom on the way, only to end up waiting for 10 minutes as they had closed them for ‘cleaning’ and they were the only local loos! Some American bloke and his kid also tried pushing in, but an loquacious American woman started on him - quite a bit of excitement so early in the day!
Went to the bike shop and got hooked up with a tandem and snazzy helmets! The lady chatted on about some directions, but there were quite a few and, by the end, I couldn’t even remember which way we were supposed to leave the shop! Dani decided she would take the back seat, so I took the helm though I did find it quite difficult to get my leg over the bike frame - I blame the jeans - clearly, not biking gear! So, we set off on our ride - somewhat wobbly to begin with.
We cycled around towards the Golden Gate Bridge, stopping for photos a few times. We used the gorilla pod to take one of us and the bike, and a lady offered to take a photo when we got to a pier just before the bridge. Whilst at the pier, we had a little sit and a hot dog from ‘Let’s Be Frank’, a hot dog stand - it was very tasty. We then began the cycling part of the journey again.
There were some steep bits to get up to the bridge and, once there, there were lots of people in the bike lane, so Ben kept ringing the bell. A little further along, we got stopped by a bridge man, who told us that we were supposed to be cycling on the other side (pedestrians on one side, bikes on the other). I think the lady at the shop might have mentioned this - oops! So, once on the right side of the bridge, we got up some big speed. There were a few hairy moments, but we managed not to crash - result! It was a bit windy on the way across and, when we got to the other side, we decided to cycle back again, rather than waiting for the ferry. On the way back across, we stopped to take some pictures of a tall ship that was sailing under the bridge. We kept on zooming on, after a ‘Kodak moment’ and sped back down - it was distinctly warmer off the bridge!
We rode back towards Fisherman’s wharf, stopping at a Safeway (of all places!) on the way - Ben looked after the bike whilst I went in, getting some muffins, crisps and water - a mini crap run! Were planning to go across to the Golden Gate Park, but we realised that it was still a good distance away and it was already gone 5 PM. So we continued along, back to the bike shop - there were a few hairy moments when Ben zoomed downhill at super-speed, but I just closed my eyes! Returned the bike, suffering slightly from saddle bottom. It had cost $60 for the day.
Having dropped the bike, we decided it was beer o’clock - we went to Applebees for a drink, sitting on the balcony, under a heater - nice! After, we strolled to the F-line stop, having figured out where it goes now! Except the tram was packed when it came past! Managed to find a different stop by following the tracks to a different point. Made it back to Union Square. We looked around for somewhere to eat, but places seemed quite expensive. Decided to go to the Cheesecake Factory in Macy’s - but it was absolutely rammed! Totally rammed! As our feet were tired, we made it down a level, to Macy’s ‘Burger Bar’ and settled in. We had a pitcher of Budweiser and three mini-burgers each, with fries and onion rings - about $70, including tip. A little pricey, but we walked away - stumbled, might be more accurate - very stuffed! And so, to bed!
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![]() | Posted by Ben Taylor at 22:41 |
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Woke up early again. Ben put some photos on Facebook while I snoozed for a bit. Then we got up, to face the world. Went across the street from breakfast, to a patisserie/cafe type place for breakfast - called Dolce Amore. We had their signature bagel: scrambled eggs, bacon, cheese, tomato and avocado, with a mango and strawberry garnish. It was very tasty - about $8 each - with a glass of fresh orange juice.
From here, we went to catch the tram on California Street (the day pass was $14 each). We got off at Powell to catch a connecting tram. Wandered around a little, to find the right tram stop and then waited. But, when they arrived, the trams were so full we couldn’t get on. Waited a bit, watching as a few packed trams went past, then decided to walk along the route, intent on catching one as we walked. We passed along ‘Taylor Street’ and looked in a bike rental place. Ended up walking all the way to Fisherman’s Wharf, as trams seemed few and far between.
When we arrived at the Wharf, we walked along to Ghirardelli Square, which we had missed on our tour of San Fran, yesterday. Went to the Ghirardelli chocolate shop for an ice cream - Ben had mint-choc chip, and II had chocolate and butter pecan, both with a chocolate dipped waffle cone. It was a little confusing ordering them - we had completely missed the menus as we came in, so we had no idea what they sold!
We sat on some steps, people-watching and scoffing. It was cooler today, although the sun tried to make an appearance. Walked along the path to a pier, and walked out along it. Stopped to take pictures of a catamaran (part of the America Cup) which was sailing around the Bay. It leaned over dramatically, virtually lifting out of the water! Which, for such a huge boat, was quite a feat. While we watched, a flock of what appeared to be pelicans flew past. We also saw a seal, wiggling around in the water. Stood and watched for a while and then headed back along the walls. Pretty good for sightseeing!
We were ultimately headed to Alcatraz, but we stopped off for a drink on the way at ‘Jacks Cannery Bar’ . We both had a beer and sat people-watching for a while. From here, we got a tram, having walked a good distance along the wharf, and headed towards the Ferry Building stop. While travelling, we thought we would stop off at the cable car museum, as the trams around here are amazing, so stopped to have a look.. A little disappointed to find it was only a room with memorabilia in - part museum, part shop. We bought a nice poster of a cable car at night, then headed out. We thought we’d look inside the Ferry Building, and it turned out to be a host of little boutique shops, mainly selling food. Had a little look around and then headed to Alcatraz.
It had dropped colder, so we stopped in the Alcatraz cafe for a cup of tea. We waited till about six - our boarding time - and were surprised to see a lot of people already queueing. Seemed odd, but showed our tickets and joined the line. Had an obligatory photo taken, in front of an image of Alcatraz, which you could buy later for ‘only’ $22. Got aboard the boat and set sail. The fog had crept in, so the coastline looked quite eerie.
The Rock’ itself is huge and home to lots of different birds, some of them rare. We had a bit of a tour up to the prison, with a guide, then it was an audio guide inside. Had a good look around all the cells in the different sections, taking a few pictures of Brugges (on tour) - he did a lot of posing just inside the cell bars. It is all starting to decay, but gives a good indication of how grim it was. I was too cold to stay outside long, but Ben took lots of pictures of the Bay in the twilight. It looked really good, with the fog looming over. We had to rush a bit to get the return ferry, but made it and headed back to shore.
We tried to get a tram, but they just drove past as they were packed, so we ended up walking all the way down Battery Street, until we reached California Street. Got the tram from there - the day ticket is worth it, just for the uphill stretch! Got back to the hotel and phoned a pizza delivery place - Ben had quite a chat with them, working out their menu! We ended up with a massive pizza - we had ordered ‘medium’! We tried (and failed) to eat it all. They even sent paper plates for us. As we had only arrived at the hotel at about 10 PM, we fell asleep soon after the pizza!
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![]() | Posted by Danica Scott at 22:28 |
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So not much of a lie in; we woke up, around 7 AM, ready to start the day. Despite the early wake-up we didn’t leave the hotel until 9.30 AM. We decided today that we would do a walking tour of San Francisco, to check out some of the main sites. We started by heading over to Union Square. It’s about a mile from the hotel, so it took about 20 minutes. We both wore jeans today as it was pretty cool out and I was wearing a jumper, and Dani, a coat. At Union Square, we headed into Macy’s department store to get some breakfast from the in-store Starbucks. I had a cup of tea and a chocolatine and Dani had a cinnamon roll with a vanilla latte. It was $11, which we thought was okay. After breakfast, we had a look at the cheesecake factory on the top floor (Rhi had told us about this). We didn’t have any cheesecake, but we had a look out from the balcony over Union Square and took some pictures. We didn’t spend much time looking in the shops, but we did see a flat pop-out tram (the pieces pop out and slot together to make 3-D model). We didn’t get it but thought it might make a good present for someone.
We headed out from Macy’s to start our walking tour. First, it took us through Chinatown. It was really colourful; there were people playing traditional Chinese music and at one point, a van pulled up full of watermelons, which was quickly surrounded by lots of people. Next, we headed up to Lombard Street (the most crooked street in San Francisco). I think it’s because the incline is much too steep to be straight, so it wiggles all over the place. It looked really colourful, with big hydrangea plants planted all the way up. There were lots of people taking photos - including the people in the cars, driving down! There was also an amazingly vivid pink bougainvillea growing up a striking blue house, which was stunning.
We trekked up the 250 odd steps and admired the views for a while. From there, we headed to Fisherman’s Wharf. We had a wander among the historic ships and then went to Pompeii’s Grotto for lunch. I had a clam chowder in a sourdough bowl and Ben had a BLT with fries - with a local beer each, called Anchor Steam. It was really nice - about $35. It was starting to get sunnier as we had lunch and the mist seemed to have cleared.
We carried on walking along the wharf, stopping off at Pier 39 to look at the local sea lion populace. We then headed up to Goit Tower, up a great many steps - we had to ask two different people how to find our way up, as it wasn’t marked. So, exhausted and hot, we admired the views when we got to the top, although it took us a while to recover from the climb! We decided not to go up in the tower itself - the queues were epic and the observation level seem to be enclosed in glass, so we weren’t bothered. Wandering around the outside, we saw a hummingbird - quite exciting!
From there, we headed back towards Union Square. We were going to get an ice-cream on the way, but didn’t see anywhere. We were getting very weary and were keen to find somewhere to sit! On the way up to Starbucks in Macy’s, we had a look at the pop-out tram, but it was $14 which seemed quite expensive (it’s by some designer). Once in Starbucks, we discovered it was packed - no seats and people standing. We tried a couple more Starbucks that were nearby(they are quite literally on every corner!) before settling in an Irish pub. We had a couple of drinks, which were surprisingly expensive ($7 for a pint!)
We had a look in our tourist booklet for places to eat, and settled on Lori’s Diner, which was nearby. It looked like a proper American diner, complete with a cut out car on the front! We sat at the counter next to some other Brits. You could see the food being cooked as we waited. Dani had a Lori ‘signature’ burger and I had a Big Bopper (bacon cheeseburger). We also had onion rings to share, and a couple of cokes. As it turned out, the portions were massive! I finished my burger, but Dani didn’t, and there were lots of onion rings left. It cost $40 with a $5 tip. From there, we headed back to the hotel, feeling shattered. We watched a bit of TV and looked at some photos before nodding off. Alcatraz tomorrow!
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![]() | Posted by Ben Taylor at 22:17 |
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