After a long and sleepless night on the Greyhound we finally arrived in San Francisco from Los Angeles at 5.40am. Once at the hostel (only a short taxi ride away) we were invited to get some coffee and breakfast to come round a bit until we could check in at 11am which we gladly did while also sorting out our laundry (rock n roll).
The first day was a bit of a write off - we caught up on some sleep, sorted the blog and photos and ordered a Chinese for tea - didn't actually leave the hostel.
The next day we were slightly more ready for action (groggy and slow paced action anyway). On leaving the hostel we were greeted by our first cable car however instead of getting on it, we trudged up several large hills in a very round the houses route to Chinatown. It is what it says on the tin - fully fledged Chinese community in the heart of San Fransisco. We liked it and wandered slowly browsing the shops and taking pictures.
From there we headed through the Italian district where we sampled an all-in-one sandwich (a deli sandwich with chips and some ropey tasting coleslaw quickly removed) before heading to the sea front for our Alcatraz tour. We actually got the wrong day - we were booked on the following day but that was fine as it was very cold, grey and rainy. So instead, we picked up some city passes which gave us entry into various attractions and use of the public transport (cable cars here we come) and then, we went in search of sea lions.
The story goes that in 1989 the people of San Francisco got up 1 day to find a small group of sea lions - about 5 or so - hanging about on K-dock of Pier 39 (the tourist area and harbour). The next day this number had increased to about 15 to 20. Within about 2 weeks K-dock had been commandeered by over 600 sea lions. Pier 39 liaised with the Marine Mammal Centre and other agencies who determined to hand over K-dock to the squatters (Pier 39 had actually been losing around $5,000 per month as, since its' invasion, K-dock was not available to rent). Since then the numbers fluctuate with migrational patterns but it remains home to a colony of around 50 sea lions all year round. They are mostly males aged 1 to 5 who spend the day sleeping, boisterously barking, playing, sitting and climbing on one another and pushing each other off the dock. It's the ultimate bachelor party and draws a steady crowd of fans and spectators every day. They really are lovely, very entertaining and a bit smelly. They're a lot bigger than you expect and you wouldn't want one sitting on your knee.
After watching them for about half an hour in spite of the weather, we boarded our first cable car to head back to the hostel near Union Square. It rattled up and down the steep hills no problem with the gripman (driver) making it look easy. That 1st ride was a bit scary as the hills are quite severe but any fears were unnecessary.