Just arrived San Francisco - 2 hours late.

Off on a city tour in 5 minutes time!

No time to lose, we have to somehow make up 2 hours of sightseeing..........

Come back for more on this blog.......

This tour was the best city tour we have been on. We had a small group of 7 and a young female guide was knowledgeable

We quickly came to realise how hilly San Francisco is. We are on the flat part which apparently is reclaimed land. The roads are very uneven,caused we think by the earthquakes, and the bus continue happy shakes as our guide manoeuvres the bus through narrow and very hilly streets. We see some of the Victorian era mansions, the narrow and brightly painted apartments, the City Civic Centre and learnt about San Franciscans. 800 thousand in the city and 8.5 million total in the whole of San Francisco. Interesting facts; only 60,000 black Americans - a fact that is very evident having just come for the south. Demographically, we are back in a western city, as distinct from a "true American" city like we have experienced in the east coast and down south. The city has many types of transport - trams - vintage and old; trolley buses - electric buses that power through over head wires, rail cars, buses and taxis - they are everywhere.

We visit the ferry terminal and drive along the long boulevard where all the piers are towards Fisherman's Wharf. There is a large cruise liner in, towering over the old dock area. The area is very crowded, people everywhere, a real sense of excitement

We drove through Gooden Gate Park, designed by the same person who did New Yorks Centeal park. Next was a visit to Twin Peaks for a panoramic vista of the city. San Francisco is a very foggy city, particularly at this time of the year, and very chilly. The wind was blowing, icily cold at the top, but the view of the city sprawling out below was magnificent. Then on to the Barbary Coast beaches and the Pacific Ocean - a short cut home. They are wide expanses of sand, with very treacherous rips and swell. Next stop was Lands End, a cliff face looking out to a rocky outcrop - did I mention that it is

Lands end is a cliff face looking out to the ocean and the length of the Barbary Coast.
From Lands End we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge. The traffic was busy but our guide/ driver was adept at getting the mini bus through the congestion and over the bridge. It is a magnificent structure designed to swing 5 metres in the event if an earthquake. Our guide had originally asked us if we knew that SFO ( I'm going to use the airport abbreviation like everyone seems to) is prone to earthquakes, the last one in 1996 registered 8.7 on the Richter Scale and brought down part of the Bay Bridge. She added that if we didn't know then it was too late because we were here now! Anyway, we were on the other side and the view looking back to SFO was picture post card - it was a moment for me. Today's blog picture is from this point, just like on postcards. Did I mention that SFO is chilly? It was bitterly cold and was certainly a change to what we had experienced in the south and along the east coast.

Time to leave this beautiful spot and head back over the Golden Gate Bridge. Our guide gave us the choice of where we wanted to be dropped off so we chose Fisherman's Wharf. This is an eclectic place with shops, restaurants, bars, street performers and a very multicultural mix of both locals and tourists. This is certainly the most diverse city we have visited. Very few black Americans, a large ethnic Asian and middle eastern community ( the largest China town in the USA and a Russian community.

What do you do at Fisherman's Wharf? Eat fish! We chose Joes Fish Shack and initially sat outside. I hadn't bought a jumper from the hotel and was by now quite cold. So while we waited for the order I bought a SFO tee shirt to try and warm up. When I got back to Joanne we elected to move inside. This is not customary because in restaurants you wait to be seated (Joanne forgot this a couple of times and just walked in), and in this process you are assigned a waiter who looks after your area. As tips are customary/expected and based on the total of the bill as a percentage if you move you move into another waiters area. Anyway they obliged us and we made certain that the correct waiter (the original one was credited). I was still cold, but hey, time to eat.

Joanne ordered Mahi Mahi which is a type of salmon and I ordered Pacific Snapper. Both with salad and fries. Stomach full, and the correct waiter tipped, we were off to explore the foreshore of Fisherman's Wharf. It was buzzing, very crowded, but exciting and not a hint of angst amongst the crowd. We made it to Pier 39 which is the iconic pier of SFO and the world famous sea lions. At the end of the pier there are about 20 pontoons (floating barges) with a total of over 100 large sea lions, mostly males,trying to get their positions, barking at each other and lazing around. It was amazing to see these large creatures lying around, trying to get up on the pontoons, being barked at or snapped at by larger sea lions and generally posing for the tourists.

Pier 39 is like an an amusement park with a carousel, themed shops, buskers, restaurants, bars and thousands of people- quite a place. And it was cold, have I mentioned this before!

By is time we were feeling a little zapped, and the next morning was going to be a 6.20am pick up for our day tour to Yosemite National Park. We shivered or at last I shivered, as we waited for the street car to take us back into the city and the warmth of our hotel. We got chatting to a nice young couple from Salt Lake City who helped us to get on the correct street car and told us where to get off.

It has been a great half day in SFO, but we are starting to tire. Never mind, there are still things to see and food to try, so we must have strength.

Good night from SFO and the west coast. Did I say it was cold here?