Girls Day Out

Day three dawned fine and warm, Rich was tired so Rose and I ditched him and booked a Hop on Hop off bus tour. This was a fantastic thing to do. For a set price of $39 for a one day pass we got to explore all the interesting places in San Francisco from the top of an open topped bus, with a running commentary from the tour guide providing the local history and information about each place. This is a wonderful way to orientate yourself in a new city and you can hop off if some place appeals ( dont worry another bus will be along soon) or you can make a mental note to come back to a spot if you have time. Ah time, if we only had time, only time.(Are you humming along? John Rowles? Never mind)

Our first tour guide was, um how should I say this, NUTS. When we first approached the bus he was yelling down the phone "I don't want  Rudy doing no commentary on my run - he ain't ready." He went on in this vein for some time, hung up, and switched on the charm to us as we cowered ( well I was ) in the doorway. At this stage of the trip, we hadn't realised that everyone yells here. Well, maybe not everyone, but lots of people do, it's just their way and not intended to be offensive.

 Once we had settled into our seats we were off and there were times that we were a little white knuckled as he decided someone needed a driving lesson and he was going to give him one. I wished I could remember his name so I could recommend him, because he was entertaining, sounding just like the Wolfman from American Pie, and calling the town Sancisco. He seemed very passionate about "the beautiful, Golden Gate Bridge" which we got to ride over again getting quite a different perspective this time.

The "beautiful Golden Gate Bridge" was completed in1937 and took 4 years to build. It is brilliantly 'over engineered' and is said to be five times stronger than it needs to be to withstand the winds and tides it endures daily. At the time it was built it was the longest suspension bridge in the world and still ranks ninth. The orange colour was actually close to the original primer and it complements the natural setting so well that it was kept. The length of the steel wires used to make the cables is enough to circle the earth three times.

California Academy of Sciences - beautiful setting and pretty wonderful place.

We only crossed the bridge and turned straight around, not heading into Sausalito this time, which was a bit of a shame really, because it really is a very quaint little place to visit. Not long after returning from the bridge we came to the Golden Gate park.

We only saw a fraction of it because we were on a mission - to visit the California Academy of Sciences, " the only place on the planet where you can explore an aquarium, planetarium, and natural history museum under one living roof." !

We really liked it. Of course there was no way we could possibly have covered it all, but we did our darnedest. 

We went into the planetarium which was really just a huge 3D movie screen on the ceiling. We sat/lay, semi- reclined as we were educated about space and collisions and stuff. Actually, to tell the truth, I've forgotten most of it now, but I'm sure it will come back if I need it. ( I hope). It was nice to sit down and listen to the voice of Robert Redford, though.

We  loved the aquarium part. Some of it was presented in a very similar way to our very own National Aquarium in Napier with the travelator transporting you through a giant glass tunnel with the sea life surrounding  you so that it seems you are walking on the ocean floor.

We also loved ' Rainforests of the World'. As you walked up a spiral ramp you were able to experience the different rainforests of places like Borneo,Madagascar, Costa Rica and the Amazon. Besides the two brightly coloured parrots, what particularly appealed to us were the butterflies. We had to be very careful when leaving by elevator. In fact, we had to get out, while a prospective escapee was netted and returned.

We popped up to " smell the wildflowers at the Academy's living roof, a 2.5 acre expanse of native California plants that provides superior insulation, prevents storm water runoff, reduces the urban heat island effect and creates a new habitat for bees, birds, butterflies, and other local wildlife". That was a bit boring.

It's the sort of place you need to return to several times. We had had our fill so walked a short way back

 through the park and caught the next bus. 

Brewers blackbird - we learnt one thing at the museum.

CAS

Aquarium

Living roof

Met a little friend on the way out.

We travelled through Haight-Ahsbury which is famous for its role in the 1960s hippie movement and is still a centre for bohemian culture with its one of a kind shops, trendy cafes, bars and restaurants. Then through Alamo square which had spectacular views of the city skyline and also the famous Painted Ladies. I'm not entirely sure if we passed the actual famous ones, but there are several blocks of these beautiful Victorian homes that have all got new wardrobes and are looking splendid.

Passed the Beaux-Arts City Hall with its massive gold leaf covered dome, the Tenderloin district, so called because it was such a rough area the policemen who worked here were paid extra and therefore could afford to buy tenderloin steak, and onto Union Square.

To the left, a very Adam's Family style house. (Maybe it is the Adam's Family house)

Union Square

On the way past, our cute commentator, Matt, pointed out the Neiman Marcus multi levelled, glass fronted shop. He mentioned that although he would never buy any goods there, he did recommend going up to the restaurant under the coloured glass dome and buying a coffee. So we did.

It . Was. Gorgeous.

I just ordered a coffee and Rose ordered a chicken salad which was absolutely scrumptious, but we both got this large bread roll thing, mostly air, with a pat of strawberry butter! What a treat. We got talking to the Mother/daughter beside us, and they said they regularly come just for the lobster bisque and bread roll and strawberry butter which is only served in this place. I'll remember that for next time. 

In our conversation with this couple we mentioned our observation that there were many dogs in the city and we had even seen several in this very posh store. Yes, they agreed, people were crazy for dogs here, but you would not see them in places like restaurants. They finished their bisque and left.

Nek Minit!

Posh lady, fancy bag under one arm and teeny dog under the other, sits down at a table close by. No one raised an eyebrow.

Having satisfied our inner woman here  we thought we would wander through the shop and maybe satisfy the outer one. Splutter, splutter, not in this life time. I simply can not imagine loving a pair of shoes enough to pay over two and a half thousand dollars. I grabbed a purple, strapless, Oscar de la Renta gown with cream lace applique in the shape of horsemen running up both sides, off the hook and held it against me. I checked the label. $13,999! It was actually pretty gross and the price tag- outrageous. Still, I guess there must be a market for that sort of thing. It was fun though, even if we couldn't even imagine buying anything here.

Looking down from the restaurant.

The shop was full of 'gorgeous things'.

I did manage to buy my SIM card from T Mobile while I was in Union Square. Not cheap, cheap but certainly cheaper than roaming and with the deal I got 2 gb of data so I could use my iPad anywhere, which has proved handy. I have also been able to txt and call all the others who bought a T Mobile deal, something we had jacked up previously, without paying anything extra.

Jimi's house

Janis Joplin lived here.

We continued our journey, past the Dragon Gate of Chinatown and the quaint French quarter, Little Italy and in the distance could see the world's "crookedest street". Onto the Embarcadero, the street that runs along the Piers, where the Americas Cup was held and where the ferries leave for places like Alcatraz. 

This has been a bit of a sore point for us. I had booked the Alcatraz tour the day before the government shutdown and today was the day we were supposed to do it. Still closed. Bother. Will just have to come back.

We arrived back to the hotel to find our laundry had been done and folded, by Rich, who was by now ready to hit the town. We wandered down to Fisherman's Wharf where we planned to visit Joes Crab Shack. It was bursting and there was at least a forty five minute wait before we could be seated. So we decided to carry on down the wharf and finally settled on a very unpretentious little restaurant that served the most delicious crab cakes and clam chowder in a sour dough bowl. 

Home and straight to bed. Another lovely day in SF.