San Francisco

where we attempt to do as many tourist things as possible in 48 hours

With our Airbnb crisis solved (more about that in our Redwoods blog) we drove tired but happy towards our hard-won bed in San Francisco.

Driving across the Golden Gate Bridge was an experience. Before reaching it we negotiated roadworks and got a taste of the driving style of the locals. Not helping was the mist and the night-time driving which all of a sudden became an even bigger problem when our car headlights switched off for half a minute mid-traffic (we later found out that a short in the lamp mixed with the car’s automatic light function was the cause). This was our first bit of big city driving since Vancouver and our first time driving into a big city in the dark in North America.

The mist got thicker as we were crossing over the bridge but what a thing to be doing – driving across the Golden Gate Bridge! The many toll signs and manic drivers surrounding us only barely took the shine off of it. The manic drivers we managed, the barrier-free toll we paid later online. Google maps directed us to turn off just after the bridge and brought us through some hilly roads before launching us back into the suburbs. Along here was where we first got to see the hilly streets that San Fran is famous for.

We found the house, let ourselves in with the key that was left out for us, made our way to our room, bumped into our host, chatted for a short while (nice guy) and went to bed.

We woke up to an extremely misty San Francisco (see photo evidence below). Looking out the bedroom window it was difficult to make out the low rooftops on the buildings around us and we certainly couldn’t see further than our block.

We put a hasty list together of things we wanted to do and set off into Downtown. It was cold outside in the mist so our shorts and t-shirts were ditched for hoodies and jeans. We walked because we’d heard that traffic was bad and parking difficult. Walking in turned out to be an ambitious move because of how far out we were and because of all the hills. By the time we realised we were already too far gone to go back for the car so we just muddled on. Then we walked a little further and saw the gridlock traffic and consoled ourselves that it was better to be walking than stuck in that for the morning. The closer we got to town the more the mist lifted and the hotter the day felt – our shorts and t-shirts wouldn’t have been so out of place after all.

We took a detour and went the scenic route through Golden Gate Park. It was bustling with people. Not far inside the park, we stumbled on the Music Concourse complete with a live rehearsing orchestra. Unfortunately…..they were on a break just then. We sat in with the waiting crowd for a while but when it looked like they wouldn’t be back playing anytime soon we strolled on – so little time, so much to see!

Actually, there’s lots to see even in Golden Gate Park alone with art museums, lakes, hills (Strawberry Hill), a Japanese Garden, windmills, a botanic garden, a carousel and even a real live herd of bison. We only got a passing glance at most of these and missed out on seeing some entirely. We were happy with what we did see though and to be fair, the park is huge (fun fact – Golden Gate is 20% bigger than New York’s Central Park!).

From the park we went walking through the Haight-Ashbury district and found a place on Union Street to get a late breakfast. La Boulange is a French styled cafe with nice and affordable food, busy staff and coffee served by the bowl (seriously, huge bowls like some French people do but with gigantic North American portions).

After food it was time to move onto the Mission District. There was no pre-planning of a route, just a want to get around to as many of the areas as we could and avoid as many hills as possible while doing it. On our quick tour of Mission we found it ok in some parts, dodgy in others but there wasn’t enough time spent in it to really get a good feel for it. We circled some of the surrounding areas and got our first sight of the cities colourful electrical trams (not to be confused with the Cable cars, they get an honourable mention later on).

Just here, east of Castro Street we came on another famous side of San Francisco. Rainbow flags hanging everywhere were the first clue that we’d entered a particularly cool part of the city. The two middle aged men walking up the street holding hands with nothing but shoes and the modern equivalent of fig leaves covering their vital bits was our second. To be fair, it was a pretty warm day! Seriously though, Castro and the surrounding areas are a really vibrant part of really vibrant city and it’s well worth a visit.

Afterwards we went to Union Square for a look about. On the way we walked along Van Ness Avenue and then passed through the Civic Center Plaza. The old buildings were hugely impressive. Around here we happened on an antique shop called Stuff where we spent half an hour perusing with absolutely no intention to buy. It was like a jumbled up museum.

On to Union Square which is a big shopping district. In the plaza in the centre of the square we stopped for a while to listen to some live music and watch some impromptu Latino dancing. All skill levels welcome. Having said that, we felt we didn’t quiet reach even that lowly level so we stayed in the crowd. All of the big designer shops are here, on the square and on the streets leading off from it. So if designer shopping is what you’re after, this is the place to be.

We turned for the quieter life and ended up walking through a very deserted financial district (it was the weekend) by mistake to get to the Embarcadero (piers). From here San Fran’s lesser mentioned bridge, the Bay Bridge, can be seen up close. We walked down along the Embarcadero and got completely confused by their number scheme. 14 was followed by 1 and 1 was followed by 3 and so on (disclaimer: this may not be the actually order but you get the idea). We tried for a place to eat along here but nothing was meeting with our budget. We considered walking down to the sea lions at Pier 39…but it just seemed too far. We’d already had a big day of walking. Instead we headed for Lombard Street.

On the way we passed Telegraph hill. Be prepared for a lot of calf-aching uphill walking to get to this point. The hills around this area are unreal. We passed a guy playing the saxophone. Well dressed, on a deserted street with no hat out for change. Our best guess was that he just wanted to practice and his roommates weren’t so supportive of his musical ambitions. He was really good, better than most buskers you come across.

On the way to Lombard street we came across a part of the Italian area and decided on food in the North Beach Restaurant, Stockton Street. This turned out to be a great choice and we got the most delicious meatballs, pasta and pizza (not all in the one dish!).

Lombard street was not hard to find from our restaurant. We simply followed the crowds. At the bottom of the street, people were so eager to get a good shot that they were standing in the middle of the street blocking cars. Not that the people driving minded, they were there for the same reason. Lombard street itself, a one way street from top down, was jammed full of cars and people walking up and down the street, some ignoring the paths and others blocking the paths for the perfect picture.

There was a touch of chaos to it but at the same time it was amusing to see how entertaining a street could be for so many people. We stood back for a while…..and then joined in with the people taking pictures. Then we walked up to the top and took more pictures. Seemed the thing to do. Even better would have to been to have driven down it but the car was miles away and by the looks of the traffic going down it, just then wasn’t the best time to drive it anyway.

Just at the top of Lombard street we found a cable car stop and in no time at all one pulled beside us. The cable cars work by latching onto a moving cable just under the road surface and that makes the ride a pretty jerky and unique experience, which adds to the fun. Once the cable car stops, the conductor tells you where to get on which depends on how packed it is. One of us got a seat and the other ended up standing on the side. The trolley slowly lurches forward once the fare is paid ($6 each), you’re on the way! Standing on side is the best place to be and by the operator is even better, though mixing it up and taking a turn sitting down and watching the passing streets is cool too.

The operators don’t just sit there like a bus driver does; instead, they’re on their feet constantly moving and wrestling with brake leavers, ringing the bell to move cars along the route and shouting out the stops at passengers.. This is the best value experience you will get in San Francisco. We travelled the whole line and would gladly have sat on it longer. If possible, it’s best to get on the car at the tip of the hill and take it down the hill. The rush you get when the trolley is launched over on the many hills is just great. For at least one of us, this was the highlight of the city.

After the cable car we spent another while exploring the city and then made the long trek back to our Airbnb. Being in the car so much driving between places put us off getting too much public transport and it’s mostly a nice city to walk through. We were ready for bed by the time we made it back and that familiar mist had made a reappearance.

Coming to San Francisco we knew that Alcatraz was one of the biggest attractions in the city so we wanted to catch it while there. The only problem was that tickets sell out weeks and maybe even months in advance and that didn’t fit in well with our relaxed itinerary. Our only options were to buy tickets for Alcatraz as part of a city tour bundle which brought the ticket price to over $70 (not an option on our budget) or line up at a ridiculous hour to get the small number of walk up tickets available each day (fitted better with our budget though not our sleep aspirations).

We went for the second option and so on our second day in San Francisco we found ourselves waking up at 4am! Our Airbnb was about 30 minutes away from the ferry departure point and we had to pack up our bags and wake up a bit before driving down to the pier 33. It was 5:15 by the time we were in the line at the ticket booth. We’d parked in a public car park just across the way (getting the early bird deal of a full day of parking for $15) and the sun was just rising over the horizon. Surprisingly, we weren’t the only crazy people out that morning. We were 10th and 11th in line, justifying our early start somewhat. In front and behind us in the line were English people but there also seemed to be other Europeans and plenty of Americans in the line as well giving the morning a real international feel.

After an hour and half the line had swelled to about 70-80 people and half of us were sitting on the ground, the other pacing. We still hadn’t seen any activity at the booth and if it wasn’t for a friendly security guard we would have been wondering if we were at the right place. Then, at 7:15 a ticket seller appeared…. Though not selling tickets. Instead she was handing out tokens which seem to be to stop people jumping the line at the last minute. A few people who had lined up all morning had wandered off for coffee just at this vital time and as much as their friends pleaded there was no chance of them getting tokens, she just shook her head moved down along the line. Luckily for them, she had a few tokens left by the time she got to the end and they got them once they’d hurried back with their coffees. Not a morning wasted! At 7.30, the ticket booth finally opened and we got tickets for first sailing 8:45. After our early start it felt like a huge win and we went and got breakfast to celebrate.

Checking back at the car we found a $70 parking ticket on our windscreen. #$@&%*! Though they’ll remain nameless……. One of us had paid for parking but in the rush to the ticket line hadn’t displayed the ticket on the dash, thinking instead it was done by the parking bay number (which that someone still believes would make more sense!). This momentarily put a dampener on things but we put it out of our minds as something to worry about later (update, this was later sorted by emailing the private parking company and sending a picture of the paid-for ticket as proof of purchase). Moral of the story is……read the instructions on the ticket machine (even at 5 in the morning).

The ferry trip out to the island was excellent. We got great views of San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge and then Alcatraz itself came into focus. The first thing you get on the island is an induction from one of the park rangers. They tell you a little bit of the history of the island and what to do and see while you’re there. The first thing to do is go and see a short film from the Discovery Channel in the theatre. It’s worth a look but not all that necessary. Time it well when you leave the theatre and you can miss out on the crowds going into the main building. Inside you pick up an audio tour headset in the old prisoner processing area and then walk up into the cell block.

There’s loads of history crammed into this old building and you hear about some of the more famous prisoners and the few escape attempts. Despite how well the audio tour was put together and how much info it gives it still felt a little underwhelming. A real live tour guide would have brought more to it and was an option but the timing didn’t fit our schedule. The audio tours make sense for the number of visitors the island has. It was packed while we were there. Peering into the cells, standing in the solitary confinement cells and strolling in the exercise yard you get a small taste for the freedom or lack of that the prisoners experienced.

All in all we spent less than three hours on the island, felt we saw as much wanted and then we were back on the ferry heading for the main land. The island is really worth a visit, just try and tie it in with a time when a live tour is happening.

Back on dry land, the car was still where we parked it so we got on the road out of the city and we were on the road to Yosemite National Park.

our next destination: Yosemite ⇒