My husband is home and naturally rather tired from the flight and skipping a day. He’s been asleep for over four hours and really needs to get up because it’s only 4:54pm!
Yesterday I got up to those crazy Sea Lions at Pier 39.
Mountain View
I didn’t take that many photos in Mountain View, but I really liked it there.
We were staying in an apartment on High School Way, which is right off Castro St – downtown. The side of the street was well paved, there were pedestrian crossings everywhere (lovely when you are walking everywhere), and the street was lined with trees that were lit with fairy lights every night. It was very pretty.
I also loved how the shops were open so late! In Australia, apart from supermarkets, restaurants and some food places, most shops close at 5:30pm. I used to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer and wonder why they were shopping at night time… you can actually do that in California!
Bike the bridge
On Sunday we hired bicycles from Blazing Saddles and rode acround the shoreline and across the bridge. Then down to Sausalito for lunch.
That’s me in the red hoodie minding our bikes and checking out the view from Crissy Field.
To be honest I really sucked at bike riding. I haven’t done it in about 11 years (at least) and I don’t have very strong legs… I ended up walking my bike up most hills. 😛 I enjoyed that though. Walking across the bridge was really nice (I rode for the last half), it’s a really lovely view.
Alcatraz
On Monday night we went on the Alcatraz evening tour. We had to go on Monday because both weekends were booked out – if you want a night tour book at least two weeks ahead!
Alcatraz was so interesting, I highly recommend it.
They opened up the cell doors – they can do it one at a time or all at once – the sound of all that metal hitting at the same time was amazing.
I was surprised to learn that the inmates could earn money working in the industries buildings.
The stories about escapes and escape attempts were interesting.
The view of the city from the island is spectacular, it would have been so frustrating for the inmates to be able to see what they can’t have!
With all the perfect weather we’d been having (warm sun, clear skies, cool breeze) I was starting to think that we’d never see the famous San Francisco fog! It did come through in the evening – it was pretty amazing; I really didn’t think that water vapour could get that dense at sea level without actually becoming sea. :nerd:
Golden Gate Park
On my way to Golden Gate Park I bought the worst coffee I have ever had, which inspired my post about Starbucks.
Botanical Garden and de Young museum
With my Caramel Macchiato in hand I wandered down into the park where I came across someone searching a field with a metal detector and the botanical garden. I’m not into gardens in a big way, but I thought it deserved a wander. I sat by a small lake for a while watching the birds – they can be pretty funny. Then some women started to feed the birds. Score! I got some good photos of the feeding frenzy that ensued.
I visited the de Young Museum, which I didn’t like as much as SF MOMA, but the garden was cool and I had a delicious Waldorf Salad from the cafe.
Japanese Tea Garden
The Japanese Tea Garden was cute. There were enormous fish and sculpted trees and even squirrels (though they looked decidedly un-Japanese). I was a bit disappointed with the prices: $4 for entry and $3.25 for tea… I didn’t have any tea. I usually don’t buy tea when I’m out because it’s typically very expensive for a tea bag and some hot water. I’m sure it would have been lovely to drink tea in the tea garden, but it would have been more lovely for me if they’d had a complimentary cup of tea with the cost of entry, or no cover charge.
City at night
Having caught the bus in the wrong direction to get to the Legion of Honour, catching it in the right direction and arriving there just on closing time, I found myself in the city after sunset.
Sunset over Ocean Beach was beautiful, getting back downtown was not so beautiful. The fact that you’re a lone female feels a whole lot more obvious once it’s dark. Places pop up that you didn’t see in daylight: Crazy Horse, adult cinemas… Suddenly the city felt seedy and I wanted nothing to do with it. That was down near 7th and 8th streets, 3rd and 4th didn’t feel quite as bad. I decided to make the most of it and take some photos of City Hall while I was there.
Stay tuned
Eh hem, I’ve written so much in this post. I think I’d better save the last nine photos for another post before you all fall asleep!
How weird… shops only open until 5:30?? Crazy Australians! 😛
I love Japanese gardens! My husband’s dad grew up in Japan so it’s very interesting to go with him; he points out all the little things the American gardens do wrong! He tells us about why the do certain things and he is a wealth of knowledge about the culture. I love it!