Day 2 California Drizzling
Cold and wet in LA. California is not supposed to get English weather. Mind you, the Hilton could have been anywhere. We could not afford the breakfast in the Restaurant but we did get a nice muffin and coffee at the Bistro in the Hotel before we headed for Terminal 4 and our flight to San Francisco.
Bit of a trial going through security. Seemed strange with no belt, no shoes, no wallet and having to stand in a glass cubicle with arms aloft. Bit like having a dry shower without the pleasant hot water. Anyway we passed and made it to a transfer bus to the plane. After a grand tour of LA Airport the driver eventually found our plane. The Pilot then bounced us back in the opposite direction to where we joined a queue to take off. Must be a nightmare coordinating all the ground traffic, everyone seemed lost. It took ages to get airborne.
Nice flight with American to San Francisco. Bit of a worry when the plane took off and headed right out to Sea over the Pacific. Luckily the pilot realised his mistake before we reached Hawaii and we turned North to SFO. A quick flight, they only had time to give us a glass of water. They could have served a 3 course meal while we were on the ground.
San Francisco Airport! It seemed strangely quiet as we made our way to BART. Apparently it’s named after a character in the Simpsons? It’s a Rapid Transit System that is indeed pretty quick and, despite the difficulty we had buying a ticket, whisked us to Powell Street near Union Square. We expected lots of homeless to be hanging around and we were not disappointed. We looked pretty obviously lost and lumbered with bags so we took a taxi to our hotel on Bush Street. The streets are pretty steep so it was a good move although tricky to find a taxi able to turn right. We were told there were so many one way streets the drivers specialised in either left turns or right turns. We reached our B&B after an uphill and a couple of right turns and were made very welcome. The Petite Auberge on Bush St was a bit of a haven for the following 3 nights. They serve a very good breakfast with porridge and have an Afternoon wine party. No problem settling in here then! The décor is a bit strange but this is countered by bottles of water and soft drinks being free from the fridge and also coffee on tap. The location is not bad, very close to Union Square. We were advised NEVER to turn left out of the Hotel. We never did it because apparently down to the left was dangerous and took the unsuspecting victims into Tenderloin or to the painfully named Tender Nob.
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| TW at Bubba Gump |
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| Dinner at the Daily Grill |
We stuck with our Right Turns and were soon in Union Square. We dined out in style in the nearby Daily Grill, tough on the pocket but delightful on the palette. A lovely steak with great beer. It is apparent that US beer quality has improved markedly since my last visit. I had a lovely locally brewed IPA.
Day 3 Streets of San Francisco and off to prison
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| On the Bus - dripping wet |
Lost in San Francisco. Our first job of the day, after a hearty and convivial breakfast, was to pick up our tickets to Alcatraz. It used to be free to visit there, you just needed to do something horribly violent or upset the warden at one of the mainland prisons. It;s only a 15 minute ride on the ferry but it was just about escape proof. If you tried to swim home the currents would drag you away,you would freeze to death and you would be eaten by crabs. Anyway we decided to pay to visit and our trial was to find where to pick up the tickets. We took a bus from Market Street to Fisherman's Wharf and expected to be in the right place - wrong!
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| Gone fishin - Fisherman's Wharf in the rain |
We were the wrong end of Fisherman's Wharf and wound our way for the next 2 hours through the streets of San Francisco. It was one helluva relief when we found the office, we arrived wet and bedraggled. We had pre-paid in UK for the boat trip plus hop-on hop-off buses. We found we were booked on the 14:40 boat so had plenty of time for a hopping tour before the cruise. They use an open-top red bus which ironically is almost identical to the one that passes our house in Poole. This one, sadly, was really knackered. The open top was empty due to the heavy rain and cold. Water was leaking through the roof onto the downstairs passengers. We were supposed to have a running commentary as we made our way back on the very route down Columbus that we had just walked but all we heard was a damp induced fizz from the speakers. TW complained and they turned up the sound. We did hear the commentary Lady say we were now in Tendernob which made the Ladies giggle. We hopped off the bus at Pier 39 and had lunch at Bubba Gump. We decided we needed some light relief and a few shrimps.
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| The Golden Gate |
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| SF skyline from the rock |
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| TW in solitary |
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Cell Comfort?
And so to Alcatraz. Quite an interesting afternoon. TW nearly got locked in a cell. I got a bit fed up up with all the tales of failed escapes, the gloomy cells and the cold wet weather.
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| Alcatraz invites |
I resisted the temptation to swim for shore and,instead, enjoyed a boat trip back, it was a relief to see the skyline of SF getting closer. A cheap dinner at Macdonalds was ordered. It was becoming clear this would not a cheap trip.
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| We are sailing |
Day 4 Hopping off to Sausalito.
Right, we now have bus transportation sorted. We are ready for Sausalito via the Golden Gate Bridge.
We hopped on the sight-seeing bus at Union Square for a comfortable journey to the start of the Sausalito bus tour. Quite a jolly tour guide for the route through Chinatown and Nob Hill. We saw a lot more as the windows were not steamed up and it was a great deal more comfortable with the raindrops not falling on our heads. A much brighter day meant we could sit on the top deck on the run over the Golden Gate to Sausalito. It was a windy ride across the bridge but well worth it.
By the time we reached Sausalito it almost felt warm. We certainly felt more comfortable in the sunshine as we wandered around the pretty seaside town. A lot of people cycle over the GG bridge and take the boat back. As a result, bike parking has become a problem - or maybe an opportunity. Valet parking has been introduced for cyclists! Probably not a bad idea as the pavements are narrow. Also nice and secure, when you hire a bike over here you have to pay up for a replacement if it gets stolen!
We had a really nice lunch in Scoma's on the Harbour front. We had the cheaper options and shared a pud. but we were looked after very well. It was USA Mother's Day and Restaurants were very busy.
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| Our great Restaurant in Sauasalito - Scoma's |
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| Lunchtime at Scoma's |
And so to the Ferry for the trip back San Francisco. It was a bit of a scrum because all the cyclists were coming back with us. Once on board we had a very good cruise across the bay. We made time for a coffee at Fisherman's Wharf but not before a careful study of the Sea Lions on the adjacent pontoons.
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| Benidorm - sea lions |
Not a lot different to watching humans on the beach - only the umbrellas, cool boxes and sunscreen are missing. Some of the beasts are sociable whilst others obviously like a little privacy and try to dominate their very own pontoon. Apparently the sea lions moved in after one of the many earthquakes and could not be dislodged. They are now protected so they cannot be deported.
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| Doing a U turn |
A dilemma now - shall we walk or shall we take a cable car home? The cable car won easily and we had a ride home in style. Back home to the Auberge in time for a glass of wine and then time travel to the fifties for Dinner at Lori's Diner. All very Fifties, the only modern thing was the price. Happy Days!
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| Petite Auberge - our little home in San Fran |
