Happy St Paddy's Day
Scenes of San Fran
Well, I think we had the luck of the Irish today.....very spontaneously after seeing on the Net that it was St Patrick's Day and San Francisco was having it's Parade today...we decided to go and check it out. With no idea of the Bus or Ferry time tables, we walked down the block and caught to '0' Bus (well after a 40 minute wait) The bus cost $3.50 and it was a very interesting ride over the Bay Bridge, crossing over Treasure Island (named after the famous book) and arriving 20 minutes later in downtown San Fran. Woo HOO!!
Well, I think we had the luck of the Irish today.....very spontaneously after seeing on the Net that it was St Patrick's Day and San Francisco was having it's Parade today...we decided to go and check it out. With no idea of the Bus or Ferry time tables, we walked down the block and caught to '0' Bus (well after a 40 minute wait) The bus cost $3.50 and it was a very interesting ride over the Bay Bridge, crossing over Treasure Island (named after the famous book) and arriving 20 minutes later in downtown San Fran. Woo HOO!!
Our timing ended up being pretty lucky too, as we thought that the 11.10 bus we see us miss the Parade, but we found it really close to the Bus terminal and it was only half way through. So loads of fun and colour (mostly green) free beers, free green beads, free candy and some very funny characters...kept us entertained and following the Parade to it's finishing point at Civic Square. By the end I must admit to feeling a little Irish myself. This is a massive park area near the town hall. We passed some incredible architecture. Had a great coffee at a very hip Cafe Trieste, that opened in 1956 and holds a reputation for some very famous musicians and celeb visitors. Then we decided we couldn't say we'd seen San Fran without walking up one of those incredibly steep streets, we did Mason Street...not the steepest (my knees wouldn't cope with the steepest) but they managed with a bit of pain and crunching to make the top and get to California Street. A great view was afforded to us of the bay and the Golden Gate, plus all the posh hotels that sit along the top of the hill. It was here that my Mum decided to phone, how surreal, talking to my lovely Ma while Cable cars rattled past and very well off people walked their unbelievably small dogs.
We managed to jump on a Cable Car in the middle of the street, just, after missing three others due to lack of nerves! That was a hoot to sit on this rattly old machine, as it creaked down the steep street, with the brakeman ringing tunes with the bell. I don't think my knees could have made the walk down the steep hill too. It was worth the $5 each for a one ride only. It put us at the end of the line in the financial district. Walk one block and you are on the waterfront piers. Fabulous!! Walk into the delicious Ferry Plaza Markets. An undercover strip of market stalls filled with farm fresh and local produce. Cheese shops, Caviar Bar, Seafood, Beef, Bakery, it was so vibrant. We stopped for lunch at the San Francisco Seafood stall and had a most delectable battered fish and chips. And as the day had progressively got more squally and cold...it was a perfect lunch in snugly warm environment. I wanted to stop at every stall, cheese, bakery, gelati, but as the American serves continue to be HUGE...we couldn't fit another thing in! :/
We were running out of day, so started our walk north along the piers and waterfront to the north to catch the ferry home to Alameda. It was now, very squally, dull and cold....very windy and very wild on the water. Yet there were heaps of sails out on the bay!! These San Francisco bay sailors are a tough breed....20+ knots of breeze and a temperature not hitting 10 degrees, is a walk in the park for them! We huddled and hurried our way to the MOST famous: Pier 39. It is nearly like an amusement arcade on the waterfront, with shops and tourist stalls and merry-go-round and aquarium (which we didn't have time to visit) restaurants, cafes and fairy floss vendors. It was packed with people even at 4.30 pm on a cold afternoon....we got our tickets for the ferry $6 each and watched the sea lions while we waited. I could have done with another jumper or jacket and Geoff had that look like he did in Tahoe, of being part iceberg. So when the ferry pulled up, we jumped on board, went to the top floor inside deck and watched the skyline of the fabulous San Fran fade into the ragged squall clouds.
It was on the ride back we decided we will go back to San Fran to watch a baseball game of the local San Fran Giants, they play at the stadium just near the South Beach Piers and Marina. Maybe grab a hot dog and a soda.... Maybe do some more exploring, Castro? Lombard that windy steep street shown in all the movies....hmmmm, me thinks you could wile away quite a bit of time in San Francisco. My sister in law Kylie was right, this could be my favourite city I've ever been to. Just a shame about the large homeless population, but lucky for the vibrant gay community, the strong art and music sectors and those fabulous apartment buildings and streets. As the author of the Lonely Planet guide says in the front of the book "San Francisco has collected more than its share of heartfelt compliments over the years, and a writer can get twisted into a dog shaped balloon trying to avoid the platitudes. There's little point in taking issue with the praise-singers. THIS IS ONE GORGEOUS LITTLE CITY BY THE BAY"
We totally agree. :))
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