World United States California San Francisco

TrotterLampoon2007

San Francisco 16 Apr 2007

We left Visalia at 8 am and headed toward San Francsico. We had a brief stop on the way but because this was the last day of the tour for four parties, Todd, our Tour Escort wanted to get to San Francisco by lunchtime. On the way Sian lost a tooth! We arrived at 12 and luckily were able to get our luggage off the bus and take it straight to the Sheraton where we were staying. We had a night tour of Alcatraz booked and didn't want to finish late then have to collect our luggage from the tour hotel and then go back to our hotel (near the wharf) so it worked out well. We were able to check straight in at the Sheraton. We then went back to Pier 39 and watched the Sealions at play - funny lot - very human. I'm sure I've seen people acting the same way! We had lunch at Boudin - specialise in Sourdough Soup Bowls. Shaun had French Onion and I had Beef and Chilli - magnificent. The kids had pizza! We then wandered up the wharf and checked out the shops. Sian and Lauren went on the double decker Carousel - Sian didn't want to go on it originally but after she did she wanted a repeat go! We then joined back up with the Tour Group and went on a brief City Tour. Firstly we went up past Fishermans' Wharf to the viewing spot for the Golden Gate bridge. Took a stack of photos. Then drove down past the Cable Car Museum and down to the beach area. Drove through Golden Gate Park. We then went to Twin Peaks and checked out the view of the City sky line. The car next to the bus had a guy and girl in it - the girl was showing her 'twin peaks' apparently. Shaun missed out on this view! We then hit Market Street and as we drove through Castro (the Gay area) we spotted a cafe named (no this is not a joke) "Squat and Gobble". We then boarded the ferry for Alcatraz. It wasn't too rough and didn't take too long to get there. It was extremely windy on the island but most of the time we spent inside the cell block. Would not have wanted to be an inmate. Lauren was fascinated with the audio tour equipment. She wandered in and out of cells oblivious to how "harsh" this environment would have been. We then had dinner with another Aussie family at the Rainforest Cafe - excellent environment - animated animals like elephants, snakes, gorillas, leopards moving periodically. Kids crashed and burned - big time (so did the adults). The Sheraton at Fishermans Wharf is a lovely hotel and in a good spot with regard to restaurants etc. Lots of shops selling "San Francisco" souvenirs including clothes. Bought some jackets which were awesome for the price and will come in handy later in the trip.

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