Day 1
So after a
great-“I’m not sleeping on a train or in a paddock”-night’s sleep, got back on a
train or two and made my way back into the city. Strolled along the waterfront from
the ferry building to the Alcatraz landing…where I learnt that I really should
have done some pre planning for this trip as there were no available tickets to
the Rock until the end of August. Oops :P
So wandered
down to super touristy pier 39 and jumped on an Escape from the Rock cruise so
I figured that was about as close as I would get. After getting slightly
creeped out by the English girl behind me who was playing some sort of morbid
game with her family where they had to pick a door to walk through, all of
which ended in a horrible death of some description (I’m pretty sure the family
considered leaving her behind on the pier by the time we boarded), posed for
the obligatory green screen photo and headed out.
Cruised out
under the Golden Gate bridge, took a lap of Alcatraz, up under the Bay Bridge
and back past the sea lions to the pier. Got a pretty good audio commentary and
plenty of history along the way so that kind of made up for it. Stopped off for
a bowl of clam chowder in a sourdough bowl, then wandered around the pier and
down to Fisherman’s Wharf where I found the Museum Mechanique, a huge
collection of old coin operated arcade games (and few naughty peepshows).
Hike up to
Lombard to see the windy road (must suck to live on that street but very pretty
all the same). Then up to Ghiradelli square (free chocolate samples, woohoo!)
and watched the cable car turn around. Climbed some more hills and strolled through
Chinatown and back to the train.
Day 2
After a
super cute start to the day at Hathaway’s music class, we all piled in the car
and headed to the Presido where we found a helpful security guard to direct us
to the Yoda statue which is actually a fountain in front of the ILM building
and the lobby was full of lightsabers, figurines and life-sized Boba Fett and
Darth Vader. Nerd paradise!
Then since
we were so close we headed up to Golden Gate Bridge and walked across. Great
views and a very cool experience J Stopped for a giant pizza, and then
with a certain someone very much in need of a nap (and it not being me for a
change) I got dropped off at huge Golden Gate park for a few hours of exploring
the parks. Found the Aids memorial which is actually a huge grove of trees, a
creek and inscribed boulders. Very beautiful and tranquil. Found a series of
trails off the beaten path and got some good Camino training done, but still
only got less than half way through the park.
Hiked up to
Alamo Square for spectacular views over the city and the Painted Ladies
(they’re houses, not hookers by the way :P). Down past the fancy arts district
and then back up through Little Saigon (apparently) and Chinatown again before
heading back to the train once again.
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