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Published: June 19th 2010
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Got to the airport at 0800 on Wednesday morning in plenty of time for our 0955 flight. It got delayed until 1045, so not too bad. We made the most of the Admirals Club Lounge facilities for a little longer. We went to our gate and things were moving very slowly and it was 1100 by the time we boarded to plane. The delay was a result of bad weather in San Fran earlier in the morning. Everyone was on the plane and belted in, and there we stayed for another hour. Finally we were in the air at 1200 and on our way to San Fran.
Well not quite, we were held in holding patterns to land for so long we nearly ran out of petrol so had to be diverted to San Jose to land before we dropped out of the sky. So there were a lot of angry people on board, and it took a while before the pilot had information for the passengers about whether to stay on or get off the plane. Eventually we got off the plane. Passengers who only had cabin baggage left from there, but we had to go to San Fran
airport anyway to collect our luggage so decided to wait and get back on the plane. Police were called for the agro passengers and Marika and I headed straight for the Admirals Lounge for food, drinks and restrooms. An hour later we were finally on our way to San Fran … again. We were getting very close this time, the plane had started the decent, and up we went again. Some doofus pilot had got in our way and we had to go back up and circle around for 15 minutes before we were cleared to land … again.
Finally at 1530 we landed, just over four hours after our scheduled arrival time. Taxi. Hotel. Coffee. And we were then ready to explore. We walked along the Bay and up a bit of a hill in the San Fran wind which is like the Freo Dr, but stronger and colder. Once at the top we got our first glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge. I went on a bit further to find good photo spots and then sat around in the sunshine watching the world pass me by with the bridge in the back ground.
Thursday morning we
headed for the Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour on San Francisco, the main thing I wanted to see and drive over was the Golden Gate Bridge. I braved it on top of the bus and it was windy that’s for sure. Going over the Golden Gate bridge if I didn’t hang on I may have been blown away. But it was worth it, beautiful views of the Bay and a close up look at the bridge itself. We got off on the other side of the bridge for to take some photos, then back on the bus about half an hour later to continue around the city. Went through Golden Gate Park which is ¼ mile bigger than Central Park and the 7 sisters, one of the houses being the one used in the TV show Full House. We got off the bus again at Union Square, grabbed a quick lunch then headed to the top floor of the Hilton Hotel to grab some free views of the city from up high. Back on the bus a while later until Pier 33 to see if we could get tickets for Alcatraz. Unfortunately is was all booked out for the
day, but we did a 1 hour Bay Cruise instead. The cruise took us around Alcatraz and under the Golden Gate Bridge, complete with wonderful views of the city.
We then slowly made our way back towards out hotel via Pier 39 where we got stuck at the Pearl Factory. Yes we both got suckered in to opening shells and then of course spending money of getting our free pearls set in rings and pendants. They are beautiful.
As we where leaving Pier 39 we saw the seals sunning themselves on the barges by the dock. It was an amazing sight. Maybe 200 seals on about 10 barges. There was 2, presumably male seals fighting it out for best spot on one of the barges. They would yell and squeal at each other a bit, puff their chests, and then push each other off the barge. Then the bigger one would pop his head under the water like he was checking if the other one had gone or not.
Last stop before our hotel was the Boudin Bakery for Clam Chowder in sourdough bread buns. Delicious. Then back to the hotel for a bit of a rest,
emailing, photo downloading and then freshen up for dinner. Marika found a dinner and comedy place called Castagnolas. We went in for $5 each, had an alright pub meal and got a few giggles from local comedians.
Friday morning Marika left bright and early. Well after a wake up call then a couple hurry up “your limo is here“ calls. Eventually she got on her way to Hawaii, Sydney and home to Perth. I had a little snooze, then to iHop for breakfast, then down to Pier 31 for an Alcatraz tour.
Alcatraz was an eye opener. The conditions weren’t good to say the least. I spent a few hours on the island before heading back to Fisherman’s Warf where I caught a street car into Union Square. I even hung off the side as it went up and down the hilly streets of San Fran. Late in the afternoon I got a pedicure and manicure then headed to the San Francisco International to fly to Miami then on to Antigua.
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