SF Day 3

There are a few things we love to do in a new city.  Using the local transit system is usually a reasonable and good way to get around, and gives us a better feel for a place. Another is a city tour.  We have done that in many places including Dublin, Montreal, and Washington DC and generally find that if we do it at the beginning of our trip, we know better where we want or need to spend more time.

We managed both of the above today.  Since we were looking at getting into downtown San Francisco from Hayward in the morning during rush hour, we boarded BART – Bay Area Rapid Transit.  I thought Einar knew which direction to go, and he followed me onto the train, so we ended up going the wrong way first, but thankfully we didn’t have to be anywhere at a specific time, so we got to know BART even better than we intended to. 

We had read about the ‘Hop on – Hop off’ bus tour downtown, and thought that would be a good introduction to the city.  We didn’t read that there were 4 different companies offering this service, so I was rather surprised when the tickets we bought were more expensive than advertised.  And then found out they didn’t go to all the same places.  But our tickets turned out to be sufficient to get around.  There were 4 different routes and we went on 3 of them.

  

 Make sure you know which tour you're getting!

 Tallest building in San Francisco

 Hmmm - just add food...

The first route was just the downtown area, and the second went over Golden Gate Bridge.  It was a nice warm sunny day, so each time we boarded, we went up to the open upper deck.  I don’t remember seeing even a cloud in the sky, but suddenly we were in heavy fog while crossing the bridge.  I was thankful for the layers they told us to bring along!  It was cold! 

 Note the fog.  Fog is wet and cold. We haven't seen this bridge without it.

 The Rock.  The closest we got to Alcatraz.

The third route went around Golden Gate Park, but the driver on that route had little to say and we didn’t learn a lot about anything other than the park itself.

 How to avoid sunburn when you forget your hat.

 They call the area around San Francisco "The Bay Area" but what we found fascinating was the Bay Windows in so many buildings.  No connection between the two, I'm sure.

Josiah - this picture is just for you.  

We were exhausted and burnt by the time we boarded BART once more – this time heading in the right direction the first time!