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Tuesday 29th January
Today we sailed into San Francisco. We got up at 5am to be up on deck to see the ship sail under the Golden Gate Bridge. It was still very dark at that time in the morning but the bridge was lit up. We docked just after 6 but there was a long immigration process to go through. Everyone on the ship had to present their passports and green cards personally to the immigration officers who came on board. No-one could leave the ship until everyone had been seen. We didn't get clearance until 11o'clock but we managed to be amongst the first to get off. Phil and Brena were at the dock gate to meet us. It was wonderful to see them particularly here in America. We only had until 7.30 pm tomorrow so it was going to be a busy time!
We started our 'tour' at Dock 39 and went to see the sea-lions. There were lots of them and they were extremely noisy. Then we drove up to Coit Tower, this was built in1934 as a tribute to the city's firemen. This can be seen from all over the city. There are really good views from here although we didn't go to the top of the tower. We looked around inside to see all the murals that decorate the ground floor. They show different aspects of life at the time it was built.
We then drove down the famous zig-zag road - Lombard Street. I expected it to be busy but we were the only ones driving down. After this it was off to drive across the Golden Gate Bridge. It really is the colour that makes this such a lovely bridge. We stopped at the viewpoint on the other side to get lots of photos. Phil drove us on to Sausalito for lunch at a Nappa Valley Wine restaurant. We had tacos there, quite delicious, but so much food! The trouble was it was too good to leave.
After lunch we went back over the bridge to drive to San Mateo, to Phil and Brena's house. It took about 30 minutes. All the roads here are so big with 6 lane freeways and even residential roads are really wide. They live on a lovely road in a detached house built in the 1920's. It is lovely. We met their dog Geordie. Russ spent lots of time throwing various toys for Geordie to fetch! Later we all returned to the city for dinner. Maddy and her husband Matt joined us. We went to John's Grill which is an historic restaurant that dates from 1908. It was very busy, had a lovely atmosphere with live music. The food was lovely, much to much of course, and best of all wonderful company. The waiter was very friendly and gave us two of their glasses as souvenirs. We drove through the hippie area before returning to San Mateo for the night. A wonderful day!
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