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Instead of using the freeways we travelled to San Francisco along the coastal route California 1 and Cabrillo Highway. We stopped on several occasions to take photos and had a leisurely lunch at Half Moon Bay. We encountered no traffic until we hit the suburbs of San Francisco.
After checking in to our hotel in Union Square (on the 8th floor - much to Greg's horror as he is not keen on heights) we rested up for a couple of hours and even unpacked our suitcases.
The reason for our visit to San Francisco is to attend the wedding of Greg's friend Shayne Webley and his fiance Elizabeth Perez Freestone - there will be a seperate blog entry for that.
We have visited San Francisco several times and decided that we really didn't need to do the 'touristy thing' and we would travel like a local. That idea lasted until we discovered how expensive it was to travel by Trolley - each single trip was $7 and the Trolleys were always crowded with people hanging off the sides; we're too old for that.
Plan B - buy a Hop-On-Hop-Off bus ticket and use it as our transport. We usually spend a lot of time walking around cities but this was out of the question as San Francisco is so hilly. We purchased a two day ticket for the bus and set out. We have used this mode of transport in many cities on our travels and have always found it a very enjoyable experience. Today was no exception! The whole circuit took us almost 3 hours. Our tour guide was entertaining and informative and we hit all the highlights of this beautiful city. We even travelled across the Golden Gate Bridge and had 15 minutes to take happy snaps before continuing the journey.
The bus took us through China Town, Little Italy, The Botanic Gardens, passed Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf and through areas where 'The Painted Ladies were - no, not real ladies - the beautiful Victorian and Georgan homes painted in many colours. We saw buildings adorned with murals of famous musicians and our tour guide gave us tips about where to get good food, the best beer and where to see the best entertainment. All in all, a very well spent bus fare.
We met friends for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory which is located on the 8th Floor of the Macey's store right in Union Square. We also celebrated Gavin's birthday (Shayne's dad) and Greg's birthday as well; they are only one day different in age. The menu at the Cheesecake Factory was comprehensive and the size of the desserts - ENORMOUS and delicious. After a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday we had to share the complimentary birthday boys' cakes with our friends - too much for them!
Our second day in San Francisco was going to be in our car - but we had a second day on our Hop on Hop off tour to use. Problem solved - we sat next to a young English couple at breakfast, they were on their honeymoon. After chatting to them about our trips to the UK we gave them our second day bus pass. Random Act of Kindness for the day done and dusted!
After having our car delivered to us we set off exploring. We once again went over the Golden Gate Bridge but this time we stopped at The Golden Gate National Recreational Area on the north-western side of the bridge, magnificent views. We then headed north to Sausalito for a look around the quaint coastal town. Going further north we found the famous San Quentin Prison ie Correctional Facility (The Big House), pulled up at the gate to take photos before being sent away by the security guard (had already got the photos anyway!) We then crossed the Richmond San Rafael Bridge which is 5.5 miles (or 8.9 km) long and headed south to join up with the Oakland Bay Bridge, 5 lanes each way, double decks and 4.5 miles (or 7 km) long to get back to town. We did a small detour about two thirds of the way across the bridge to visit Treasure Island to take some photos. Back in town we drove to Coit Tower for the views and then back to the hotel to get ready for the wedding at 6pm.
After a late night at the wedding (we stayed up till after midnight!) we slept in before checking out of our hotel. Before we left town we drove down Lombard Street supposedly the most crooked street in the world and then spent an hour wandering around Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39.
Our drive to Lake Tahoe took the rest of the day.
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