Road Trip - San Francisco

We arrived in San Francisco (finally) and were struck by how different it was to the small towns and cities we had been travelling through! I immediately noticed the rubbish (and associated smells) and the incredible number of homeless people.

In the small towns we had been driving through, we had often joked about how they all had a Main Street, and how the oldest, grandest building was always a Post Office or Bank.  In contrast, San Francisco has pockets of architecture from different eras and styles which changed from suburb to suburb. The Victorian 'Full House' style row-houses, stucco arches in the Presidio and marble-floored office towers in the Financial District make for an interesting, eclectic mix!

Go Car Tour

During our travels, we had met many people who were interested in who we were, where we were from and how we had ended up in their town. In San Francisco, we were definitely just another couple of tourists in the crowd.  So, we embraced our tourist status by doing the most touristy thing we could find; we hired a little yellow Go-Car with a built in GPS audio tour, to visit some of San Francisco's sights!

Despite the bumpy ride (over the cable car rails), and 10 degree drop in temperature through the fog, Sean had a great time zooming around. I was less comfortable moving that fast, that close to the ground... it was a memorable experience, nonetheless!

We drove around the waterfront on Embarcadero, through Fisherman's Wharf to Chrissy Field, where we could barely see the Golden Gate bridge in the fog - this is apparently quite normal. We drove through Presidio to the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre where we stopped to take photos and work out what this elaborate, ornate building actually was. From there we whizzed through Cow Hollow, crawled down the switchbacks on Lombard Street and through Chinatown to return the car.

Golden Gate Bridge

One evening we decided to go over the Golden Gate bridge. We had debated hiring bikes to ride over, but in the end it was much less admin and easier to take photos just by walking over. The walk across took maybe an hour, and from the other side there was a great view back to the city.

California Academy of Science

The next day we decided to head to the California Academy of Science. We had spent an afternoon there on our previous visit and loved it, so decided that it deserved a re-visit! Hands down this is the best science museum we have ever been to. It has a coral reef modeled off one in the Philippines, a climate controlled rain forest surrounded by a ramp which spirals up and around it, allowing you to explore different levels of the forest and canopy.  Just like our last visit, we ran out of time to see everything! All of the exhibitions were interesting, informative, and were there for a reason... Not a 'Finding Nemo' display in sight!

While at the ticket booth we noticed a discount tourist pass for sale. The CityPass provided access to many of San Francisco's major tourist attractions at a discounted price. I got one of these passes, thinking it would be a good way to fill up the week while Sean was working...

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Arts

SF MOMA had a exhibit of Rene Magritte and I tagged along on a tour that was happening. Although I knew some of Margritte's work - I knew nothing about him. It was interesting to learn about his body of work, how his style had evolved and observe some recurring themes among the pieces.

Aquarium of the Bay

A total tourist trap! Many of the exhibitions were closed, there were no talks or presentations and the information boards throughout the aquarium were not worth the time to read. In the end, I only spent about 30 mins in the aquarium and left frustrated that something so terrible could even exist.

Harbour Cruise

This was a fun experience to get out on the water! The boat was an old, rusty tug boat, which billowed out plumes of black smoke behind us. The boat cruised out to and under the Golden Gate Bridge, turned around and circled Alcatraz Island, before heading back into Pier 39.

Eating and Drinking

The further we traveled east, the cheaper the cost of living had become. Sean and I had gotten into the habit of ordering 1 meal to share, as portion sizes were ridiculously large. However, in San Francisco, we were back in the land of US$12 sandwiches and US$15 beers! Eeek!

When we visited San Francisco in 2016, we discovered a lively Mexican restaurant that served bottomless corn chips with these incredible dips, while you waited for your meal. We have reminisced over these dips ever since, and we couldn't resist going back... twice! They were as good as we remembered.

Sean had lunch with some work mates in a roof top garden! It was in the middle of high-rise offices, on top of a transport building. This was the first day it was open and was full of office workers enjoying the sun. What a great idea!

In contrast to the kind of travelling we had been doing for the previous 6 weeks, from the comfort (yes - comfort!) of our car and tent, I found San Francisco exhausting. Union Square (where we were staying), was always packed with people wanting to sell you something, or asking for money. While Sean worked, I found myself wandering the city, missing the serenity of the parks and forests we had just left...

Next stop, Boulder, Colorado!