Lynne's Travels : June 2024

San Francisco

The crimson bridge, cable carriages, a sparkling bay and streets lined with elegant Victorian homes, makes San Francisco one of the world’s great cities. Located in Northern California, it is also home to some of the world’s finest wine country, waterfront towns, dramatic beaches and the tech-savvy southern end known as the Silicon Valley - home to Apple, Google and Facebook. I had less than two days to explore this iconic city and to see as many of its famous sites as I could.

The BART train system from the airport to the Fisherman’s Wharf area where I was staying worked well – I just needed to hop on one of the Trolley Buses for the last part of my journey.

That is something you just have to experience when in San Francisco – up and down the steep streets of the city is an adventure in itself. Staying in Fisherman’s Wharf was the best idea – everything I wanted to do or see was either close by or easily accessible.

Fisherman’s Wharf was once a thriving fishing area and you can still see some weathered boats that go out catching seafood, as they have done for more than 100 years; but it is now one of San Francisco’s most popular tourist destinations. It has a wide array of souvenir shops, family friendly attractions and restaurants – all selling seafood – so there was only one thing for it………. sample a tasty fish dinner. Walking around this lively area was an absolute joy, there was live music, an antique amusement arcade; as well as many other tourist attractions such as the spooky San Francisco Dungeon, The Alcatraz Breakout Escape Rooms and Madame Tussauds https://www.madametussauds.com/san-francisco/

At Hyde Street Pier 45 you can see historic ships and the USS Pampanito, a World War II submarine, all part of the National Maritime Museum. Not far from here, walking along the waterfront, you come to Pier 39, with the area’s noisiest residents – a group of sea lions; which can also be seen at many different places along the waterfront. https://www.pier39.com/

Pier 39 is one of the most visited sites in San Francisco, a multilevel complex, home to shops, restaurants, street performers, fairground rides, a video arcade and the Aquarium of the Bay – with it’s own colourful sea lions!

Situated on the waterfront, you get breath taking views out into the picturesque bay, and of the small island known as Alcatraz – as well as inland to Coit Tower perched high on top of Telegraph Hill (which has an observation deck on its 13^th floor). Alcatraz is just over a mile offshore, a former federal prison that has held infamous prisoners such as Al Capone. The first European to document the islands in San Francisco Bay was in 1775 - Juan Manuel de Ayala, a Spanish Naval Officer; naming the Island "La Isla de Los Alcatraces" (Island of Gannets), similar to an old Spanish word for Pelicans.

The island was developed in the 1800’s with a lighthouse, a military fortification, and a prison; then in 1934, it was converted into a federal prison - Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. The strong currents and cold-water temperatures around the island made escape nearly impossible, and the prison is one of the most notorious in American history. It closed in 1963, and it is now a major tourist attraction. Visitors can reach the island in less than 15 minutes by ferry from Pier

33. https://www.alcatrazislandtickets.com/

After a delightful evening enjoying the waterfront, I decided the best way to utilise my next and only full day was to get a Hop On Hop Off Bus – definitely the best option. Tickets can be purchased at several outlets, especially near Fisherman’s Wharf – with an option of an Evening Tour included. There is multi-lingual commentary as you travel around – learning much as you go.

Travelling away from the waterfront, we passed the Church of Saint Peter and Paul, where Joe Dimaggio was married, and buried (but not where he married Marilyn Monroe), and a fabulous wall-art of Bruce Lee near the only Chinese hospital in America.

China Town was where I decided to go first; it is one of the oldest and most established Chinatowns in America – dating back to California’s Gold Rush. The iconic Dragon’s Gate, built in 1970, sits at the southern end of Chinatown; with its stone pillars, green-tiled pagodas, and dragon sculptures.

The three entryways are guarded by a trio of stone lion statues, said to ward off evil. Through this gate you will find a bustling maze of streets and alleys, ornate temples, a 2-storey market, a Fortune Cookie Factory as well as the Chinese Historical Society of America Museum.

From here it isn’t too far to walk to Union Square, an elegant plaza circled by tall palm trees; a bustling place renowned for luxury shopping – with designer boutiques such as Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent.

Just south of the square, on Market Street, you’ll find the huge indoor shopping mall Westfield Centre, which is the place to go for entertainment or fine dining.

Back on the bus, we passed the magnificent Civic Centre and City Hall Building, then the repainted Victorian and Edwardian houses known as the Painted Ladies before arriving at the Haight Ashbury. This area was made famous by the hippie movement in the 1960’s and has been home to famous singers and revolutionaries – I have never seen such bizarre colourful buildings – very impressive though!

The next stop was Golden Gate Park – described as the green heart of San Francisco. https://sfrecpark.org/770/Golden-Gate-Park This cultural hub surrounds a concourse of fountains and lawns. On the north side is the de Young Museum with its world-class collection of classic art. You can take the elevator to the top of the museum for a spectacular view of the whole park.

Opposite the museum is the California Academy of Sciences, home to a planetarium, aquarium, living four-story rainforest, and natural history museum. It’s a quick stroll to the Japanese Tea Garden, the giant glasshouse that’s home to the Conservatory of Flowers or explore the botanic gardens.

The 55 acre Botanical Garden contains nearly 9,000 different kinds of plants from around the world, with particular focus on Magnolia, palms, conifers, and cloud forest species from Central America, South America and Southeast Asia. https://www.sfbg.org/

Back on the bus and we were soon heading over the icon of the city – The Golden Gate Bridge - spanning the one-mile-wide strait connecting San Francisco Bay to Marin County. It is famous for its golden, orange colour, its 746-foot tall towers, and sweeping cables, and recognized by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of the Wonders of the Modern World.

We stopped on the far side, at the North Vista Lookout Point to take photographs; and were very lucky to be able to watch fighter jets practising for the Air Fleet show that was taking place the following day. What a bonus!!! After taking numerous photos of the Bridge, I caught the next bus back over it, alighting at the Palace of Fine Arts. This is a monumental structure built in 1915 for the Panama Pacific International Exposition to exhibit works of art - and is the only remaining building from that World fair.

It was designed as a Greco-Roman ruin, with its most prominent building being a 162-foot-high open rotunda - enclosed by a lagoon on one side and a large, curved exhibition centre on the other side - separated by colonnades. Designed to appear to be a decaying ruin of ancient Rome, it has become one of San Francisco's most recognizable landmarks. I loved the reflections of the colonnades in the lagoon and was so glad I had stopped there. https://palaceoffinearts.com/

From here, I opted to walk along the waterfront, taking in more views of the Bridge and the acrobatic jets; it was a delightful day – but a longer walk back to Fisherman’s Wharf than it looked on the map. I passed Maritime Natural History Park, which includes a magnificent fleet of historic ships, a Visitor Centre, Maritime Museum, Maritime Research Centre, and Aquatic Park Historic District.

Just outside the Visitor Centre is an open, grassy area overlooking the Aquatic Park cove and beach; with breathtaking views to the north of San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz Island as well as the Golden Gate Bridge. https://www.nps.gov/safr/index.htm After a short rest, I was back on the bus for the Evening Tour of the City – a completely different route than the one earlier in the day.

Leaving Fisherman’s Wharf, we travelled up and down some of the City’s steepest streets before heading over Bay Bridge, which is not as famous as the Golden Gate bridge, but it is still an iconic landmark. It is made up of two segments: a skyway structure/single anchored suspension bridge between Oakland and Yerba Buena Island, and a suspension span from the island to San Francisco.

Our tour stopped at the small artificial island (built in 1936 by the Army) that connects the eastern and western spans of the bridge - Yerba Buena Island also known as Treasure Island. As the daylight was fading, we had the most magnificent views of the sun setting on the Golden Gate Bridge and of the Cities waterfront – a thoroughly memorable end to a brilliant day. I loved San Francisco and will remember it for so much more than its famous bridge.