Blisters on Blisters

Monday 09-Oct-2006 - 20:30
San Francisco Day 2

Day two of my holiday started with a little bit of a sleep in. Not too much though and I was on my way by 9:30 or so.

First stop was Powell Street to take some photos of the Cable Cars, including their little round-about at the end of the line.

Next on my list of places to see was Alamo Square. It does look a fair way from downtown SFC and there is a bus that runs right past the square however, I decided I could walk it. I'm not sure that my feet and legs are ever going to forgive me for that moment of madness. lol!

Now, I remember reading in a travel guide there were only a couple of areas to avoid in SFC. Guess what? I think I found them both. There were a couple of times where I thought "Oh-oh, I think I have made a mistake here." But I survived and I still have no idea why there were four armed Police Officers on motorbikes in that one little park I walked by... Probably better that I don't know.

Alamo Square itself was larger then I thought it would be but then again in most pictures you only see if from the one angle - looking out over 'Post Card Row'. I think all the photos I took were from that exact same vantage point. It's a pretty little square and I took the opportunity to sit and relax for a while before moving on to Haight-Ashbury.

Haight-Ashbury was a fun place to walk through. A totally different 'vibe' to anyplace else I've been to in SFC. Just as I reached The Haight a guy on a push-bike came riding along the road singing "Bette Davis Eyes" happily at the top of his voice. It seemed appropriate and it did make me smile.

From Haight-Asbury I walked across to Golden Gate Park. I wandered around a bit but got totally lost and by that stage I had a bit of a head ache coming on. I finally found what I was looking for - the Japanese Tea Gardens. They were nice to walk through as they were very shady and it was much cooler being about of the sun.

From the Park I went in the general direction of The Presidio & the road back to the Hostel being undecided if I should try for a view of the Bridge (I knew the Bridge itself was way too far to travel) or not. In the end my curiosity got the better of me and I decided to attempt The Presidio. I made it... eventually and my first view of the Golden Gate Bridge was an foggy one. Yep, all I could make out was the roadway and a section of each pylon but the rest of it was covered in fog. It wasn't totally unexpected I guess but the thing was the rest of the sky was for the most part blue. The fog or 'cloud' only covered the bridge nothing else. Is there a fleet of SFC City workers who roll in the fog for the tourists at a certain time? I wonder...

I spent some time on a little beach watching the kite flyers and windsurfers and 'Kite Surfers'. (Not real sure that's what they are called but essentially they are surfers who are holding on to a big kite, so 'kite surfer' seems to fit.) By this stage it was getting cold being down by the water so I started the long slow climb back to the hostel.

I was trying to decide the quickest and easiest way home when I stumbled upon Lombard St. Sure, I thought, I'll climb it. Sorry feet! Sorry legs! Please forgive me! I climbed up the straight side so once I was at the top I could see all the way down the twisty part. It doesn't make for the best photographs from that angle but there was absolutely NO way I was climbing down that street and back up again. I'll buy the post card instead ;)

Of course, the main attraction for staying at the top was being able to jump on the next Cable Car that came along. I even had to stand on the running board at the front of the car and had a blast taking photos of the oncoming cable cars which seemed to pass way too closely. I was a bit nervous at first because I had my backpack, camera and purse all out still so I had to hang on to them as well as the pole. But I lived to write the blog so it's all good. I actually enjoyed myself so much I stayed on until the end of the line (Market St). This meant I had to walk all the way back up the hill anyway. But it was worth it.

Time for me to go get a drink of the Pepsi / Coke variety and then head to bed, I think. It's early but I've had a long day and a yummy free dinner at the hostel so I am quite ready.

Tomorrow I have my Alcatraz tour in the afternoon. I might actually head over to the bridge earlier to see it -hopefully without the cover of fog.

Till next time...