If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair...by Cam

We weren't sure what to expect of San Francisco, but we were excited that we had two days to explore the city upon our arrival. We approached the city crossing the Bay Bridge and the city skyline came into view. My first impressions from this sight was that it was not the most attractive of skylines or cities, but was going to reserve judgement until we had a chance to see and experience the city in its entirity. Our first stop was at the famour fisherman's wharf where we had a brief stop to have a quick look around and grab a bite to eat. We would explore this area later in the day so I wont go into too much depth now.

We hopped back on the bus and started the city tour. At this point I should point out that San Francisco was actually the place where our tour guide Jim grew up, so not only was he extremely knowledgeable, but it was clear his excitement and enthusiasm had lifted to be in his home town once again. Our city tour took us over probably the most well known sight in San Fran, the Golden Gate Bridge. An imposing structure, it certainly is a magnificent feature to the city and we stopped for a photo opportunity to better appreciate the bridge. Jim told us the history of the bridge and many interesting facts about it's construction, including the fact that in high winds it can sway as much as 8 metres. We were told that the bridge was designed to allow for this however as well as the significant temperature changes which expand and contract the support struts of the bridge. A truly marvellous display of engineering brilliance really! The tour continued and we climbed to one of the highest points of the city which offered a fantastic view of the city and both bridges.

We also drove past Alamo Park famous for its many victorian style houses (and for those in the know, used in the old sitcom "Full House"). The bus then dropped us off back at the harbour so we could take our Bay Cruise. This was a pleasant cruise and the wind chill factor was extreme, but I braved the gale force winds and was able to get some great shots of the Golden Gate Bridge and the other dominant feature of the Bay, "Alcatraz".

After our tour we headed back to the hotel as we were meeting up with Alison's parents who had just returned from an Atlantic Cruise to Alaska and as fortune would have it, were also in San Francisco. We had organised to catch up with them and were pleased they were able to join us on our evening tour and dinner in Chinatown. The tour was great and the chinese dinner was exceptional.

The engine room for the cable cars; Our table at the Chinese Restaurant; Dad, Mum, Myself and Cam

The highlight of the evening however (for me at least) was the tram ride back to the hotel. Not sure about the saftey, but I was hanging off the side of the tram with cars going past me. I would also like to note that of the cities visited so far on this trip, San Fran seems hands down winner on visible crazy people on the streets. Whilst waiting for our tram after our dinner we encountered a young lass who was initially doing yoga in a headstand position. It soon became evident that she was not a dedicated athlete, but rather a complete looney as she proceeded to take of her top and dance naked on the tram tracks screaming incomprehendable language as soon as anyone tried to remove her from the tram tracks...

Our 2nd day in San Fran we had pre arranged a trip to Alcatraz and it certainly was a fascinating experience.

It was quite daunting learning about the history of the place and those that had been imprisoned there. Photos dont really do this place justice and you really need to walk around and see the place and cells for yourself to get a true sense of the kind of life these inmates would have had.






We finished the tour and then decided to head back to Alamo place as it seemed a nice place for lunch. Alison was also excited to get some more photos of the old victorian houses.

From here we spent the rest of the day doing some shopping and exploring the city. In the evening we were very excited as we decided we would go see a baseball game - The San Francisco Giants v's the Houston Astros. Whilst not touted to be one of the most exciting games of the season it was a baseball game nonetheless and we just wanted to experience the atmosphere of a baseball game. We aquired some fan paraphanalia at the stadium and looked the part with our hotdog and beer in hand. Alison also tried one of the other food fares, a Churo which was just like a cinamin doughnut really. The game itself was not overly entertaining as not many homeruns were hit, but what was entertaining (for me anyway) was the fans in the crowd. Having been to many cricket, footy, AFL games I have always rated Aussies as one of the better sledgers in the world. I can now confirm that the Yanks are the worst sledgers in the world with some of the most unimaginative and repetative sledging I have ever heard i.e. " Hey Lee (one of the players names), you suck and you smell real bad too!" - I had to laugh at its simplicity, but the crowd seemed to love it all the same :)

I'll leave you with some interesting facts about San Fran:

• San Francisco supposedly has the purest tap water in all of America and apparently is better than some bottled water you might acquire elsewhere
• San Francisco was discovered quite late (in the 1760's) This was due to the the San Franciso Bay being very difficult to find/see by the explorers sailing the seas.