Today we were late to breakfast so there wasn’t much left, not that I’m not naming names but Paula was busy beautifying herself, which was why we were late.
So after a meager breakfast, with vows to get down to breakfast earlier tomorrow, we set off to catch the hop on, hop off bus back to downtown San Francisco to the Apple Store as the new speakers we brought yesterday to turn our ipod into a recording device didn’t work.
This time one of the staff at the store told us that we needed to upgrade the iPod before it would work. So we took the microphone back again hoping it would work when we upgraded the iPod later tonight on the laptop.
We had a short walk around the downtown area and then headed back to the bus stop as we had to be back at Fisherman’s Wharf by 1.30pm to get on the bus for the Golden Gate Bridge Tour.
By the time we get back to our hotel we realise we really don’t have enough time to eat so we just head out to the tour bus stop and wait for the bus to arrive.
The tour to the Golden Gate is included in our hop-on, hop-off bus ticket which turned out to be a really good deal at $39.99.
When the bus arrives we head up to the open top deck of the double decker bus even though it is bitterly cold outside. We are prepared this time with warm gloves and layers of clothing. The bus provides blankets but we didn’t realise this until just about the end of the tour when the group of kids in the next seat got to talking to us and then offered us their excess blankets as they could see we were cold.
We headed through the Marina District and stopped at the Palace of Fine Arts for about 10 minutes to take photos. This building is reminiscent of a Greek or Roman theatre and is set by a small lake with overhanging trees and ducks and swans lazily swimming around.
The whole scene is peaceful and very attractive. Then it was back on the bus, and as usual there are the couple who lose track of time and we all sit patiently waiting until they wake up to the fact that they are holding up the tour. Then it was off through the Presidio and then over the Golden Gate Bridge.
Sitting on the top of an open double decker bus is a great way to see the sights but it was freezing going over that bridge and the winds were so strong that we were glad to get over to the rest stop on the other side.
We had about 15 minutes to take photos of the bridge and the surrounding scenery of San Francisco, Alcatraz and the Bay Bridge then it’s back on the bus and we were on our way back through the city surrounds to Fisherman’s Wharf.
Our drive takes us through Tenderloin and the guide tells us how the district received it’s name. Apparently in the past this district was a rough area and the police who were rostered on duty in the Tenderloin, received bonus payments which enabled them to buy tenderloin steak, whereas the other officers could only afford the less expensive cuts of meat.
The Asian part of the Tenderloin district is known as Little Siagon and the Indian section is referred to as Tandoriloin. The area has heaps of great Indian and Asian restaurants. The Asian population makes up 40% of San Francisco’s inhabitants.
On our way back to the hotel we stopped by Walgreens to pick up some food to eat in our room that night. We had an online conference to attend so weren’t going to go out to eat that night.
Filed under: America & Canada • San Francisco
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Wanda and Paula are friends and business partners that love to travel. We developed this website to share our experiences, what we've learned over the years and also to provide reviews on hotels, airlines, restaurants and anything else travel related.
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