I am really looking forward to today. We are going to the de Young Museum to see the ‘TUT’ exhibition.

The story of  mystery and magic surrounding the life and death of the boy king ‘Tutankahem’ has always been a favorite of mine.

We head into Union Square and then down to the Visitors Information Centre to find out how to get to the Golden Gate Park.

We had missed the 10:30am hop on hop off bus which only goes twice a day to the park.

An elderly gentleman behind the counter casually waved in some direction and said catch the 5 or 21 Muni (bus).  I find that a number of Americans in the service industry are hopeless at giving directions to someone who has absolutely know idea of where things are.

So we head of along Market St looking for something that resembles a bus stop for either the 5 or 21 bus. While I am walking I am reminded of our time at the Grand Canyon when the receptionist told us the bus left from the bottom of the stairs. We assumed she meant the hotel stairs but she actually meant a set of stairs, that weren’t signposted, quite some distance from the hotel.  I always think of the Denzel Washington statement in one of his movies, talk to me like I’m a child. Because when I don’t know where I am and what I should be doing, that is how you need to explain things to me. (okay rant over)

Well we stumble upon the bus stop and for the sum of $2.00 for adults and .075c for seniors, we travel out to the Golden Gate Park.  Now the man at the information booth had told us to get off at 8th avenue, but the bus driver out of the blue says ’8th avenue for the California Academy of Science’ , next stop for the de Young Museum. So we stay on the bus and get off virtually across the road from the museum. Bonus, less walking.

The de Young is a beautiful building and before long we have our tickets and are ready to enter the exhibition at 12pm.  There are only so many people admitted at a time so the ticket times are staggered. We stand in line for about 25 minutes and then it is our turn to go down the stairs to join the next queue.  I ask Val if he wants to do the audio tour but he declines and as I am pretty much across the life and times of Tutankhamun I don’t bother either.

On entering the exhibition there is a short video narrated by Omar Sharif (the perfect person to do this narration). I off course am right at the back so I can’t see anything anyway and wait patiently for the film to finish and the doors to the exhibition proper to open.

Unfortunately I can’t share any of the exhibition with you as photos were not allowed. Suffice to say it is awesome with lots of artifacts such as funerary jars and if you get the chance to see it – Don’t miss it.

And because there is so much mystery surrounding this young king thing such as his ancestry line are preceded with wording such as “These may have been Tutenkhamun’s ancestors’ or ‘Tutenkhamun may have been buried with his two stillborn daughters’.

Nevertheless if you are interested in Egyptian antiquity this exhibition is a must see. I am quite enthralled by the fine craftsmanship on the hand beaten golden boxes and jewelery.

I have to have something to remember this exhibition by, so as much as I wanted the book and dvd I think of the extra weight to carry around and so I settle for a tee shirt.

After leaving exhibition we go through to have some lunch and stroll the art garden.

Sphere

Apples

Minuteman

After strolling around the Art Garden we head off to look around the Japanese Garden.

Being gluttons for punishment we continue to drive around San Francisco on an open top bus in the freezing cold and after arriving back at Leavenworth St we catch the downtown loop bus to as we were going to go and see the Tutankhamen exhibition at the De Young Museum in the Golden Gate Park.

But in the end we changed our minds and will do that tomorrow. Our tour guide was so interesting we preferred to stay on the bus and hear what she had to say. Plus I was looking forward to driving through the Haight – Ashbury area – the site of the hippie movement back in the 60′s.

The free medical clinic still operates to treat victims of drug overdose, and it is at this clinic that the singer Janis Joplin was treated (before she became famous) when she OD’d.

The smoking of Marijuana is legal in San Francisco but you need to be issued with a Cannabis Card, which apparently is very easy to get.

The San Francisco Park Loop leaves from Union Square and on the way to the Park the drive goes past St Mary’s Cathedral, Japantown – San Francisco is the sister city of Osaka in Japan, Alamo Square and past the beautiful Victorian and Edwardian houses that include the famous “Painted Ladies” Victorian houses which were used in the opening credits of the TV series Full House. These beautiful Victorian houses are at 712–720 Steiner St. which borders Alamo Square park, and people come from all over to take photos.

Although the Painted Ladies were uses in the TV series the actual red door that the family used to come and go from the house, belonged to a house a couple of blocks over.  Ahhh the deceitfulness of the movie world.

The Architecture changed after the 1906 earthquake when the city was ravaged by fires for three days. Being unable to contain the fire, Firemen had to clear a large number of the Victorian style houses to create a fire break to try to stop the fires from spreading further.

The ‘Painted Ladies’

The Golden Gate Park

The Golden Gate Park was developed by John McLaren (1846-1943) who created an area that is enjoyed by millions of people today. The park is near the Haight – Ashbury district, know for its hippie culture and where the phrase ‘Psychedelic’ was coined.

McLaren disliked statues, which he called Stookies, and whenever the city fathers would erect a statue, McLaren would quickly surround it with groves so that it was quickly hidden from view. There is a  statue of Mclaren himself which was unearthed, like many others, after his death.

His vision was that there should not be and “keep off the grass” signs, the park was to be used by all, a place to lie on the grass in the sunshine and a place for children to run and play.

When he reached retiring age of 60 and refused to retire the city government received thousands of letters supporting McLaren and when he turned 70 he was exempted from retiring  and lived out his life until the age of 96 in Mclaren Lodge.

McLaren Lodge, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco

Once you enter the Golden Gate Park you get to see the De Young Museum which currently houses the TUT exhibition, there is a glimpse of the Japanese Tea Gardens from the bus and the new, multi million dollar California Academy of Sciences which features an aquarium, a planetarium, a natural history museum and a living roof plus much more.  We intend to spend tomorrow in the park visiting these attractions and I will give you all an update tomorrow.

Then its back to Union Square and a quick trip back to Fisherman’s wharf where we stop off for Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl, at Bodums. Yummy delish and quite warming after freezing our butts off all day.

Scenes to and around the Golden Gate Park

The De Young Museum

The Conservatory of Flowers – Golden Gate Park San Francisco

The ‘Legs’ in Haight St

Tie Dyed Dresses in Haight St

Colorful Architechture in Haight St

Contrasting styles

Beautiful Victorian and Edwardian Architecture

Our Fantastic Tour Guide and More Architectural Delights

More tomorrow when we go to the TUT exhibition in the de Young museum, Golden Gate Park.

Today is cold and windy, and of course this is the day we have decided to take the bus over the Golden Gate Bridge and go onto to Sausalito.

The Bridge is cloaked in fog but the view is not too bad.

There are a couple of new tours since Paula and I were here last year and the Golden Gate Bridge and Sausalito is one of them, although you can just do the bridge tour if you wish.

Our ride is a converted school bus and we sit in the uncovered section in the back, probably not the smartest choice as the wind whips bitterly and directly into our faces. I am chilled to the bone in fact I think there are ice crystals forming in my bone marrow.

But what an experience, I get just as big a kick out of doing this drive as I did the first time I did it, and Val is quite excited as well

Our first stop is the Exploratorium and the Palace of Fine Arts and this has to be one of my very favorite places. The Exploratorium is a hands on museum with interactive learning displays and exhibitions and an excellent place for both children and adults to while away a fascinating few hours.

As for the Palace of Fine Arts I just love the structure with its Corinthian columns and inward looking muses. The structure nestles in the park next to a lake with swans and ducks. When I first saw the structure I was undecided as to whether it was Roman or Greek in design but it is actually a combination of the two, being of Roman architectual style with the decorative style of Greece. I am particularly taken with the inward looking figures.

This majestic structure was designed by Berkeley architect Bernard Maybeck  in 1915 for the Panama-Pacific Exposition. The construction was to built to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal and the rebuilding of San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake.

This is just a very small portion of the structure and you can see the inward looking figures at the tops of the columns.  They apparently represent Contemplation, Meditation and Wonderment.

We arrive at Vista Point for our next stop, which gives us a ten minute photo opportunity.  It’s hard to get a good angle of the Golden Gate Bridge from this point but the views of the San Francisco skyline, the Bay Bridge and Alcatraz Island are quite magnificent.

Then its back on the bus and onto the coastal town of Sausalito. Like most coastal towns Sausalito has many boutiques, art galleries and bistros. There is another new tour that you can hook up with to Muir Woods  National Park which is 550 acries housing some of the tallest and oldest trees in the world including the Coastal Redwoods.

As we drove back Val pointed out a black Shelby Cobra for Sale but sorry James I wasn’t quick enough to get a photo.

Palace of Fine Arts Columns

Part of the Dome of the Palace of Fine Arts.

Swans on the lakes edge at the Palace of Fine Arts

The Golden Gate Bridge shrouded in fog

Val with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background

The San Francisco Skyline shrouded in fog. ( I like saying this, it sounds so ethereal – shrouded in fog)

I included this one cause I like the name Casa Madrona Sausalito

Front of Our Citysightseeing bus

Back of our sightseeing bus