Day 2: Let's play tourist

Our first day in San Francisco was FILLED with tourist stuff. From sun up to sun down (literally) we took the grand tour of the City by the Bay. We headed out early to meet our tour group at the Ferry Building at 9 AM. Before making it to our destination, we had to tackle the uncertainty of public transportation. Not an easy task to master for two people who know nothing about it. It took us about an hour to purchase our passes and make it to our destination. It should NOT have taken that long. I'm pretty sure we both had the word "CLUELESS" across our foreheads.

We spent the first half of the day with San Francisco Shuttle Tours on a 35 passenger mini-bus. Yep, we were super cool. It rained off and on during our tour but at least it wasn't the entire day. Our VERY ENTHUSIASTIC guide, Tatiana, shared with the group every known historical fact about San Francisco. We visited or at least drove by almost every major landmark you can possibly find in Frommer's guide (and then some).

We hiked up to Lombard Street (the crookedest street in America). I do mean hiked as the five blocks was straight up all the way. We walked through a tiny segment of North Beach past City Lights Bookstore and then on into Chinatown. They were gearing up for the parade the next day so everything was a little chaotic. Actually, I think it is always chaotic but it was extra busy the day before the parade. We then headed off to Nob Hill where the very wealthy used to live. We saw Grace Cathedral which was breathtaking in both presence and detail. Since we didn't get to walk DOWN Lombard Street due to the rain they added a stop at the Cable Car Museum. It was very interesting to see both the history and the actual area that turns the cables for the three cable car lines that are still in service. Then we headed off to find the "Full House Houses". They are much better known as the Alamo Square 6 Sisters but I'll always remember them as DJ Tanner's street. I can't remember which one she supposedly lived in but it was one of them. Then it was back on the bus for a snippet of Golden Gate Park (which was patterned after NYC's Central Park). It was lovely and we headed back there on Monday because I loved it so much. Last stop in the city was the Palace of Fine Arts. At this point, we finished our tour of the city. We drove over the Golden Gate Bridge, stopped for a Golden Gate photo op and then headed into Sausalito for a late lunch. I love this photo of Daddy! It's one of my favorites from the entire trip.By this point we were two STARVIN' MARVINS! We had skipped breakfast because we thought the tour would stop for lunch sooner than we actually did. We were also running behind schedule so that put lunch even later. We had eaten one meal on Thursday and it was now Friday afternoon. Finally, we had lunch at a little place called Cafe Tutti. $31.00 bought us a tuna salad sandwich, an Italian sandwich and one drink. No kidding. It was yummy, but $31.00? Come on people...is your Coke really that much better than ours? This meal pretty much set the stage for what we discovered throughout our trip. Everything is expensive in California. OK, rant over.

We scarfed down our ordinarily expensive lunch in order to catch the ferry back to the city with our tour group. We were filled with more historical facts on our returning ferry ride. Once we docked the tour was over. So long Tatiana! Thanks for a great day!

We headed back inside the Ferry Building to warm up and enjoy a nice little happy at Ciao Bella Gelato. It makes perfect sense, right? We went inside to warm up and ate frozen gelato and sorbet. Now let me tell you. It was the BEST gelato I have ever had! One scoop of Peanut Butter and one scoop of White Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Gelato for me. One scoop of sorbet and one scoop of sorbet for him. Ah, it was wonderful! I wish we had a Ciao Bella in our neck of the woods.

After "warming up", we hopped the F-line (the only public transportation we have figured out at this point) and headed off on our own to Fisherman's Wharf. We tooled around a few shops and observed the sea lions at the abandoned Pier for a bit. Then it was off to Pier 33 for the Alcatraz tour at 4:30 PM. We chose the recommended night tour and it did not disappoint.

Below you will find a slideshow of Day 2. If you click the photographs you will see the description of what you are looking at.
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{If you CAN NOT view the photos please leave a comment to let me know. I'm trying to figure out the problem.}