The trams are a central part of San Francisco's charm, and must be experienced. They aren't necessarily high-tech, with clunking gears, loud running and involved two man operation, but these things add to their delight. The driver stands in the front center area, surrounded by open air outward-facing wooden benches and standing platforms, and the rear is an enclosed seating area. Another manual element of the tram system is the way they are pushed at the end of the line to rotate them 180 degrees, as in this photo:
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| From 2007 USA Elises |
We rode the tram to Fisherman's Wharf, which offered some really nice views along the way, and more San Francisco quirks, such as the signs reminding people how to park on slopes to avoid runaway vehicles. Almost every single car parked on a slope has its wheels either turned towards the curb (when facing downhill) or away from it (when parked uphill), so it's a habit people get used to quickly it seems.
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| From 2007 USA Elises |
We stopped at the top of a famous little road on Lombard Street that winds tightly down a steep hill for one block. I recognised it from Grand Theft Auto, but didn't know it had a name. The map we had labeled it 'The Windingest Road'. Windingest is one of those American adjectives that makes me cringe, like reading that a sporting coach is the winningest in history. I am sure my English teacher would have cracked me over the head with a stick for using that at school.
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| From 2007 USA Elises |
Fisherman's wharf is a rich area of shops, restaurants, museums and the like. Some pedestrian areas had live music and open air cafes, which are always nice to walk around. We were directed to a popular seafood restaurant within the small market area, and had an excellent fishy lunch.
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| From 2007 USA Elises |
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| From 2007 USA Elises |
The piers in the area normally offer great views of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. The latter was almost completely obstructed by a docked ship and fog, but the famous prison island was close enough to get some snaps of.
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| From 2007 USA Elises |
The next pier over has become a big attraction over the last few years. Pier 39 has been adopted by a big colony of Sea Lions, who bask on floating wooden things (they must have a name) and spar with each other. Here is a little video of some snoozing.
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| From 2007 USA Elises |
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| From 2007 USA Elises |
At this point it's worth mentioning the worryingly large number of homeless people in the city. Especially at night, one can't walk more than a few paces without being met by someone asking for a donation. We are always happy to help them out, but the sheer number of people on the streets is upsetting. Some are more industrious than others in looking for cash; down at the wharf we were scared out of our skins when what we thought was a stationary bush leapt out at us. It turns out that one guy was crouching down, a bush in each hand, and waiting for innocents such as ourselves to walk past, at which point he would scream and leap. This was accompanied by quite a large number of onlookers across the road howling with laughter, many recording the action on their phones, so I expect there is a youtube video of me jumping 5 feet in the air and screaming like a girl.
We had a fantastic Italian dinner, possibly the best meal of the trip so far, including the amazing deserts pictured here:
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| From 2007 USA Elises |
Afterwards we went to the same Irish bar as the night before with Priya's friend Jesse, a really nice fellow who is in the Coast Guard. Another brilliant day. Please check out the gallery as always for more pictures.
