July 2011: Whirlwind Tour of San Francisco courtsey NB

Visited the famous Fisherman’s Wharf & Pier 39 area on a sunny Sunday afternoon. It’s among one of San Francisco’s most popular tourist attractions. The place is certainly a melting pot with a heavy sprinkling of curio shops, boats, ferry operators and a dash of nostalgia of times gone by. The wharf area is about 20 mins drive from the Golden Gate bridge. The area experiences very sudden drops in temperature so do carry some warm clothing (preferably a wind cheater).

We stopped to sample wares from Ghirardelli and Boudins. While the olive jalapeno bread from Boudins’ was certainly warm & delicious, the ice cream at Ghirardelli’s left a lot to be desired – doesn’t hold a candle to our “Naturals”. The chocos from Ghirardelli were tasty though. It was packed with crowds, cars, boats and birds! The Trams reminded me of the ones plying in Calcutta and like the ones in Calcutta I didn’t get to ride one. The sea gulls were noisy, rude, intrusive and a definite traffic hazard!

The views are lovely be it of the Harbour and the Golden Gate bridge or that of the Alcatraz. The streets are cobbled in some places & the gardens are neat & well maintained. Alcatraz certainly looks foreboding & cold in the vast blue of the bay and as the notorious Californian fog rolls in, it does give one a nasty shiver down the spine. Of course then you spot all the tourists in the ferries capturing their time at/in/ with the “Rock” and reality checks in.

The fog brought with it not only poor visibility but a rather nippy breeze which had us rushing for our jackets & stoles. It was easy to understand why the crowds suddenly were heading for all the bistros offering hot chowder & a respite from the icy winds.

We quickly snapped up the sun lions sunning themselves in the fading light – obviously they were better insulated! – and we huddled our sorry selves into a shop selling kites. We spent there an amazing few minutes admiring the variety of shapes, enjoying the myriad colours on display & though the temptation to purchase one flying machine was great but then I settled for a few pictures of them.

Drive back to San Mateo was via Union square, a brief fly by the famous Wells Fargo stage coach and the crooked though picturesque Lombard street (you can still spot Alcatraz from here!).