America, San Francisco: Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf & Golden Gate Bridge views.

Hello again... After traveling about fairly quickly from place to place, I have finally arrived in San Francisco where I will spend a whole week! My last day and a bit in LA was fairly relaxing, but uneventful. Unfortunately as I have mentioned several times, without a car I was restricted to Hollywood/West Hollywood and couldn't go further a field to other areas, for example; Santa Monica. Overall though I really liked it in Hollywood and the added bonus of the Oscars certainly made it worthwhile! After a huge panic over my transport, I arrived in San Francisco yesterday at 7pm Local time. I found out at 11pm the previous evening that my booked bus from LA had been suspended as the company were reviewing their service. After a lot of worrying and panicking, I managed to sort out another bus that got me here around the same time, albeit costing me more money.

This was without doubt one of my most anticipated places to visit before I had even left England and I do have very high expectations for it! I was very tired after my 7 hour bus ride yesterday (hard work, sitting on your arse doing shit all.) so I just took a wander down to Union Square after checking in at my hostel. Talking of which, I have managed to acquire two roommates with fairly distinctive characteristics. One is the modern day equivalent of Frankenstein (I nearly asked him why he had a pair of those Halloween novelty teeth in) and the other snores to the tune of a Dyson vac. Anyway, on my way to Union Square I quickly confirmed all the warnings to me that San Francisco has it's rough areas. Even the hotel reception warned me that an area close by is 'seedy'. 'Tenderloin' as it is named on the map, isn't pretty. I walked close by yesterday and there was a street with just lines and lines of homeless. Plenty of gangs too. However, in the day it isn't too bad and I am told that San Francisco is odd in that the nice areas and the bad areas are often very close to one another.

I was first struck by the transport. The cable cars are really fascinating to see, having so much history. Also, the buses here are Streetcars attached to a metal guiding above them. The streets are very steep with a lot of slopes. It reminded me of Bath in that, it's like one huge hill. Some areas even look a little old fashioned giving it a really historic feel. I walked to Market street and had two slices of pizza from a small cafe. In America, two slices of pizza is about a Large Domino's. They should call it a 'wadge' of pizza. Ridiculous. Or at least 'Bloody big' slice of pizza. I wandered around a bit longer but tried to veer away from the dodgy streets. Around my hostel there isn't anything grand. Union square is nice with it's little garden and cafe's, with Macy's to it's side. I went back to my hostel and slept as I was pretty knackered. (All that sitting.)

Today however, I saw what I had really come for. San Francisco is a beautiful place with so much character. I already love it. I headed straight to the bay as that is where the famous pier's are lined up one by one. I walked from pier 1 to pier 45, stopping off at a couple, including the incredibly cool Pier 39. At Pier 1, there is the ferry building which does what it says on the tin really. (No, it doesn't build Ferry's, smart arse). Ferries  leave here to Oakland, the other side of the bay, Alcatraz etc. However, the building also has a really lovely market inside. Little shops and stalls were set up, each selling things like chutney, cheese and fresh bread. I'm a bit of a stuck up snob, so I like that kind of thing. There were also ice cream, chocolate and sweet stands too. I will definitely return there and look properly as today I only passed through really. After walking on I got to a sign saying: 'Pier 1 1/2'. I wondered if there was a pier 9 and 3/4... You never know. I walked along the bay taking pictures of the other side of the river and the other bridge that connects to Oakland, the Bay Bridge. I stopped off for a couple of drinks along the way before reaching Pier 39. This pier is slightly different from the rest. Restaurants, bars, shops, museum's, aquariums, rides and amazing views are all here, within the stretch of the pier. Houdini's magic shop and Lefty store were my favourite shops! I had fish and chips in a little cafe and then wandered round the back to see the Seals! I really loved it, it has loads to see and plenty of places to eat and drink. I will come back at night as well to see it in the dark.

After Pier 39 it is a short walk to Fisherman's Wharf which has a whole range of things to see. Again, it has bars and restaurants (including a floating one!), but also memorials of 'lost fisherman', old ships, sweet/chocolate shops and museums. Again, I really liked the feel to the place. It was fairly busy with tourists as you would expect, but it had a kind of market feel and being so close to the harbour made it a lovely spot to take in the views and relax. I haven't seen all of this yet and I will be sure to return. I did notice a Rainforest cafe however, on the walk back. I have a bit of a history with them (sounds like an ex girlfriend, I know) so I will definitely be going in at some point! If you keep walking past the Wharf, the attractions and more strikingly, the views do not end there. Next up was the Maritime National Park which as a long strip into the sea to let you take in the views of the city behind you. I kept walking to the Fort Mason park which allowed to get a glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge I was desperate to see. This then followed on to the marina, holding hundreds of fishing boats. The views literally 360 degrees around you were stunning. After a long long walk along the Marina, I reached 'Presidio',the green area next to the Golden Gate Bridge which has a beach, art museum's, restaurants etc. It was here on the beach I could see the Golden Gate Bridge in all it's glory. I was really blown away by it. Quite possibly more than anything I have seen so far. I took a whole load of photos and sat on the beach, taking it in. It's reddish colour against the blue of the sea makes it really stand out. It stands in front of the north bound green, mountainous side which only adds to the views. If I looked behind, I could see part of the city stretch up and up on it's slope. If I looked to the right, I saw Alcatraz all alone. Everywhere I looked was incredible.

I hope to walk the bridge on Sunday which should be brilliant. A definite 'must do' I think. I then took the streetcar back before walking around the wharf a little further. I then had chance to take the very famous cable car back to market street, This was a highlight! It was so fun! I want a cable car in Ferndown or Bearwood... I managed to be standing at the side of the cable car (such a thrill-seeker), holding onto a rail for my only support. We went up and down the slopey roads stopping at every block for traffic. Every few minutes we would pass another cable car and each car would greet the other like it was waving goodbye to the Titanic. It was such a good experience. It's hard to explain without doing it yourself, but it was really fun. Also with it being so old it's another 'must do' in the city.

I have definitely seen two contrasting sides to the city. The downtown areas can be pretty rough as I mentioned, but just a little further up, the bay with all it's piers; the wharf and the green parks are really beautiful. It's a very unique city, I haven't seen anywhere like it and I don't think anywhere is like it. I have plenty yet to see but I love the feel of the city. It's historical, slightly old fashioned, very pretty and it has nice architecture. I am looking forward to seeing what else it has to offer!