First port of call the next morning was to get the bus passes to get us around, not a bad price at $28 each so we dodged the beggars and made our way down into the hole in the ground where the tourist information center is to buy them, after that it was back up to Powell Street for our first ride on one of the old streetcars down to the Embarcadero to look at The Bay bridge.
What an amazing sight this is to see you really, couldn't imagine how big this bridge is not to mention that you can only see half of it, the other half is on the other side of a man-made island and only visible from further up the Bay. After spending some time taking photographs of the bridge we walked back along the Embarcadero passing Rincon park where there are a giant bow and arrow half buried the green, I think it's some sort of artwork or something, still, it's impressive to look at none the less. After that it was only a short walk to the Ferry Building that has lots of small shops and coffee bars in where we got the most wonderfully tasty hot chicken and mushroom pies then sat out the back in the public seating area to eat them, defiantly worth the $7 each that they cost. It wasn't the warmest of days so we decided to head on back across the road and a bit further up toward Pier 39. So we hopped on the F line streetcar for the 15-minute ride down to the pier.
What a difference in temperature a couple of miles made it must have been at least 10 degrees warmer down this part of the Bay with no wind at all. Pier 39 is the main touristy part of this area with all the fun things that go with it. It's sort of a mixture of boardwalk and pier; jam-packed with shops of all kinds. The biggest attraction here is the sea lions, you can smell them from a fair old distance away and when you get right near them they don't half make a hell of a noise, but they are funny to watch, plus they draw a very large crowd most of the time. The sea lions camped out in PIER 39′s West Marina have been endearingly coined The Pier's “Sea Lebrities.” The boisterous pinnipeds started arriving in droves in January 1990, shortly after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. At first, they numbered from 10-50, but due to a plentiful herring supply, available dock space and the marina’s protected environment, the population grew to more than 300 within a few months. Each winter, the population can increase up to 900 sea lions, most of which are male. During the summer months, the sea lions migrate south to the Channel Islands for the breeding season, but in recent years a small group stays year-round at PIER 39′s K-Dock. We spent a couple of hours wandering around here buying some knickknacks to take home and taking in the sea air on what was now a lovely day, it had even gone warm enough now to take your coat off so we sat at the end of the pier where you get a good view of Alcatraz.
With that we decided to call it a day and head back to the F line to catch the streetcar back towards the hotel, it had been a good day but we were both still a bit tired from the flight the day before. There was a bit of a wait to get back and I think everyone else had the same idea as the streetcar was packed and it had only come a few stops from the start of the route but we got a seat, in the end, I really don’t know how many people you can fit on one of these things but there wasn’t much room after a few more stops.
At least the stop where we got off was only a short walk from the hotel, with that it was time to get something to eat from the shop and take it back to the hotel to eat as we didn't fancy dining out tonight. So after a laydown and a bit to eat I thought I'd go out and have look at Yerba Buena gardens a couple of blocks down the road that has a big waterfall in it that is lit up at night, it was defiantly worth the walk down there. Yerba Buena Gardens is the name for two blocks of public parks located between Third and Fourth, Mission and Folsom Streets in downtown San Francisco. The first block bordered by Mission and Howard Streets was opened on October 11, 1993. The second block, between Howard and Folsom Streets, was opened in 1998, with a dedication to Martin Luther King, Jr. by Mayor Willie Brown. A pedestrian bridge over Howard Street connects the two blocks, sitting on top of part of the Moscone Center convention center. The Yerba Buena Gardens are owned by the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency. After that, it was off to The Chieftain Irish pub to sample some of the local ale.
It wasn't a bad pub but it was very busy on this night but they did have about seven IPA ales on draught so I had to sample of them as it would have been rude not to. Unfortunately, this pub closes at 10 pm so walked about a block to the off license around the corner to get some tins of beer. A short stroll back to the hotel then to watch a bit of TV for an hour or so than a nice comfy bed to curl up in, even the sirens from the fire trucks that seemed to go past every few minutes couldn't keep me awake to tonight.h
