When we were wandering through Fisherman’s Wharf the first day, we came across a biking booth advertising a 3-4 hour bike tour that covers some of the landmarks along the shore. As people out of shape and haven’t ridden a bike in years, we thought it would be the best kind of tour for us! Haha.
The next morning at 10am, we set off from Fisherman’s Wharf with about ten other people. We were definitely unprepared for a bike ride, so we only had jeans and slippers on as workout attire. As you can tell from the photos, we saw a few interesting stuff. But what became more interesting was not the landmarks themselves but the experience of biking along the San Fran coast.
It was surely a cold and windy day, and for most of the morning, we were barely able to see the Golden Gate Bridge due to the dense fog! Yet, as the final landmark to see, it was amazing to be able to bike through the rusty red bridge. There were surely a lot of tourists cycling on the bridge, but also a lot of ‘tour de france’ cyclists who just whizzed by us. At the end of the 8 mile bike ride, we ended up at Sausolito, a town across the bridge that was full of boutique shops and restaurants. By the end, we were exhausted! Steep hills, winds blowing against us, and being just out of shape all played a factor in that. Still, the tour was such an experience and we regret nothing!
Overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge during a very foggy day. If you squint really hard, you can imagine the bridge being visible.
About to bike the bridge!
Nearly done biking through the bridge!
We made it! “That was refreshing!” I exclaimed.
Took a really fun downhill road to get here. Weeee!
At Sausolito, we passed by The Scented Seagull, an empty bath store that was closing, and therefore had clearance prices to get rid of all their products. We ended up getting 6 bath bombs for $10 (whaa?!) and the cashier threw in 4 extra bath bombs ‘just because’. AND for spending $10, we were able to pick an item from their ‘gifts’ section that included loofas, bamboo bath salt scoopers, body soap, and – wait for it – perfume testers! At first, I couldn’t believe the testers were part of the gifts, considering they were 1oz bottles of perfumes such as Opium by YSL. And yet, it was. In an instant, I chose that as my gift. Eep! This was our first and last shopping experience done throughout the week, and I couldn’t be happier.
Ate at Napa Valley Burger Co. at Sausolito
Soooo gooooood (as the American flag waves about)
On our way back to San Fran. Soooo many bikes, with ours lost in the mix.
A few of the inspiration behind Azkaban – Alcatraz. Now all it needs are Dementors!
We went back to the crowded Ghirardelli Square to eat the famous Hot Fudge Sundae. SO GOOD.
One burger, one ferry ride back to the port, and one delicious cup of Hot Fudge Sundae from Ghirardelli’s later, we found ourselves waiting in line for one hour for a ride on the famous San Fran Cable Car. This was definitely a tourist attraction as I don’t think any local San Fran resident would ever wait that long to get on a public transportation. My feet were definitely hurting as we stood in line, after cycling earlier that day, but once we got on the train and jamming to Michael Jackson music played by the conductor, all was well.
After an hour wait (yes, it took an hour to get on the cable train), we made it on!
Heard such good things about SF’s Chinatown that I wanted to take a peek. They were right, hah.
San Francisco’s Chinatown was also pretty nice, at least compared to Los Angeles’ Chinatown. It felt cleaner, more organized, and the stores just sold cooler things. LA’s Chinatown had more of a swap meet feel. Nothing wrong with that, but still.
As we ended our trip to San Francisco, it was apparent that it was such a nice city. Everyone we met were so nice (except this one electric bus driver :s)! We’ve had several people come up and ask if we needed help with directions, as they saw us looking quizzically at our map. Even a homeless man we passed by on the subway insisted on giving me an iPhone case when he saw I had an iPhone! Definitely had a great experience and I look forward to revisiting the city and exploring the lesser-tourist attractions.