Okay, I'm starting to like San Francisco a little more today. And the weather was perfect. It was a good, sunny day and no wind. Not too hot, not too cold.
We headed to Lombard Street this morning. Most of Lombard Street is straight, but one small bit of it makes Lombard Street the crookedest street in the world. It's down hill, quite steep, and it's one way only. Cars have to creep down at a snail's pace, manoeuvring from left to right probably about 10 times before reaching the bottom. A throng of tourists was present, taking photos and video.
This morning, we did a mix of walking and taking the cable car. With Jean's bad knee, she found walking down hill worse than walking up hill. Our practice when visiting a new city is to walk all over it. But in San Francisco, the hills make walking problematic. The alternative is to take public transport. Yesterday, we found the waiting times for the cable car to be horrendously long, but these seem to have been at or near the ends of the lines. It was better today.
The cable car is the one where people may hang on the side, something which would definitely not be allowed in Australia. We had the chance to ride on the side today. Even children are allowed to ride on the side, just hanging on to a pole. Of course, if you let go, you fall to the street, where you could be badly hurt, or even killed.
The cable car is called a 'cable car' because it gets pulled along by a cable in the middle of the tracks. As you walk over the tracks, you can see the cable beneath you moving fast.
We went to Coit Tower, the highest point in San Francisco. A lift took us to the top, which is about 500 feet above sea level. From there, we saw the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge, Oakland which is another city across the bay, and the Trans America Building, 853 feet high. We also saw Treasure Island and Alcatraz out in the bay.
We went to China Town for lunch. I had spicy chicken and plum sauce with rice, while Jean had duck chow mein. Jean's fortune cookie said she had an active and brilliant mentality. Mine said I'll visit some faraway land that has long been in my waking thoughts. Maybe that'll be Australia in a couple of weeks.
There are many foreigners in SF. Spanish, Italian, French, and lots of Germans. I practised my German on a couple from Munich.
Tonight we are heading out to watch a baseball game.
Lombard Street is the crookedest street in the world.
Alcatraz as seen from Coit Tower
Golgen Bate Bridge from Coit Tower
Downtown SF. The triangular building is the Trans America Building.
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