Day 14: San Francisco Sight-Seeing

Up early today. 
We have forgotten just how noisy it is in the heart of San Francisco. 
At 2am a club appears to empty onto the street below. 
At 4am the first lot of rubbish bins are emptied. 
At 5am the next bins are emptied. 
At 6am hotel Doormen start using their whistle for taxi cabs!!

So, we head off for the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park for it opening at 9am.
Call down to the valet to have the car readied whilst the last bits and pieces are organised for our outings today. 
Sally Sat-Nav is switched on and it appears that she's working better today.  It must be due to the fact that it's only 72°C this morning and she's nice and chilled. She's even taking a charge and not just running off the car power!
I have a good idea of how to get to Golden Gate Park and notice Sally is guiding me correctly!

We park the car in the underground car park and head up to the Academy of Sciences.

We have to exchange our City-Pass voucher for our booklets which the assistant on the desk doesn't know how to so, so a supervisor is called.  Within a minute we have 3 San Francisco City-Pass booklets in our hands and exchange the Academy one for entrance.  It's fairly busy outside today, so we enter and as we've never been here before just wander about the first level and have breakfast at the cafe.  Ouch.  Very dear for banana cake and teas!

I get us tickets for the 10;30am showing at the Planetarium.  This is a new show for the weekends that is to show the universe in it's context of size.  It always blows my mind to think how big and old the universe is! 

After the show, we go up to the Living Roof to see the views from it and the roof its self.

De Young Museum

Part of the Living Roof.

Back down stairs to visit the rest of the exhibits and then down to the basement to the aquarium.

Entrance Area.

Exhibit beside the Biodome.

We have a wander round the aquarium area and then leave the Academy to go over to the Japanese Tea Garden.

Wedding Party Photos

Bride & Groom.

California Academy Of Sciences

Japanese Tea Garden Entrance

There is now an entrance charge for this.  Never paid before!  We were just going to have a wander, so not willing to pay $30 for this privilege.  We grab a hot dog and watch an Asian wedding party having their photos taken.  Always seem to see weddings here.  Must be good luck to get them taken at the Tea Garden.

Jump back into the car and off to the hotel to drop it off before heading up to Chinatown.

Chinatown entrance.

Chinatown.

We wander through Chinatown buying a few knick knacks.  When we reach Little Italy we wait on a bus to take us down to Fisherman's Wharf.

As its a Saturday the Wharf and area is heaving.  We purchase the dearest ice cream cones ever and sit down at the back of the pier in a nice quiet spot to eat them. 

Marina view whilst eating ice cream

Have a walk around the wharf, buying some gifts. 

Alcatraz from Pier

The Sealions are back!!

We walk along the front toward Ripley's Believe It Or Not as Meghan wants to see it.  Denise gets caught by the Living Tree yet again.  Three visits in a row!!
Ripley's in good.  So much cheaper than the one in London.

Meg did the tongue rolling bit and later found out the true meaning of it.  Not happy!!

After Ripley's we walk along to Ghirardelli Square.

Meg seven years after the last time.

We have a walk back along the other side of the front back to the wharf.  We wait on the bus to go back to Union Square, get on it, but get off near Chinatown as they are playing sardines in a can with us.  We walk back through real Chinatown, with shops selling live fish and every part of an animal.  The smells are a bit intense at some parts.

We arrive back at the hotel and drop off our purchases and head out for tea.  We buy some pizza and salad and take this back to our room to eat and relax.