| A number of the big sports stadia also have RV
parks for visiting fans. This is San Francisco's Candlestick Park. The
campsite prices were outrageous but we had particular reasons for camping
there. Ordinary parking here was expensive also. The American pastime of
going to the game is not a cheap one. |  |
 | Looking out over the
Bay we have Alcatraz Island where the prisoners used to be incarcerated.
Because you are close to the ocean, the Bay visibility is quite poor due to
the advection fog. The
Island is also quite a way away so this is a serious telephoto shot. |
| San Francisco is a very cosmopolitan area. This guy filleting
fish down at Fisherman's Wharf was a real artist and had acquired quite an audience on the quayside.
There was also a sideshow from the seagulls attempting to catch the waste as
he threw it in the water. |  |
 | As with many port
cities, San Francisco has its collection of ancient ships berthed at the
dockside as permanent historical exhibits. |
| It is also famous for its cable cars which run from the town
centre to the docks. They get very crowded and there are long queues at the
termini. |  |
 | More than
most cities, San Francisco is built on hills and the climbs are prodigious.
This shot gives you some idea of what the trams have to cope with. They work
by the driver operating a lever which clamps onto a continuous cable running
in a slot in the road. This provides the power to drag them up and hold them
going down the hills. It is quite a complex job for the driver who has to
connect/disconnect his tram at the junction, the stops, and any sign of
danger. The lever also applies brakes which grip the rails as well as the
wheels. |
| The central Union Square is surrounded by skyscrapers. This shot
was taken from the restaurant balcony of one of the big department stores.
However looking round the local shops and the prices for some of the 'art'
makes us wonder who can afford to shop there. |  |
 | Most cities have
distinctive elements to their skylines. However contrary to our original
belief not many have a lot of skyscrapers. This may be one of the
exceptions. The little pink advert (of which we saw many) was for Apple
iPods. |
| America is really in love with art deco. This was the ceiling in
the department store restaurant. I haven't quite decided if it is attractive
or hideous. |  |
 | Jan has
always loved needlework so when we saw a specialist shop we just had to have
a look. This was just one of about six thread displays. But the price of the
canvases was just silly so we didn't buy anything. The gap between the haves
and the have-nots is really wide in the US and this centre really pointed it
up. |
| San Francisco has its cultural sights. This was the Coit tower at
Telegraph Hill. It is shaped like a fire hose and was funded by Lillie
Hitchcock Coit as a memorial for firemen. There is a small museum but it is
mainly visited for its spectacular views - when the fog allows. |  |
 | This was one of those
views and shows part of the downtown area. Unfortunately the trees prevented
us from seeing the rest. Perhaps we will have to come back in the winter. |
| In the Arts quarter we found the Palace of Fine Arts. This is a
stunning Greco-Roman structure built in 1915 and refurbished in 1967. It is
now home to a Science museum. It was beginning to get dark, the mist was
coming in and the temperature was dropping. So we didn't stop to look more
closely since we still had other places to see. |  |
 | As the sun sets behind
the hill we are on, the dockside remains in light for just a few moments
more. Again we can see the hills upon which San Francisco is built. |
| Another shot of the central sky-scape (taken the following day).
The mist tends to come in as the day progresses. |  |
 | But the most famous
shot in the city is of the Golden Gate Bridge. However as you can see, the
mist hampers visibility both across the Bay to Sausalito and vertically. So
one is left to imagine what the bridge actually looks like. |
| We did try getting a little closer which gave us a bit better
view of the length but the height is still a mystery. |  |
|