Week 1 ~ Aug 20th 2006

I decided to explore San Francisco after one of my colleagues had a simple question when I informed him that I intend to go to the wine county. He quipped, "Have you gone around San Francisco yet?". That ticked me as to why not go around San Francisco. Again the bay area guide came to the rescue. There was an advertisement about an earthquake tour which caught my attention. I had heard about the great earthquake that wiped much of San Francisco in 1906. Infact this is the 100th year (I watched the clippings over and over on TV). So what does an earthquake tour mean?

My office is situated near a cable car stop (By the way San Francisco abounds with old cable cars. I have heard that Kolkatta in India has trams and I was curious to know the difference between a tram and a cable car and why do San Franciscans tout that theirs is the only city in the world that has cable cars still in operation when Kolkatta has one too). I had wanted to travel by a cable car but one of my colleagues downplayed the idea by suggesting that they were too slow and crowded.

The tour was supposed to start from Fisherman's Wharf at 2:00 PM. Fisherman's Wharf is a seafront which I was told had been formed out of landfill when San Franciscans were running short of real estate. It houses various piers (Pier 39 offers the famous bay cruise) and lots of restaurants by the bay. I started from my house at 12:45 and reached Embarcadero at 1:15 PM. I wanted to take the F line to Fisherman's Wahrf rather than walk 3 miles. I arrived in Fisherman's Wharf by 1:45 after waiting for the cable car for around 10 minutes. Contrary to what my friend told, the cable car was not too slow but it was crowded (Infact the cable car operator got into a fight with a co-passenger that reminded me of the buses that run in my hometown Chennai where fisticuffs and abuses are day to day affair). I located the tour booth and was pleasantly surprised to see a "cable car" waiting nearby. The tour operator pointed to the cable car and asked me to board it. The "cable car" itself was an open car with seats along the sides. Here is the catch, the "cable car" did not run on rails but on wheels like a bus. Our driver was a pleasant elderly lady who told us that the tour would go through the earth quake affected areas of San Francisco and would take 2 hours

We started at Fisherman's Wharf and went through North Beach. North Beach or Little Italy is a pre-dominantly italian neighbourhood with plenty of restauarants and a great cathedral (our operator informed us about the festive activities that took place here after italy won the soccer world cup). We saw the coit towers which is a light house. There is an interesting story about the coit towers. It is said that the tower was named after a woman who bequeathed her property for the fire department after she was taken in by their bravery and commitment (They had once saved her life). There are others who say she herself was a fire woman. We soon arrived in China town. San Francisco has one of the largest asian communities and chinese are the largest among them. Chinese came to San Francisco during the gold rush days back in 1880's and had assimilated themselves into californian culture through their hardwork and grit (They had laboured hard to develop some of california's famous rail road networks). China town transports you to china itself. The place, smell, look all have the trademark of authentic china. We arrived at washington square to see the chinese play a coin game. It was interesting to note groups of chinese bunched together playing the game while a larger group was intent on watching them. The next attraction was the pyramid towers. This is like any other office building but with a shape like that of a pyramid. We were informed that San Franciscans initially opposed the idea of a strange landmark dotting their skies but had accepted the plan to only see the place emerge as a major tourist attraction

We then travelled to presidio and had a glimpse of the crookedest street (This street has such a steep gradient that I wonder how will the guys who drive vehicles manage if their brakes fail!). This street has one of the worst traffic as drivers negotiate the gradient. Presidio is the old neighbourhood charm of San Francisco. It has some of the victorian houses which are fascinating to watch. our guide informed us that the houses cost anywhere between 30 to 50 million. Whew!!! She also revealed that Mrs.Doubtfire was filmed here (in one of the houses where we stopped to click a few snaps). Presidio was a US military base which has since been abandoned. It has lush green lawns and great buildings with red tiles. We proceeded to the Golden gate bridge. This is the landmark that comes to our mind at the mention of San Francisco. San Franciscans are so proud about their unique landmark. This bridge was constructed in 1936 and a year younger than its cousin the Bay bridge that I use to commute daily between my house in east bay to my office in the financial district of San Francisco. The bridge itself is painted orange (a unique colour which had stiff opposition initially from the city's residents) and has a span that is 7.5 miles long. It has few columns and is shaped like a suspension bridge. We were told that many people died while constructing the bridge due to the icy waters of the bay. There were plenty of people walking along the side walk though it was windy and cold. We got down to take a few snaps. We went around the road that goes to Sausalito which we were told was another great neighbourhood by the water front inhabited by musicians, artists and other people of power and prestige. We didn't go to Sausalito though and took a turn to travel along the same way back

Overall the tour was exciting (and cold too as San Francisco is too cold to travel by an open car with light clothing) and we had plenty of snippets from our guide. I wish I could spend more time travelling around this wonderful city that is so diverse and charming. May be I will travel the same routes one day when I get time....

After the 2 hour tour, I went to the Ripley's believe it or not museum in Fisherman's Wharf. This museum had fascinating things on display that were a result of Mr.Ripley's travel around the world in search of strange/weird/fascinating things. At the end of my tour, I was so fascinated that I bought a museum guide that had many new facts.

The next stop was at the Turbo ride in pier 39. The advertisment touted this ride as very scary. There were a total of 3 rides. I decided to take a combo package with 2 rides. Each ride lasts for 10 minutes. The first was a log ride which was a simulation of a log's travel around rain forests and mountains. These 3D rides are indeed amazing as they offer you the thrill of an adventure ride by just jostling you around. The second ride was less thrilling. It was about the rescue of dinosaurs (May be I had become immune after the first raid???).