Wednesday 14th – Las Vegas, San Francisco
Las Vegas
Waking up far to early for a far too early flight, we checked out of our room and had a bit of time to kill before we were ushered to the airport for our flight to San Francisco.
Skirting around the local area, we had time to explore the casinos located at the end of the strip. The particular highlight was Luxor – shaped like a pyramid, but paradoxically named since Luxor is an ancient Egyptian city (and famed for the Temple of Karnak) i.e. it has nothing to do with pyramids.. *ahem*, the pyramid shaped casino which is done up in the aesthetic of ancient Egypt.
Toni observes the Sphinx’s view | Gambling at the airport is more than selecting an airline
Excalibur (located adjacent to New York, New York) was also quite a sight, looking decidedly cartoonish but very well decorated inside and out. It was tricky taking the early morning shots, but some good photos emerged. The casino is built to resemble a medieval castle, complete with Beefeater guards.
Inside Luxor | Excalibur (the castle)
The Statue of Liberty outside New York, New York was covered in an NBA jersey as the NBA ALl Star game was due in town the week we were departing. As we walked around, we caught early morning glimpses of the sun on the horizon as it touched down across the face of Luxor and Excalibur.
The Statue of Liberty dressed in a basketball jersey | MGM Golden Lion
Las Vegas has gambling down to a fine art – and if you need any further proof, as I mentioned earlier.. there are slot machines in the airport. Not in some isolated room, but literally adjacent to the gates! No, we didn’t win any money, either.
For our next stop.. the beautiful city of San Francisco……
San Francisco
With the sun at our backs, we said goodbye to Las Vegas and hello to San Francisco. There’s a bit of a back story as to why we had SF on our itinerary – I went into it a little bit in the introduction (day 1), but here’s the complete story…
Both Toni and I had previously transferred through San Francisco airport (I twice, Toni once) and on all occasions, we had never had a chance to get outside the airport. We decided this must be rectified.
Our airport transfer dropped us off at the hotel – when we checked in we were given the option of an upgrade to a "Junior Suite" for a few dollars more. Sensing this was the correct thing to do based on our previous upgrade, we chose to upgrade.
A famous San Francisco cable car | Our Junior Suite
The room was very pleasant and very spacious. We had a nice view of the cable cars running up the hill, and the hotel was conveniently located in the heart of Union Square, a major shopping and food district inside the city CBD.
After settling in, we decided to catch a cable car to Fisherman’s Wharf, on the other side of the city which was east, facing the infamous island fortress and former prison, Alcatraz!
Our first view of the island was dramatic – we were on a cable car climbing over the crest of one of SF’s many steep rises when it appeared out of nowhere. What struck me first is just how close to the city Alcatraz really is. You’d swear it was within swimming distance..
The View from our room | Our first, dramatic, view of ‘The Rock’
Jumping off the cable car, we descended onto the famous Fisherman’s Wharf, which is *the* tourist destination, roughly equivalent to Darling Harbour in Sydney (although not a very apt comparison), and perhaps the best place to start enjoying San Francisco.
The wharf offers excellent views of both Alcatraz and the Golden Gate bridge. The views are arguably the major draw cards here as well a great variety of seafood restaurants. It can be pricey and sometimes a bit tacky, but it also has a great deal of information for the visitor.
There are also sea lions at Fisherman’s Wharf – they started to beach themselves here ever since a huge earthquake shook San Fran back in the early 1900s. No one knows why, but they choose to lounge around the wharf by day. They smell, but they are a fascinating (and cost-free) attraction.
Toni rides the Tram | Sea Lions at Fisherman’s Wharf
Fascinating boats at Fisherman’s Wharf
The Golden Gate Bridge
We decided, oddly, after spending some time taking in Fisherman’s Wharf and browsing the shops, that we would walk – yes, walk – from the wharf to the Golden Gate bridge.
We followed the coast around (there’s a footpath the whole way) whilst taking in the spectacular bay views. It’s a great walk if you ever have the opportunity. It’s also a fairly long walk.
A map of our walk to the Golden Gate bridge
Despite the distance, it is totally worth making the journey. For one thing, approaching the bridge slowly is a great way to appreciate its great span. Secondly, it’s an opportunity to check out all the world war II bunkers which now lie unused around the coast surrounding the bridge.
Sights along the way.
Alcatraz in the distance | Approaching the bridge
The bridge itself is a fairly sizeable walk. It takes at least twenty minutes to stroll the length of the bridge to Sausalito which is in Marin county.
Rob admires the Golden Gate Bridge
There are great views east and west, but beware – there is basically nothing on the Marin country side of the bridge, save for a longer walk down to Sausalito. This includes public transport. So we were forced to walk back across the bridge to the other side, in order to catch a bus back into town.
Bridge base fortifications | Look how far we’ve come!
The bridge is quite a marvel. At one end is an old fortress which is open to the public. We did not have time to explore it, but it did look awfully impressive from above. The bridge supports are fire engine red, and the cables are huge. It was a pleasant journey across and back.
Walking the Bridge
The walk was a long one, and we were hastened by the rapidly setting sun. The bridge is apparently closed to pedestrians after the sun is set, so we had to hustle a little bit to reach the other side (and allow enough time for a return walk).
It was an interesting view back towards the city, we could see exactly how far we’d come (quite far), and could even still glimpse Alcatraz in the distance. The surrounding hills and bays were quite interesting, there was even a tiny isthmus on the Marin county side, sticking out into the great bay.
It was even more interesting walking back, since we were able to observe the peak hour traffic streaming across the bridge to their expensive houses beyond. We were actually in a bit of a rush – again – as it was Valentine’s day and we had a dinner reservation at the hotel for 7pm.
Streams of cars heading home to beautiful Marin county.
Luckily, we managed to get a bus which took us more or less within four blocks of Union Square. It was a private bus (we didn’t mind) and the lady bus driver was extremely friendly and helpful. She told us she’d be stopping right near Union Square – and was as good as her word.
By now Rob was in trouble for mistiming the return, however we made it safely back to the hotel almost right on 7pm. It did involve, however, running for about eight blocks through the commercial heart of Union Square. No mean feat, after such a long walk earlier.
Ironically, the restaurant at the hotel was hardly full, so we were in no real danger of losing our dinner reservation. We had time to shower and change clothes before heading downstairs for a nice Valentine’s Day dinner.
We turned in early ready for another big day to come, as we had booked tours to Muir Woods and Alcatraz when we had been at Fisherman’s Wharf.
Bridge Commemoration Plaque