That Time we Travelled … {San Francisco, CA}

Hey there! I’m back with Part Two of my California travel series these next four parts will all take place in San Francisco. There is so much to see and do here that I had so much to share, and I loved the bay area so much that I didn’t want to leave anything out. So I invite you to come along with me to see Fisherman’s Wharf, and the scenery and sites around there and of course we will head out to Alcatraz.

Each time we have come here to visit we have stayed in the financial district and our hotel was just a short walk to many places Fisherman’s Wharf being one of them, we walked down here many times on our trip. I love all the buildings and how much character some of them have like this one above with the high arches, palm trees nestled inside and bistro styled tables to have a seat, catch up on work or visit with a friend.

As we headed down to the water, you can’t miss the Port of San Francisco Ferry terminal and its large clock tower, crossing over you will see a number of cable cars coming and going.

Just down from the Ferry Terminal on the waterfront you can see the incredible Cupid’s Span, a 60 foot bow and arrow shot into the ground. Which is said to resemble where Tony Bennett “Left his Heart”. We lucked out on the day we headed down there with incredible clear bright blue skies!

From this point and along most of the waterfront and piers you can see the long span of the Bay Bridge.

We walked all along the water front and along some of the piers to explore, all along from the Ferry terminal right to the other end you can find tons of places to eat, grab a coffee, souvenirs and even market goods. You can find hundreds of Sea Lions nestled together at Pier 39, the crowds were so huge though I wasn’t able to get a snap of them but definitely worth seeing!

You can spot pelicans swooping down all along the waterfront to try catch a bite to eat!

I took this shot of the city from Fisherman’s Wharf, where you can see the Coit Tower, and both the Transamerican Pyramid, and the Salesforce Tower.

Pier 43 historic ferry arch with the Liberty ship SS Jeremiah O’Brien seen through the arch.

Can you guess what is out there on the horizon of the water?

If you guessed Alcatraz you were right! I’ll have more on that later in this post but first up a little stroll through Golden Gate Park.

Heading to and from the park you will see rows and rows of houses, and no two are alike, some brightly coloured, some really unique, some incredibly tiny and all nestled together side by side.

Through out the park you could find paths where the trees on either side have grown together making these fairytale like little archways and the roots on some of the trees were so intertwined with so many grooves and twists and turns they looked incredible.

We came across the Conservatory of Flowers a botanical garden in this incredible building with intricate details along the roof line and over the doorways, we didn’t venture in this day as we had our day mapped out but we did check out many of the beautiful flowers all along the grounds.

I of course had to stop and take photos of the flowers along the way and there were so many so I thought I would share some of my favourites!

This park is so large we didn’t even make a dent exploring it, there are so many things to see and do within the park. As we were leaving we came across this large pond with a pillared step way that looked like it could be in a scene from Brigerton {If you know … you know!}.

Next up Alcatraz, if you plan to visit this iconic prison I recommend you book your tickets ahead of time, literally at the time you book your flight! On our previous visit to San Francisco we were unable to get tickets once we arrived, we had no idea how quickly it booked up!

On the boat to Alcatraz Island leaving the city behind.

The entire tour was great and if you haven’t been I would recommend going, you get a headset and it guides you through the prison and the grounds telling you of the stories, famous criminals, and events that took place there. We got the second to last boat of the day over to the island and I think that timing was perfect as it was light out when we arrived but it was getting dark and pretty eerie when we left which I totally loved it was the perfect amount of creepy for me! Maybe next time I’ll attempt the last boat where most of the prison is in darkness, but I may have to sleep with the lights on that night!

Certain cells were set up how they would have been when inmates were imprisoned there which I loved, it helped tell the story.

The sun was dropping by this time and it was starting to get pretty dark and creepy!

Leaving Alcatraz behind and heading back to the city!

I hope you enjoyed part two of my California series, if you missed part one you can catch it here! Next time we will check out The Palace of Fine Arts, The painted Ladies and of course the Golden Gate Bridge, till then …