DAY 2: First Stop: Chinatown, San Francisco
This particular Chinatown is one of the largest in the United States. Because I have been to SF many times before, I remembered that there was one main street with all the shops, hanging lanterns, and dragon entrances. However, we did not get to see that part of Chinatown. Rather, the tour bus stopped only for breakfast. I had a craving for an American breakfast (eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, etc.) rather than the dim sum style Chinese breakfast that the tour group was going to have. I ventured off from the group and found a small Chinese restaurant that served American breakfast for under $5! What a steal! We only had an hour to eat and take a look around Chinatown, which was hardly enough time to truly explore. So I ate my breakfast, took a few photos, and went on my way with the group...
DAY 2: Second Stop: The Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco
In all the times I have visited SF, I have never visited The Palace of Fine Arts. I don't really know the story or history behind it, but you can find more info at http://www.palaceoffinearts.org/. The bus only stopped here for about 10 minutes so that we could take a few pictures outside, and then we were on our way.
DAY 2: Third Stop: Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco
Probably the most famous landmark in SF, our next stop was at the Golden Gate Bridge. We got off the bus at the viewpoint at the start of the bridge. The piece of trivia that I learned from our tour guide is that the color of the bridge is actually "international orange" and it was painted this bright so that it could be seen even in the very foggy days in the bay area. The bus gave us an hour and I made it under the first column before I had to walk back to make it to the bus on time.
DAY 2: Fourth Stop: Lombard Street, San Francisco
This is the curviest street in the world. The story is that the hill was so steep that there were numerous car accidents every day. The government wanted to shut down the street itself in order to eliminate the problem. The citizens of SF did not want to close the street, so the government came up with the idea to incorporate curves in the road in order to slow down the drivers. This street is lined with houses and a walkway for tourists to walk along. A great test for anyone's driving skills.
DAY 2: Fifth Stop: Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39, San Francisco
The tour bus gave us a few hours to roam around Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39. Home of the famous clam chowder bowl. We were also given the option of the bay tour by boat. I opted for the boat tour and did not have much time to roam around and explore. We only had about 45 minutes to eat lunch and get in line for the boat. I stopped to have only a corn dog so I would have time to take some pictures before the boat ride.
The boat tour was about an hour long. The lines to get on the boat wrapped around the pier, but luckily as part of the tour, we got in a much shorter line which guaranteed that we would be on the boat. We passed underneath the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island.
Once we were done with the bay area boat tour, our tour bus gave us the option to be dropped off in Chinatown to do some solo exploration or to go on the extended city tour. I opted for the extended city tour to see some things that I haven't yet experienced in all my previous visits to SF.
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