Coming straight from Yosemite National Park, San Francisco was an urban maze waiting to be explored. Whilst in San Francisco, we were hostelling (to help save $$) which worked out quite well. Our exploration began by walking to the Bay front from the hostel so we could hire bikes for a day of exploring. Now, whilst logic says that a city with a  cable car system and whilst San Fran’s is renown for it, I did not expect San Francisco to be so hilly!!

Just as well we had practice walking up and down whilst in Yosemite. Almost by chance we managed to tick off the first of the iconic San Fran sights.

As the eagle eyed of you may have spotted, the weather in San Francisco was naf compared to what we had enjoyed in Yosemite. As you will see, grey cloud was to be a factor in our day. Once we had collected our hire bikes and made it down to the waterfront, the second of the iconic sights appeared; Alcatraz.

However, Alcatraz was not first on our list. First up was about crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. Although it appeared to have vanished.

Now, whilst I’m a big lover of clouds (it comes with being a Geographer) I prefer them to be a little higher up and not get in the way of my sightseeing. As we made our way to the fort at the base of the Bridge (which you can see in the photo above under the arch you can see), I had resigned myself to not being able to see the Bridge. However, it began to appear!

As mentioned earlier, at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge is Fort Point, a military fort dating back to before the American Civil War. Along with forts on Alcatraz and at the northern end of the Bridge, these forts were positioned to protect the Bay from incoming warships. We didn’t have time to explore the Fort, but looking down from above it seemed quite impressive.

Leaving Fort Point, we turned back on ourselves and then found the route up to the start of the Golden Gate Bridge. Parking our bikes at the outlook at the top of the cliff, we were treated to San Francisco’s most iconic view as the cloud lifted.

And just in case you want proof that I was there:

Cycling certainly seemed like the best thing to do for exploring the Bridge area and for crossing the Bridge itself. I couldn’t stop smiling as I cycled out onto the iconic landmark, marvelling as the art deco towers reached skywards above me. It really is quite an impressive feat of engineering. Hanging over the side of the Bridge gave a rather interesting and novel perspective. It also highlighted just how red the Bridge actually is! 

The views along the Bridge were also rather enjoyable and really gave a sense of being fully in San Fran!

Probably the most impressive sight from the Bridge (and one that photos don’t do justice) was found at northern end; namely that of the cloud rising up and over the hills next to the road.  The clouds appeared to be coming along the coast and were being driven up the slopes next to the Bridge. Looking back across the water, it appeared that we had timed our crossing perfectly as the clouds were reforming around the Bridge.

Once off the Bridge, we cycled down to the waterfront as we would be taking the ferry across the Bay back into the heart of San Fran.  This gave us the chance to view the Bridge as it spanned the Bay. As you can see, the northern tower was almost completely covered in cloud.

As may well be expected, crossing the Bay meant passing Alcatraz, which would we be visiting the following day.

After making it back safely to San Francisco, returning our bikes and a freshen up at the hostel, we were off to a ball game! Having been a ball game only once before (when visiting New York), I was rather excited.

It was the opening night of the season, and so the atmosphere was buzzing. The AT&T Park itself was rather well laid out, and our seats meant we got great views of everything (including of the harbour outside).

As those of you who have ever watched baseball will know, the games go on for rather a long time and can get a bit dull. However, this was the local derby game, San Francisco Giants via Los Angeles Dodgers. Which meant that the crowd was more than a little partisan and more than a little loud. At the bottom of the ninth, the game was tied at 1-1 with the Dodgers batting first. The Dodgers failed to scoring, giving the Giants the chance. And the Giants took it, scoring a home run to win the game!

And with that, the game was over. As this was opening night, we then got to enjoy a firework show over the Bay before trudging back to our hostel, ready for the next day.