Day 6 - Golden Delicious

Since being on the West Coast and in particular San Francisco we have had mainly warm and misty days with the sun breaking through occasionally. Today was different and we had some decent California sunshine. So with the sunshine upon us what better way to take in the most glorious symbol of this city then by riding across its 1.3 mile span. Today's ultimate destination was the Golden Gate Bridge. First however, we wanted to head to an area we touched on yesterday, North Beach, and that was so we could visit the mecca of the Beatnik Generation of the 50s and 60s here in San Francisco.

The City Lights Bookstore was at the epicentre of this movement and was the first all paperback bookstore in America when it opened on 1953. Alice and I had to buy a book whilst here and so we chose 'California - A History'. In paperback of course.

At this point Alice and I were torn as to whether we would walk up the tower for an epic view of the city or hire bikes to go to the Golden Gate Bridge. Both involved effort and it was hot. Only one would win. We decided on the bikes. And I'm glad we did.

The owner of the bike store was an eccentric German who was very entertaining. With maps attached to the handlebars we were away. The closer you get to the bridge the better it looks. Every angle requires stopping and taking a photo. There is also a mini sandy beach on the way that was totally unexpected. This city keeps throwing out nice surprises. On reaching the bridge and surmounting various hills to get there, the ride along it was thrilling. Once we reached the other side of the bridge we spun the bikes around and rode back leisurely. If we would have walked the distance to the bridge and across it, it would have taken a long time, if we had driven, it would have been over too soon. A bicycle journey it seems is the best way to take in the bridge and I would recommend it without a doubt. Two hours well spent.

Time for food. Since being on the West Coast we had seen Clam Chowder advertised everywhere. I wasn't sure what it was or how it would taste before coming to the US but back in Monterey I had tried a sampler and it was awesome. We thought we'd wait until we got to San Francisco. So we went to the aptly named 'Chowder Hut' and we both got the speciality. It's basically a creamy fish soup in a sourdough bread bowl. Very good and quite cheap too. We started to walk back and right outside the bicycle hire place there was a pickup point for the cable car, the opposite end to where we wanted to get on to it yesterday. After yesterday's disappointment at not getting on it we decided to wait out the queue as we had nothing else planned. Within no time we were on the car. Once the driver decided to go we were off and we were hanging on as the car flew through the city. It was good fun and the car picked up quite a lot of pace, particularly downhill. With another tourist attraction done, there was time for a little look in a shopping centre and then we headed home.

Song of the Day:
Queen - Bicycle RaceRead more