For the record this is my 101st posting!
In order to diminish the jet lag and time in the air we
decided on a stopover in San Francisco. Although we have been several times it
is one of those places where there is still much to see. This time we visited
The Palace of Fine Arts – but don’t expect a gallery. It is a rebuild of some
buildings originally constructed for the Panama Pacific International
Exposition of 1915. It has had some real highs and lows in terms of usage and
maintenance but is now a wonderful place to wonder around.
Quite spectacular but it really needs to be bearing in mind it has no longer any
purpose other than to look grand.
As it was a picture perfect day we opted for a walk along the
front to Fisherman's wharf. Part way through we needed a coffee and found a fascinating place with
an Orrery in it. This tells the time for each of the planets in our solar
system, a 10,000 year clock. With
Mercury having an orbit of 88 days and at the other extreme Jupiter taking 12
years it is a little less exciting to watch than grass growing! Wonderful
precision machining though.
Further along was some slightly less precise but no
less interesting heritage shipping. The Eppleton Hall paddle tug boat was built
in 1914 and was retired in 1968 restored and then travelled to San Francisco
under her own steam. Not sure how effective the paddles would be as
stabilisers.
Even more impressive was Balclutha built in the 1886. She
sailed 5 times from Europe to San Francisco via Cape Horn bringing coal and
general cargo and returning with grain. In 1903 until 1930 she moved onto salmon and travelled each year
to Alaska.
A small shipyard was refurbishing the 28 ft Eva B. Lots of
glue, G clamps and time appears to the recipe.
The work had taken several years to get this far and then was
to be moved to the mechanics for an engine fit out.
During the walk we encountered this framed image of Alcatraz. A bit
more picturesque than closer up.
Exhausted we succumbed to a meal at Pier 19 and watched the sun go down over the Golden Gate.
The following day we opted for a trip across the harbour to
Sausalito. This is where we had a great ice cream stop on our way to the
airport back in 2009. This time we enjoyed a meander and leisurely lunch in the Blue
Grey building on the shorefront.
A first for us was this rock balancing sculptor. Each day he
starts afresh. Quite a local character and although the hands were steady enough
to be a surgeon I suspect that outdoor entertainment was a better character
fit.
On the trip back (on a Tassie cat) we had some great crack
with some other travellers who insisted on taking our picture (well actually 12
of them… thank goodness we are digital!).
We landed at Pier 1 – another new part of town for us. There
is a high quality market on the Pier. What an array of
mushrooms.
We slowly wondered up Market Street to Union Square and a
restaurant that had been recommended to us called Farallon. Very popular and
great atmosphere. It was crowded and two woman allowed us to join them and the
conversation went on for over an hour. It was a very sociable end to our trip
as we headed back to the hotel a block or so away, packed and prepared for the
trip home.
