CHESSNOID

The first activity we did was walk down to the marina towards Fisherman’s Wharf. Yes, it is a tourist trap and we were ready to do touristy things. I booked a Double Decker bus tour to take in the city. I bought a multiple tour package to save some money. The first tour we took was a Golden Gate Bridge tour. It was an extremely clear day. We rode on the top deck. It was extremely cold and by the time we got to the bridge, it was like Arctic cold. I had a jacket on and used the blankets they provided but was still feeling cold.

The Golden Gate bridge is amazing. The views were spectacular both on the bus as we crossed and at the look out point at the other side of the bridge. I highly recommend taking a tour of it if you are ever in the city. Our tour guide quite frankly sucked. He seemed very bitter and talked about his former failed real estate agent career in Frisco and seemed very upset with rich people. He also made many inappropriate remarks about all types of people. He had a very thick accent as well so understanding him was difficult. I basically tried to ignore him because the tour itself was great.

After the first tour, we walked around the wharf and had some excellent clam chowder in the famous bread bowl and delicious crab sandwiches at Alioto’s Restaurant. The people out there were very aggressive as we walked by their restaurants to try to get us to go into their establishments.  I have to say if you eat down at the pier this place is great and not too pricey.

We went on our second tour which was a night tour that started at 6pm.  It was already dark and probably about 50 degrees.  It was still very clear and the fog didn’t roll in.  On this tour, the guide was a preppy hippie that went by the name of G or Gia and her sidekick busdriver named Jon T.  They were both a fun bunch and actually added to the experience.  The tour itself was great again.  We got to see all the lights as well as the entire city lit up.  Since it is Christmas time, there were lots of trees decorated and holiday lights everywhere you looked.  This trip was even better than our first tour and I am sure it is good even during the non holiday seasons.

We also passed by the Starbucks near the pier and while we were taking a load off our feet watching  people pass by, we saw a man with a rat perched on top of a cat that was perched on top of a dog.  I have actually seen this before when I use to do much more stumbling at stumbleupon.com.  To see it live was quirky.  The animals did look tired as well as the homeless guy parading them around.

The walking tired us out and we had to take the bus back to the hotel.  When we got back, we were spent.