June 18, 2012: Sea Lions, Cable Cars, and China Town

 I wonder why everyone is crowding around Pier 39?

 The Sea Lions have caught our eyes (and ears)! Even with just a few, these guys get noisy fast!

Some sea lions were snoozing, while some wanted to pick a fight. 

There can be hundreds of sea lions all gathered here at once. Can you imagine? 

 We had the pier mostly to ourselves today.

Livia perches on Ragna as we board our cable car. 

Jaoa, Stefan, and Daniel hang on while Eleonora, Claudia, and Selma find a seat on the car. 

Lauren, Kemal, Yekta, and Sara enjoy seats that are safe from the wind. 

We <3 San Francisco!  

And so do we!!! 

 A view of Union Square--tons of shopping and fun around here!

We saw a lot of brides while on our City Hall tour. Isn't she lovely? 

 Andreas, Ragna, Julien, Mo, and Saya in Alamo Square. 

Busting out the Thailand flag on Twin Peaks!  

It was foggy and windy, but we still got a spectacular view of the city from Twin Peaks.  

We're at the bottom of Lombard street--the curviest road in the world! 

 After a short night and a fabulous breakfast we started this morning and headed towards San Francisco. Our destination was the famous Pier 39 and Fishermans Wharf, doubtless the most popular destination in San Francisco, if not in all of California. It owes its fame partially to the extensive shopping opportunities, including a Hard Rock Café along with numerous souvenir shops and “Bubba Gumps” restaurant, a fictitious restaurant chain based on the Bubba Gump shrimping company featured in the movie “Forest Gump.” On the other hand, Pier 39 is home to a group of very special residents. About 20 years ago a clan of pacific sea lions decided that the pier in the heart of the San Francisco bay harbor is a nicer place to live than the vast ocean. Since then, those animals and their following generations just never left, even though they could at any time. This group which during its peak consist of more than 70 sea lions, became a world famous attraction and should not be missed by any visitor coming to San Francisco.

Afterwards we took a cable car from fishermans Wharf, the fishing village situated along the shore, to Union Square, the true heart of San Francisco’s shopping district. The cable car is another sight not to be missed by any visitor. At nine miles per hour the passengers get a unique view of the city and while commuting through the Victorian neighborhoods feel almost transported back in time before cars and the daily hustle that dominates our lives today. Once arrived at Union Square we had the opportunity to do some shopping and get lunch. Along with plenty of designer and souvenir stores the world’s finest Levi’s jeans store is located here.

At two o’ clock we met again and boarded our buses for a city tour. As we were driving through the city our guide pointed out the diverse neighborhoods as well as significant landmarks. We stopped at the city hall, a building risen from the ashes of the earthquake of 1906 and the following fire. Interesting enough the street behind the old city hall was intentionally blown up to create a wall of debris in order to stop the fire from advancing further. Because of that, once we crossed into the neighborhoods behind the city hall, we were able to admire the beautiful Victorian mansions that once shaped the face of all San Francisco. We drove all the way to “twin peaks,” the top of a mountain overlooking San Francisco. Theoretically we would have had a beautiful view of the whole city, but the fog let us see little more than a wall of clouds. As our city tour continued we stopped again and walked down what our guide described as San Francisco’s most crooked street, little more than a narrow lane meandering down a pretty steep hill with remarkable gardens filling up the spaces along the road. We then ascended another hill to a catholic church in the Italian neighborhood. At this church Marilyn Monroe intended to get married, but since she had been divorced before was denied that privilege. She ended up still taking wedding photos in front of that very church, creating the impression that she got married there.

One last time we boarded our buses and headed for Chinatown. San Francisco is home to the biggest Chinatown in all of the United States. We had time to get inside views into the making of fortune cookies and then wander around this neighborhood characterized by a culture so different from our own, or at least for the Europeans. We had dinner at a restaurant carrying the creative name “Chinatown Restaurant”. The delicious family style served food was a perfect ending to this long and exciting day in the world’s coolest city.

Paul V. Naser (Germany)