05/10/12: San Francisco II–Rocking the Rock

Sorry about the title, it was hard to resist.

So, how does one describe San Francisco? A few adjectives are in order: pretty, diverse, lively, attractive and – at times – insane. Whereas Las Vegas had a couple of strips of interest, this whole town has something to see in virtually every suburb. Like our stop in LA, we will not even scratch the surface.

Today we joined a city tour we’d booked before we left. First stop was Alcatraz:


The afternoon was taken up seeing just a very few of the city sights:

This is a really likeable place. The it has a nice vibe and the people are nice. That said, it seems horrendously expensive to live here. Our tour guide today was explaining the 3-hour commutes of workers living in Oakland (about 8 miles away across the bay), where the cost of living is lower.

One thing to keep in mind is that this town has people from all walks of life. Up in Castro (the gay/lesbian suburb), some people like to walk the street stark naked. Local council has tried to change the law without success, but did manage to pass a bylaw requiring naked citizens to not sit on public seating without something under their butts. How do we know this? Our friendly guide took us though Castro today and behold a chap sitting starkers outside a coffee shop.

The town is really crowded at the moment. The Navy is in town, an airshow is on, a huge 3-day concert is kicking off in the park, and a major computer conference is under way…so getting around over the next couple of days will be challenging.

With two full days before we get on the plane, we are hoping to visit the centre of CBD for some browsing (not too much shopping as our bags are bulging) and a trip – via cable car – to Fishermans Wharf for a good look around.