Aquarium of the Bay

Day 294 – San Francisco, USA

I started the day with a short stop at Alcatraz Cruises to update my ticket to a Citypass, with substantial savings. Including a ticket to the Aquarium of the Bay, which I wanted to visit for its giant octopus. (I want the real-size stuffed toy.)

I was a bit disappointed by the lone octopus, but the exhibit included videos on the intelligence and the Houdini-like capacity of the animal, and that was very interesting.

Aside from the octopus, I saw jellyfish, newts, tropical fish, otters, and I passed in two tunnels: one recreating the Bay’s environment, the other with the local sharks.

The aquarium pictures are here.

Since I was there I went again look in Pier 39, ate my picnic lunch, bought a huge ice cream, and had the plastic cone holding the waffle cone stolen by a hopeful seagull.

Looking into what I could do next, I saw that I could take a bus straight up to Telegraph Hill, on top of which is Coit Tower (and I don’t want to imagine just how many bad puns must be made about that).

View from Telegraph Hill

I chose not to pay 9 dollars to go up the tower, instead I just had a look at the murals inside on the ground floor.

From there I walked down the hill and I caught a cable car back downtown. They are a historical relic greatly appreciated by the tourists.

San Francisco – Cable car

From there I switched to a bus and went to see the Painted Ladies, a row of six Victorian houses painted different colours. Actually, any Victorian-style house painted in at least three colours to make the details stand out is called a Painted Lady (thank you Wikipedia for the details), but this particular row is appreciated for its setting.

San Francisco – Painted Ladies

As a good tourist, I stopped for a cup of tea in the park in front of the Ladies.

Tea time: hot water, collapsible mug and tea bag.

I still failed at finding decent tea in a supermarket on my way home. On the bright side, I bought fresh vegetables and improved my macaroni and cheese with mini zucchinis and mushrooms.

The day’s pictures are in the “San Francisco” gallery, starting number 64 to 101.