San Francisco Travel: A Ride Through Golden Gate Park And Dinner At Colibris
Our last day in San Francisco welcome us with bright blue skies and brilliant sunshine
. In the morning we had already hopped on one of the citys moving landmarks and experienced a ride in the open-air cable cars that make this city such a favourite destination. Then we spent about three hours exploring the infamous Island of Alcatraz, famous for the maximum security pentitentiary that was located here from 1933 to 1963. What an eerie yet strangely beautiful place!We arrived back at Pier 33 shortly after 2 pm and decided to have a quick lunch in the sun at Pier 39. Among the hustle and bustle of this popular tourist destination we took up a sunny spot right in front of the historic Italian-built carousel to savour our selection of French fries and crepes.
Then we had to hurry because by this time it was past 3 pm and we still wanted to do a bicycle tour of San Francisco's northern coastline and to explore Golden Gate Park. So we rushed over to Bay City Bike Rental where we used our Go San Francisco card to take out two bikes to start our second bicycle tour of San Francisco. The Go San Francisco Card is a multi-day, multi-attraction pass that lets you experience more than 45 attractions, activities and tours at greatly reduced prices.
Steve, our favourite sales person with the great relaxed West Coast attitude, outfitted us with comfortable cruiser bikes and even got us a map and a free bottle of water to start our adventure. Now we were definitely ready to head out and explore more of San Franciscos unique locations.
In the sunshine we cruised past Fort Mason Center and the Marina District. We then stopped off at the Palace of Fine Arts, one of San Francisco's most popular destinations and the only remaining site of the 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition. Unfortunately the Rotunda was under renovation and covered up by scaffolding, but the beautifully carved Corinthian columns and the scenic pond still provided plenty of opportunities for passionate photographers.
On we continued past Crissy Field and up a steep hill to the Fort Point Lookout, location of the southern terminus of the Golden Gate Bridge. Then we continued uphill on Lincoln Boulevard, high above Baker Beach and China Beach to Land's End where a wooden lookout platform offered a phenomenal view of the Golden Gate Bridge.
After taking a rest in beautiful Lincoln Park (which features a reasonably priced municipal golf course with amazing Pacific Ocean views) we continued past the Palace of the Legion of Honor, a European art museum financed by a sugar heiress. Then we continued southwards into Golden Gate Park.on steep 47th Avenue.
Golden Gate Park consists of more than 1000 acres of parkland that is visited by 13 million visitors per year. The park has a range of diverse features including the popular Japanese Tea Garden, the San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum, and the Conservatory of Flowers. Stow Lake and Spreckels Lake are the main bodies of water; and the De Young Museum, rebuilt and reopened in 2005, is a celebrated destination for fine arts lovers. Golden Gate is also home to the California Academy of Sciences, one of the largest natural history museums in the world. The AIDS Memorial Grove was begun in 1988 and continues to be the only national AIDS memorial in the United States.
I checked my watch, and by this time it was after 5 pm. We knew our bicycles had to be back by 6 pm, so we had no choice but to race through the park. I figured Golden Gate Park would need to be a full-day destination for my next San Francisco trip which should allow me to explore all the features of this fine urban park in great detail. We made our way up the steep climb of Arguello Street and came down through the Presidio, a former military area that is now a beautiful wooded oasis in the city.
As much as we would have liked to stop and explore some of these attractions, it was now very late afternoon and we were approaching the 6 pm deadline for returning our bicycles. So we had to continue our race to get back, but on our way we simply had to stop to catch some nice sunset shots of the Golden Gate Bridge. Orange, pink and purple hues were highlighting San Franciscos most famous landmark - an awe-inspiring view.
Not surprisingly, we were a bit late returning our bikes, but the folks at Bay City Bike were very nice about it. They understood that San Francisco just has too many beautiful experiences to offer that can get travelers easily side-tracked. As an avid urban bicyclist, I have to say that our two bicycle rides in San Francisco were definitely major highlights of our entire trip. Sightseeing on a bicycle is one of the best ways to get to know a city; and San Francisco is a superb bicycling destination, with its gorgeous scenery and its extensive network of bicycle trails. A ride across the Golden Gate Bridge, as we had done a few days earlier, is simply a must to get the full experience of this city.
After cleaning up, we spent our last evening at a Mexican eatery called Colibri Mexican Bistro, not far from downtown Union Square, where we got to sample a variety of authentic dishes from Central Mexico. Colibri is located next to the Hotel Diva and decorated in the style of an early 20th century cantina. Warm hues of deep orange and burgundy red adorn the walls, and solid wooden Mexican furniture creates an authentic ambience.
Our exquisite tasting included guacamole (prepared right in front of us with fresh ingredients), a sopa de tortilla (tortilla soup, one of my favourites), torta de elote (a cornmeal dish), as well as nopales asados (the grilled leaves of the prickly pear cactus). While I enjoyed the extensive vegetarian spread, my travel partner Leslie tasted tacos de pescado (tacos filled with tilapia). We both commented on the diverse range of flavours, the generous portions and the friendliness of the staff at Colibri.
Like every Monday, live Mexican music was starting to fill the air. Sarah Gallagher, the assistant manager, joined us briefly and informed us that for a truly Mexican experience, Colibri even features more than 350 varieties of tequila. To cap off a very tasty meal I ordered one of my Mexican favourites: "crepa de cajeta" - a scrumptious crepe with a caramel topping that is made from goat's milk. Simply delicious!
Thoroughly satisfied after a flavourful and filling dinner we took the bus back to the Queen Anne Hotel, for our final night of sleep in San Francisco, a city we had both fallen in love with in just three and a half short days. Our delicious meal tonight was a fitting end to our much too short few days in San Francisco, but the impressions that this beautiful city had left on our soul will last a lifetime.
by: Susanne Pacher San Francisco Travel: An Interview With San Francisco Tourism - Part I San Francisco Travel: Downtown Luxury At The Handlery Hotel And Exotic Entertainment At Asia Sf San Francisco Travel: The Queen Anne Hotel & Fishermans Wharf The Most Important Thing To Have When You Travel! San Francisco Travel: Biking Across The Golden Gate Bridge & Dinner At Mccormick & Kuletos Air Travel Discount Fares Are Available Now! Why Patriotic American Indian Miners Deserve To Receive Compensation A comfortable and pleasant trip to Barcelona Villacentre.co.uk : Going To Portugal - Go To Albufeira Villa Holidays Honeymoon Trip Holiday In India Explore Rajasthan & Himachal Pradesh Dive Travel and Diving Adventure on the West Coast of South Africa Washing Your American Pitbull