A different view of SF

SF!!! Every one's favorite city!!!!! How can it not be!!!! Beautiful weather...beautiful people...the sights...the food...sighhhh...

So, I guess every one has driven down the Bay bridge or the San Mateo bridge to SF. But not every one has probably taken the ferry to SF. Yes, a ferry. And believe me, it's FUN!!!!

This is where it all starts. The Vallejo - SF Bay Link ferry. Starts of from the city of Vallejo, and drops you off at Pier 1, SF. A fun-filled hour long ride. Just make sure the weather's nice!!!!


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I took the trip on a fine sunny Sunday, with A, P and M. We drove from Davis to Vallejo and reached there around 11ish. The next ferry was leaving in half an hour, which suited us well (actually, I had planned it that way). So we bought our tickets (btw, you can get a AAA discount there) and waited to board the ferry (seen below).



Well, so fast forwading about forty-five mins, we boarded the ferry and discovered that they also have aa standing area on the deck. This was a bonus!!! The weather was superb and we decided to spend the ride on the deck itself.

The ferry took off pretty slow. Pretty much like my grandad's premier padmini (good old fiat, for the uninformed). But this was only because we were in the narrow channel and the captain was only waiting to get out in the open. Once we were in in the proper bay, all the pistons kicked in, and we could have taken on Schumacher himself!!!! Boy, it was hard to believe that the ferry had could pack in so much power. we found this particular spot on the deck where the wind force was aprticularly strong, and it caused people to make funny faces!!!! Ofcourse, we took pictures!!!! lol!!!





He he!!! It was fun standing at that spot!!! The only problem was it left a bitter after taste of salty water!!!

The ferry ride turned out to be immensely fun!! The bay was full of people on sail boats (made me wanna get one for myself!!). We even got a beautiful view of the infamous Alcatraz prison (from the movie The Rock!!). And even better, in the back ground we caught the majestic Golden Gate bridge!!!! All this for the price of a ferry ride!!!!!







Finally, after about an hour and loads of fun behind us, we reached the Pier 1 in SF, where the ferry docks. As we entered the pier area, we had a great veiw of the Port of SF on one side, and the Bay bridge and Treasure Island on the other.





So, finally we were at Pier 1, SF. From here, we decided to take a nice walk to Pier 39, along the Embarcadero. The walk was a little over a mile, and is the best way to enjoy the beautiful city of SF!!!


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We finally reached our detination of Pier 39, and roamed around the Fisherman's warf area. There were so many small shops, which totally reminded me of Delhi markets!!! We even found a nice bengali uncle at a clothes shop, and had a little chat with him!!!







Pier 39 is a very lively area, with lots of shops, live music, rides and sone of the best eating places. it also provides an awesome close up view of Alcatraz and Golden gate bridge!!!




From here, we moved on to the famous (and absolutely delicious) Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory. A visit to SF is not complete without sampling the fine chocolate from this place. And a visit to this place is not complete without eating their famous banana split!!!!


Later, we took a tram ride from Ghirardelli to the municipal square and roamed around in the malls, which are found in abundance in that area (it's like they keep reproducing. Macy's for Men. Macy's for Women. And BOOM!!! Macy's for children).

After recovering from the PJ, we walked around a bit and found an Indian restaurant (I think it was called Nan 'n Curry and was open 24 hrs). And ofcourse, all of us were hungry!!! The food was pretty ok. After the meal, we took a cab back to pier 1, and had crappy black coffee from a mexican place (no reflection what so ever on a mexican's coffee-making abilities), just to keep us warm while we waited for the ferry.





So that was pretty much it. The ride back was also very beautiful. The lights of SF fading away in to the darkness were simply brilliant. There was a full moon out, glowing bright orange, like the feeling of happiness and satisfaction inside us. All in all, it was a wonderful experience.