San Francisco by night is a grid work of glittering streets backlit by the wonderful sight of the harbour bridge and skyscrapers. My accommodation here is the Mason Street YHA ($29pp/pn), which turns out to be both clean and spacious including a good range of facilities including laundry, free Wi-Fi and free breakfast of bagels/cream cheese/jam and coffee (Feel the cholesterol!). A great start.
Travelling into town from the airport has several options - Taxi ($40), metro ($8), public bus ($3) or my choice - a shared mini-bus ($16), which has the convenience of dropping you off at the door…

Day 2 sees me exploring the city with a mind to find all the major attractions myself instead of relying on the tours…
Walking from the hostel it is only three mins before I reach Union Square, the location of many of the sight seeing bus companies stops - but also home to a wonderful, quiet little park complete with elegant statue on Romanesque column, coffee shops and the ‘Cheesecake factory’ :) [more later]
Walking from here along Powell street towards the Fairmont Hotel complex I begin to climb the terraced hillside with its cable car route (by cable car I mean of course tram, with people hanging off from the sides). As I walk along the views of the city are at times breathtaking with tall skyscrapers backed by the ocean and some incredible architecture - once at the peak of Nob Hill you can look down on the pyramidal shape of the earthquake tower - an impressive structure (although it does not have a visitor centre there is a video about it running on the outside wall along with a lovely little Redwood tree park). Walking towards the pyramid tower from the Fairmont hotel, along Jackson Street, I descend through Chinatown - the dragon lanterns, small markets, tiny shops packed with fresh produce and novelty goods, narrow streets and parks populated with elders discussing the events of the week - all resonate with China.
From the pyramid tower along Broadway I soon make it to the wharfs. An interesting area with several small restaurants and aging wood decked boardwalks surrounded by industrial units focused on construction (with one exception - a chocolate factory - which you can visit… And sample ;)). It is another couple of miles along the waterfront (The Embarcadero) before returning to the tourist centre of Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39 - although you will find as I did that Californians who live here are generally health conscious evident in the large number of them who were running along this route or dog walking.
Pier 39 - Wow - it is basically a tourist magnet (honey pot site) with lots of shops/restaurants all vying to take your money and leave you with a smile… As I arrive I am serenaded by a man and his harp at the entrance and then tempted by the smell of fresh fish & chips wafting from several window caterers… but that is not why I am here… Walking through the crowded boardwalk, past the colourful shop fronts and themed eateries, finding a vantage point at the end of the pier, finally getting my first site of ‘Alcatraz’. I am not disappointed, it is just as I imagined, some distance off from the coast and bleak looking with iconic block buildings huddled onto its craggy rock surface… but it is while I stand here admiring the view that I hear a raucous noise… following my ears I walk around the pier to the northern side and find a crowd of people viewing the protected seal colony (the noise is deafening emanating from large battling male seals - all seeming to want the central wooden deck and its sunbathed patch), there is a strong smell of fish… However, it is a great site to see these wonderfully playful creatures enjoying themselves in the sun. Highlight of the pier. Other attractions include free shows for children (today there is a pretty good Jack Sparrow style magician)… I settle for fish & chips with spicy HOT chilli sauce, which leaves me stretching for an ice cream to see me through to the next leg of my journey…
Fisherman’s wharf is a tourist centre with lots of novelty shops and dining opportunities. I pretty much walked straight through it…