Our next stop was Fisherman’s Wharf
where the plan was to pick up some
hire bikes – a big thing in San Francisco
and a great way to see the city - as well
as being amazingly cheap. There are
lots of cycle paths around the city with
multiple pick-up and drop-offs so it’s
“
Alcatraz Island
is surprisingly
pretty with some
gorgeous gardens
“
idea for all ages and fitness levels– it
was around $32 pp (£20pp) for 24-hour
hire. There is the opportunity to hire a
tandem bike for slightly more where
you can pick up some serious speed
and cover more ground, however due
to our lack of coordination we decided
against this! All kitted out we made
away along the beautiful river with the
sun beaming down and made our way
slowly to the Golden Gate Bridge – there
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are separate cycle lanes for cyclists
and walkers on the bridge itself and at
weekends they divide the two lanes for
bikers only. The bridge is 1.4 miles in
distance and the views of the river are
just breath-taking so you should take a
minute to take it all in. Once you reach
the other side you are met with a hill
that will definitely bring out the kid in
you – the key is to relax and let the bike
take you. At this point you can either
turn around and head back across the
bridge or as most people do, you can
carry on to a little seaside town called
Sacramento and take the ferry back
across to the mainland, it takes around
30 minutes and is lovely way to the city
from another perspective – you can take
the bikes on with you and it is around $8
pp. Sacramento itself is very pretty and
quaint and there are plenty of bike racks
if you want to explore a little.
That evening we took a walk down to
Union Square itself, where you will find
some of the big name shops such as
Saks, Macey’s and Tiffany’s – if you
are anything like us you won’t have the
money to buy anything but its still nice
to have a bit of a nose - we decided
to have a dinner at a restaurant called
the Burger Bar – they have a great
selection of food from Burgers and
Steaks to Salads and the setting is very
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