Woke up this morning and had a shower in our luxury bathroom before heading out to find breakfast in San Francisco. Ended up in a 50's style diner for eggs, bacon and hash browns. We then waited for a cable car.

The San Francisco cable cars look like something out of a museum. People either sit on seats or stand on the running boards and hang outside.

I am not sure this is safe! We got the cable car to Fisherman's Wharf. We had a wander enjoying the fresh sea air. Disappointedly to discover that we couldn't get a boat to Alcatraz today. Instead we went round a WW2 submarine. I am not sure that I would like to be a submariner as it seems to have been very hot, dirty and cramped. We then went on a cruise around the bay. This took us up past the Golden Gate bridge, which reminded me of the Humber Bridge and Alcatraz.

The island had a very deserted and desolate look, the buildings are falling into ruin and there are only the gulls wheeling overhead. We then had a spot of lunch as I insisted on trying a San Francisco speciality - clam chowder in a sourdough bowl. The dough didn't taste that much different to ordinary bread. The chowder was a lovely thick creamy soup of clams, potatoes and carrots with just enough spice to give it a good taste. After lunch we went to look at some historical ships. The Eureka was a car ferry up till the 1950's and had vehicles of the period parked on her deck. In the half hour journey across the boat the restaurant managed to provide a full meal - maybe United Airlines could learn from them. There was a square rigged cargo ship from Newcastle, England. This was much more my type of boat. After this and a bit of shopping we stood in a long queue for a cable car back. We got of the cable car just outside the Disney store and had a quick look to see if they had any nice Tigger and Eyore T-shirts in my size, but they didn't :(

San Francisco is a great city with a feel to it - very laid back and relaxed. It is also a beautiful city with some stunning views of the bay and architecture that shows a European, mainly Spanish, influence. It is definitely a place that I would like to come back to.

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