On Thursday we checked out the Asian Art Museum, got a feel for more of the city by taking a Hop-on Hop-off tour, and found the best place to see the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco!
Golden Gate Bridge
We started off the day by not venturing too far from our sketchy apartment in the Tenderloin and visited the Asian Art Museum. This museum is one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of Asian Art in the world. Starting on the third floor, the museum takes you through different Asian countries by displaying art from the area from ancient times all the way to the present day. We spent quite a bit of time reading the descriptions and listening to information about the pieces of art in the first few areas (South Asia, the Persian World, Southeast Asia, the Himalayas and the Tibetan Buddhist World), so when we came to China, Korea, and Japan, we had run out of steam. We could have easily spent an entire day there.
One of the most interesting parts of the museum was learning about some Asian religions and their deities, as most of the older sculptures were based on religious figures.
One of the most interesting parts of the museum was learning about some Asian religions and their deities, as most of the older sculptures were based on religious figures.
After eating lunch at the cafe in the museum (and perusing the gift shop), we made our way to Fisherman's Wharf to hop on a Hop-on Hop-off tour. In general, we didn't find the public transit in San Francisco to be great so we figured that a Hop-on Hop-off tour would be a good way to get around the city and get a feel for most of the neighbourhoods. Plus, one of them was included on our GO Card!
It probably makes sense at this point to mention that before we went to San Francisco, we each purchased a 5 Day GO Card, which gave us access to many of the attractions in the city. For us, the initial $133 was definitely worth it because once we totalled up the attractions we ended up visiting, we realized that we each saved $100 on admission prices! Not to mention that we were in Yosemite for one of the days on our card, so we actually only used it for 4 days. It's definitely something to look into if you're going to be in San Francisco, and was well worth it for us.
As it turns out, the Hop-on Hop-off bus that we ended up riding on was designed like a cable car, and was as close as we got to a cable car while we were in the city. Once we left Fisherman's Wharf, the bus took us through Little Italy, Chinatown, the Financial District, Market St, Union Square, to the Civic Centre, Haight and Ashbury, and Golden Gate Park before we hopped off to see Fort Point National Historic Site.
It probably makes sense at this point to mention that before we went to San Francisco, we each purchased a 5 Day GO Card, which gave us access to many of the attractions in the city. For us, the initial $133 was definitely worth it because once we totalled up the attractions we ended up visiting, we realized that we each saved $100 on admission prices! Not to mention that we were in Yosemite for one of the days on our card, so we actually only used it for 4 days. It's definitely something to look into if you're going to be in San Francisco, and was well worth it for us.
As it turns out, the Hop-on Hop-off bus that we ended up riding on was designed like a cable car, and was as close as we got to a cable car while we were in the city. Once we left Fisherman's Wharf, the bus took us through Little Italy, Chinatown, the Financial District, Market St, Union Square, to the Civic Centre, Haight and Ashbury, and Golden Gate Park before we hopped off to see Fort Point National Historic Site.
Fort Point was designed and put in place by the American military at the height of the gold rush, and has sat at the mouth of the Golden Gate for over 150 years. Although the fort was in place for the American Civil War, and was used as temporary housing for soldiers in WWII, the fort never had to be defended and no shots were fired at the enemy.
We were interested in visiting Fort Point because we love exploring forts, it was free, and the fort is right underneath the Golden Gate Bridge! How cool is that?!
We were interested in visiting Fort Point because we love exploring forts, it was free, and the fort is right underneath the Golden Gate Bridge! How cool is that?!
Inside Fort Point
We thoroughly enjoyed wandering around top floor of the fort which provided a great view of the San Francisco Bay Area, the Golden Gate Bridge, as well as the Pacific Ocean. We were amazed by the unique viewpoint and it quickly became one of our favourite spots in San Francisco. While we were there, we also watched a video about the building of the Golden Gate Bridge, which included extensive footage of its construction during the 1930's. It was a nice bonus, and considering how iconic the Golden Gate Bridge is, we were surprised at how little information we came across during our time in the city.
Although we thoroughly enjoyed Fort Point, it seems to be overlooked by tourists and locals alike. When we visited, we almost had the fort to ourselves, and none of the locals we met had even heard of the place!
Once we pulled ourselves away from the beautiful vistas, we climbed back up the hill to catch the Hop-on Hop-off bus once again. The tour continued across the bridge, back again, into the Presidio and the Marina District before heading back to Fisherman's Wharf. We struggled to find some cheap food for supper but settled on Bento Boxes. That evening, we met up for drinks with some more of the people Elizabeth had met at Grad Induction. Unfortunately there was a bit of a mix up in location, but we made it in the end!
In case you missed them, here are links to our previous blog posts about this trip:
A Week in San Francisco (Part I)
Napa Valley Monday
A Week in San Francisco (Part II)
Yosemite Wednesday
And here are the rest of the posts from our trip:
Muir Woods Friday
A Week in San Francisco (Part IV)
Finally, here are some more photos from another day in San Francisco:
Although we thoroughly enjoyed Fort Point, it seems to be overlooked by tourists and locals alike. When we visited, we almost had the fort to ourselves, and none of the locals we met had even heard of the place!
Once we pulled ourselves away from the beautiful vistas, we climbed back up the hill to catch the Hop-on Hop-off bus once again. The tour continued across the bridge, back again, into the Presidio and the Marina District before heading back to Fisherman's Wharf. We struggled to find some cheap food for supper but settled on Bento Boxes. That evening, we met up for drinks with some more of the people Elizabeth had met at Grad Induction. Unfortunately there was a bit of a mix up in location, but we made it in the end!
In case you missed them, here are links to our previous blog posts about this trip:
A Week in San Francisco (Part I)
Napa Valley Monday
A Week in San Francisco (Part II)
Yosemite Wednesday
And here are the rest of the posts from our trip:
Muir Woods Friday
A Week in San Francisco (Part IV)
Finally, here are some more photos from another day in San Francisco:
