We had two full days in San Francisco. We stayed in Oakland and caught the BART train into town on our first day, where we strolled around Union Square, walked to Chinatown where we found amazing food for lunch, and did a “tea tasting” where we tried different types of tea and eventually bought some tea with coconut pieces in it.

 

 

 

 

We then jumped on a cable car, which is it pretty different experience from the one in Wellington – instead of going straight up a hill it goes all over town.

 

 

We took it to Fisherman’s Wharf, where we sampled the famous Ghirardelli chocolates, saw the seals (the population was a bit depleted since it is summertime) and bought volcano bread (bread with garlic and cheese baked into the middle).  We then strolled all the way along the wharf to where we caught the BART back to Oakland.

 

 

On our next day in San Francisco, we drove over the Bay Bridge, through town and across the Golden Gate bridge, where we parked and walked back across the bridge. The bridge was windy and cold but offered stunning views of the city.

 

 

From there, we headed out to the Muir Woods Redwood forests, where we walked among the California Redwoods and admired their height.

 

 

 

Leaving San Francisco, we made a special stop at the Jelly Belly Factory Store, where we did a free tour, got free samples, and bought some jelly beans. Sadly I learned later that day that putting chocolate beans in with regular ones leads to rather messy beans! Going to the factory was both fun and delicious.