Thursday – July 16, 2015
We chose to stay on touristy Fisherman’s Wharf because of its proximity to public transportation and many major sights. We had a leisurely walk along the beach after breakfast and then took the cable car to Market Street.
The Girls stood on the outside for a thrilling ride across San Francisco. Han observed that the cable car is like an amusement park ride through the city. At the foot of Powell Street, we switched to one of the historic F-line trams. The bright green tram was originally from Naples, Italy. We were on our way to the Exploratorium at Pier 15.
As the website stated: “The Exploratorium isn’t just a museum; it’s an ongoing exploration of science, art, and human perception.” We all had so much fun, that we spent five hours there and reluctantly left because they were closing.
The Exploratorium was the first hands-on science museum when it opened in 1969. Today, at its new location on Pier 15, it has hundreds of new explore-it-yourself exhibits designed to help people learn about scientific phenomena.
We had a delicious sushi lunch outdoors overlooking the Bay Bridge. The weather was delightful: warm and sunny with a cool breeze blowing over the water.
We waited for the F tram back to the hotel, but it was delayed so we walked along the waterfront to touristy Pier 39. We found the sea lions who live on the docks at the western side of the pier and watched them for a while.
We explored Pier 39 and visited a taffy shop and other souvenir stores. Then we walked to Alioto’s for a seafood dinner. The Girls had rustic ‘cioppino’ in the shells. This is a delicious Italian-American fisherman’s stew made up of mussels, clams, shrimp, crabs, and chunks of fish in a tomato fish broth.
Alioto’s Cioppino