Day two in Ca.
We woke up to a beautiful, bright morning. The weather was definitely on our side, Alhamdulilah. Me and hubby excitedly got ready for the big day. MB dropped us to Lawrence Station from where we boarded the Cal-Train to San Fran. Boy, was I excited! We knew we wouldn’t have too much time on us, so we wanted to cram in as much as possible. The lovely Californian landscape whizzed by us and an hour later we stepped on the Promised Land.
Javed’s a seasoned traveler and so the first thing he did was buy tourist passes to ride the Muni buses (intra-city transport) for the whole day and then we headed towards the Fisherman’s Wharf. What struck us were the streets in SF. Each looks like a giant slide! All streets seem to originate on some steep hill and end in the sea. The incline is such you could practically roll down like Jack ‘n Jill on them! We also passed China-Town and frankly, it seemed more like an exotic Mumbai muhalla with throngs of crowds, only the people here were of Chinese origin.
Like a typical tourist, I clicked pictures of almost everything I saw, hoping to capture the essence of the moment. My suggestion to anyone silly enough like me: carry an extra battery with you- before long, your camera will be out and you will wonder why you had to click the same street from five different angles. I kept ooh-ing and aah-ing at whatever I saw when Javed told me to look to the right instead. The sight took my breath away. There before me was the most spectacular scene: a sparklingly azure sea, white gulls soaring over dreamy clouds and quaint ships and yachts dotting the expanse. I scarcely think pictures can do justice to experience. Some things are great not so much because of their extraordinariness but because they have been experienced. I stood there, inhaling the excitement. Was this for real? The Ghirardelli chocolate outlet stood opposite, a vintage car fair just in front, all types of people scurrying about me, and then the trams! Oh, those lovely, classic trams! Trademark San Fransisco. I was enjoying every single bit of it. But the best was yet to come. The Golden Gate Bridge was what we were here for. MB gave us the best way to see it-take a cruise under it! So we lined up at the queue at Fisherman’s Wharf for two golden tickets. Yessirs, an entire childhood spent watching the red suspension bridge on Full House and here I was, on my way to actually see it, for real.
We hop on the ship with a troupe of excited Japanese tourists. I jostle in to the stern for a better view but there are just too many people. We are given audio kits for a running commentary of the things we see on the cruise. The Japanese shriek with excitement and start taking pictures feverishly. I don’t yet have a great view because everyone wants a picture of themselves at the stern with the bridge in the background. Sigh. Why must everyone be so obvious? I wrestle in further. I want a shot like that too! Javed tells me to be patient; the bridge’s still miles away, he says. I chuck the audio after a while. I mean it’s great and educational, but I want to breathe in the sea air and drink in the calm instead. Besides, there are gulls flying with wings outspread just over our heads! After a while I give up the camera too. I can’t keep up with my Japanese counterparts and besides, I want an experience too – not just pictures. We inch closer and I feel a new surge of excitement. There it is, the grand, Golden Gate Bridge. I try listening to the audio again, about its architectural design and all, but my hands are frozen numb by now and I can’t care much. I look up at the magnificent structure and am awestruck. What beauty, Mashalah. Honestly, it’s splendid. Under the bridge, people are wind surfing. ‘Are they mad?’ I think. It’s choppy cold and they are prancing about in the iciness! Silly Adventurers!
The ship begins to turn around as we pass under the bridge. There’s my moment. Just a year ago and it feels like some distant dream now. We head backwards, but not before we close in near the Alcatraz Prison Island. Oh yes, the same ‘The Rock’ Alcatraz. The deadly dungeon; real life Azkaban. We could have toured inside too, but no time. The ship moves back to the wharf and I get an amazing view of the SF skyline. Right at the top stands Coit Tower and like a trail of an eclectic red carpet gown, follows the rest of the city. After we step out, I can barely feel my hands. They are stiff cold and I need something to warm me up. I really do. So we head to Ghirardelli for some- well, what else, hot chocolate of course! And they are giving away complimentary Ghirardelli squares at the cash counter. I am hungry too, so I pick up two each, for Javed and me. Needless to say, Javed is shock embarrassed. Oh well. I am like that only.
We browse around the local market and buy post cards and a SF fridge magnet- one of my prized possessions. It still hangs proudly on my bedroom cupboard! Anyway, it’s evening already and there’s yet loads to see. We still have to get on one of those cable cars and then walk down Lombard Street- the crookedest street on earth. Well at least, that’s all we can cram in before it’s time to catch the train again. The line for the more ‘touristy’ tram cars is hundreds of meters long, so with much heavy hearts we decide to give the ride a miss. Instead we board a rather boring version of the same, which as it so happens, is even slower than the cyclists on the road. When we finally are done with the drab fantasy trip, we decided to take a bus to Lombard. Not a very bright idea, it turns out, because we lost a good deal of our already limited time in switching buses and then walking up the dreadfully steep roads to finally reach there. The roads were so steep that the cars parked on the sides looked as if they were all poised to go down a slide! Of course that also meant a rough work out for both of us. It was literally a battle against gravity.
After much huffing and puffing we finally reach the summit and look down at the sinuous Lombard. We can see the Coit twinkle in the twilight and car after car rolls down the serpentine landmark. Wow. It’s past sun down but hubby can’t get enough of the city so we linger on for one last stop. The City Hall. After that, it’s Cal Train again. Hungry, tired and sleepy we look forward to the Halal Chinese meal MB has ordered for us. Hmmmm. Seriously, a delicious end to our yummy day!
