The Golden Gate

The second day saw us return to pier 39, where we went around the aquarium and booked a tour of the San Francisco coastline by boat. The aquarium - much like any aquarium- was full of a diverse range of underwater life, and were even pools to reach in and touch baby sharks and rays. The real treat came later on. The tour round the picturesque bay was brilliant, sailing first under the Golden Gate Bridge then round the Island that holds the ex-prison of Alcatraz. I even saw a dolphin! 

The following day we had a night tour of Alcatraz. If you are going to go around the former prison, I would certainly recommend it in the dark, the views back towards San Francisco were spectacular and the night adds to the atmosphere of the place. Must've been torture for the prisoners of 'The Rock' to be so close to the city. 

The vintage Arcade

We spent a lot of time around the Fisherman's Wharf area during the week, It's an area where it is so easy to loose a day wandering around. One of the highlights of the area was a vintage arcade called Musee Mechanique which we just stumbled upon whilst wandering. We were confronted with a plethora of vintage arcade machines. From mechanically operated model farms and saw mills to original Pacman machines, you could spend hours - and lots of money - in this place. 

San Francisco continues to surprise.