The nice thing, sometimes, is that on business trips, one may get an opportunity, sometimes, to explore the city, town or countryside of your visit. This, of course, depends on how long you are visiting, or if you even have time between work, seminars, networking, teas, coffees and other nibbling stuff, to even breathe. Well, the other half had a little time “after-all-the-business-was-done-and-dusted” to explore the sights and sounds of San Francisco, yay!  And the grass widow, boo-hoo, so wishes she could have been there too, but oh well, at least she can drool over all these wonderful photos!!

The famous Pier 39. On offer? Big whales and bigger ships (in the background, right).

OMW! This is a BIG cruise liner! Called the Grand Princess. Hmmm, see all those people lining up just to get in and get going to hula-hula Hawaii… Amazing!

Hi there, *growl* please come into my shop and spend! A cute little faux bear, ooh scary, welcoming you at a tourist shop on Pier 39.   😉

Californian sea lions, en masse, basking in the warm sun. Oh what a life! They’re probably THE attraction on the pier. Loud, smelly and funny! They are also under protection, so please, no harassment. Some of these pier boards must be more desirable than the others, because they’re so over-crowded. Must be a man thing   😀

“Any good fish today?”…or probably…”Gerrrroff, this is my space!” See the beauty on the right? Not all seagulls are white and grey…interesting…

A building in Spear Street (left) and the famous cable car in Jackson Street (right).

The financial district, as seen from Pier 14 (left). Hmm…just wondering who the scrumptious looking person is standing on the pier. Great pose there, honey, wink wink.

Another famous ‘talking point’ is this sculpture on the left called the Cupid’s Span, in a small park overlooking the San Francisco Bay, a bit of which you can see on the right. Although it was inspired by the reputation that San Francisco is the home port of Eros, one could also ‘interpret’ it as ship, or bridge maybe…Nah, prefer the love thing!!

Now who has never heard of the oldest and famous Chinatown in North America? Birthplace of the westernised chop suey and dim sum, yumm-yumm? And then there’s a quaint little cafe on the corner of Lombard and Columbus streets for a sip of coffee or some other titbits.

Aah, the famous cable cars! Featured in many films, showing stars running after them, hopping in, or dangling on the pole before jumping out, not even waiting for it to stop. An interesting fact is that the cable car is operated by two people, a conductor and a ‘gripman’, which on other cable cars would be called the driver. The gripman needs lots of muscle power and skill, as he has to manually grip the lever for the cables and also activate the brakes. Oh, and in the history of the San Francisco Cable Cars, there’s been only two ‘gripwomen’. Yay! Girl Power!

The USS Pampanito World War II submarine on Pier 45, which is now a museum. It was named after a fish, the pompano. One can see the famous or infamous Alcatraz in the background. Oh, and a cute little seagull posing on the deck.

Another World War II ship, the SS Jeremiah O’Brien, which survived Normandy and is, to this day, fully functional and a living museum.

Alcatraz! or the ‘Rock’. Part time ‘home’ of Al Capone and many other notorious and not so famous criminals. Where no-one could escape, but many tried, and some were apparently successful…well, up to this day they have not been found…apparently…

The Golden Gate Bridge, famous landmark and tourist attraction, since 1933…These photographs have been shot from different angles and viewpoints. Great pictures!!

A pair of Western Gulls and a lonely Brown Pelican. Birds, birds, posing birds…    😉

Kirby Cove, a national recreation area at the Golden Gate. This spectacular shimmering vista is a wonderful and breathtaking end to an exciting visit to San Francisco.