Back from the Bay

I recently returned from my 4 day trip to San Francisco and I loved it! I found it to be a fantastic city, a little damp and cloudy, but fantastic none the less. My favorite things about San Fran include the diagonal cross-walks and the firmness with which public transit employees tell you what you can't do ("YOU are not getting on with that apple"). I did not enjoy the number of umbrellas that I had to content with on the sidewalk.

I spent about half my time at the conference (which went well, especially the talks on glaciers) and the rest of the time exploring the city. Keeping in mind that I really only had three days to sight-see, I think I did quite well.

I visited Chinatown, the Financial District and Fisherman's Wharf in one exhausting afternoon. My travels included a lot of up and down, a failed attempt to ride the old fashioned trolley to the wharf and a wonderful visit to the Aquarium of the Bay. The aquarium was definitely one of the highlights of the day - I spent a good hour watching sharks swim above me and I've never felt so peaceful. I also saw the famous sea lions at Pier 39 and the Bay Bridge from Pier 1. I did manage to catch a trolley back to my hotel that night which was worth the wait, if a little scary.

The streets of china town.

And what is a trip to San Francisco without a trip to the Golden Gate Bridge? My last day of the trip was spent visiting this site. It was cloudy, but luckily it didn't cloud over until we got across so we did get to see the bridge in most of its glory. The best part of the walk was seeing the sea lions playing in the waves under the bridge.

The Golden Gate Bridge.

I returned to Calgary on a turbulent but otherwise uneventful flight and am looking forward to a little relaxing before the busyness of Christmas fully hits.

The full suite of photos is here. And if you want to see more photos of past trips, I've put Africa here too.