San Fran City Tour Narrated by Chris and Joanna

Simple task - drive to Golden Gate Park and go on a walk. We had a map and a general idea of how to get there, but we wanted to make sure, so we spoke with the Concierge at our hotel. Well, instead of getting just a simple answer, we were given a ten minute education about the various (paid) city tours that were avaialable. Not only that, the Concierge informed us that she would be able to give us the tour for free if we were willing to go to a ninety minute presentation about the new timeshares that Sheraton was building in Napa Valley. But wait, there's more. If we went to the presentation, not only would we receive the narrated city tour for free, but she would also give us $75 for dinner. When we informed her we didn't have the time, she offered us a secondary city tour and $50 for attending the presentation (I'll say one thing, she was persistent). When we informed her again that we did not have the time (nor the desire - though we didn't say that), she relented and offered us the directions to Golden Gate Park.

Once at Golden Gate Park, we parked near the Conservatory of Flowers and started our journey. Walking along the path, we found the DeYoung Museum and went inside (mostly to take refuge from the strong winds), but found a lovely art museum as well. When we had been cultured enough (and warm again), we left and continued along the path until we discovered the Japanese Tea Garden.

The Garden itself is beautifully landscaped with several koi ponds, pogodas and shrines. There is even a small river, that one man commented with, "It looks like Willy Wonka's river, except with tea and not chocolate."

After our 15 minute stroll through the garden, we wandered down the path and into the Botanical Gardens. After only a few minutes there, we left and returned to the Conservatory of Flowers. We would have liked to have gone in, as it is a remarkable building full of flowers and a butterfly exhibit. But, as the Conservatory was free yesterday, everyone wanted in and we were not going to wait for almost an hour.

Getting back on the road and continuing our own city tour, we drove through the Haight Ashbury area of San Francisco and saw all the hippies that were still there.

The hippies were fun, but we wanted to continue our tour, so we made our way toward City Hall, which really, looked like St. Peter's Basillica. Speaking of churches, we passed by Grace Cathedral, which was like an image out of a movie.

From the Cathedral, we headed toward Nob Hill, going up and then down several of the famous "steep streets" of San Francisco. However, nothing will ever compare to the famous "Crookedest Street", Lombard. Using our handy dandy tour guide map, Joanna found the way to the top of Lombard street. Taking our time, because of the turns, we proceeded downhill. There are some amazing views from that street, though I was paying more attention to the road and the fact that the homeowners have their personal driveways on Lombard Street!

After more sightseeing, we headed back to our hotel and, thanks to Joanna's map reading skills, we were able to find our way back without getting lost. Guess she's a pretty good Indian Guide (even without being an Indian).