Pier 39 is famous for its shops, eateries and street entertainers. We headed
straight to a little restaurant for sourdough bowls full of clam chowder. It
proved very messy to eat soup out of edible bowls, and to eat the bowl as you
went along, but was fun and actually quite practical, saving on washing up.
Thus fortified we were ready to hit the shops.
It was quite interesting wandering along, mainly window-shopping
because everything was exorbitant. Entertainment wise we enjoyed seeing
the sea lions, which crowd the end of the pier. Before we caught a glimpse of
these huge beasts our olfactory sense was assaulted by their smell, imagine
regurgitated sardines on a hot day, but ignoring common sense we still
proceeded round the edge of the buildings to where the sea lions congregate.
And there were dozens of them. They covered all available surfaces along
one corner of pier 39 and the next pier. When they ran out of room they just
sat on top of each other. It was definitely a sight to behold - though not
somewhere to linger, even though some people were doing just that –
perhaps they were suffering from heavy head colds? We took some
photographs, though they did not really do justice to the experience. Perhaps
recognizing this fact, one large sea lion tried to help us capture the spirit of the
event by regurgitating his lunch while we took a photo. Sadly the seagulls that
rushed in to feast before the delivery had even hit the deck blocked the shot.
Lovely.
We soon left the pier, after the sea lions everything else just seemed a bit dull,
and spent the early evening catching a variety of street cars and buses as we