mybigadventures.com

As we had got in late yesterday, we had a slightly more leisurely morning. We did wake up quite early, but dozed for a while. I went down to Starbucks next door and got tea (I keep forgetting that you have to order ‘hot tea’ here, and you need to ask them to leave ‘room for milk’ as they don’t drink it like us Brits!) and chocolatines - they had even warmed up the chocolatines, so they were extra-tasty, chocolatey goodness! We had showers and then had a chat with Lorna, Audrey, and mum and dad via Skype, catching up and telling them about our activities.

We headed out, planning to withdraw some cash for the day. Started to use the cash machine, although found out that it would charge us a flat fee of $5, so changed our mind. Then changed it back again - instead, we decided to withdraw more, to make the fee more palatable. So, we nipped back to the hotel to leave the extra cash in our room safe.

Then, we headed out properly. We got the tram to the Ferry building and switched onto the F-line around Fisherman’s Wharf, getting off near the bike rental place we had seen before. Stopped to use the restroom on the way, only to end up waiting for 10 minutes as they had closed them for ‘cleaning’ and they were the only local loos! Some American bloke and his kid also tried pushing in, but an loquacious American woman started on him - quite a bit of excitement so early in the day!

Went to the bike shop and got hooked up with a tandem and snazzy helmets! The lady chatted on about some directions, but there were quite a few and, by the end, I couldn’t even remember which way we were supposed to leave the shop! Dani decided she would take the back seat, so I took the helm though I did find it quite difficult to get my leg over the bike frame - I blame the jeans - clearly, not biking gear! So, we set off on our ride - somewhat wobbly to begin with.

We cycled around towards the Golden Gate Bridge, stopping for photos a few times. We used the gorilla pod to take one of us and the bike, and a lady offered to take a photo when we got to a pier just before the bridge. Whilst at the pier, we had a little sit and a hot dog from ‘Let’s Be Frank’, a hot dog stand - it was very tasty. We then began the cycling part of the journey again.

There were some steep bits to get up to the bridge and, once there, there were lots of people in the bike lane, so Ben kept ringing the bell. A little further along, we got stopped by a bridge man, who told us that we were supposed to be cycling on the other side (pedestrians on one side, bikes on the other). I think the lady at the shop might have mentioned this - oops! So, once on the right side of the bridge, we got up some big speed. There were a few hairy moments, but we managed not to crash - result! It was a bit windy on the way across and, when we got to the other side, we decided to cycle back again, rather than waiting for the ferry. On the way back across, we stopped to take some pictures of a tall ship that was sailing under the bridge. We kept on zooming on, after a ‘Kodak moment’ and sped back down - it was distinctly warmer off the bridge!

We rode back towards Fisherman’s wharf, stopping at a Safeway (of all places!) on the way - Ben looked after the bike whilst I went in, getting some muffins, crisps and water - a mini crap run! Were planning to go across to the Golden Gate Park, but we realised that it was still a good distance away and it was already gone 5 PM. So we continued along, back to the bike shop - there were a few hairy moments when Ben zoomed downhill at super-speed, but I just closed my eyes! Returned the bike, suffering slightly from saddle bottom. It had cost $60 for the day.

Having dropped the bike, we decided it was beer o’clock - we went to Applebees for a drink, sitting on the balcony, under a heater - nice! After, we strolled to the F-line stop, having figured out where it goes now! Except the tram was packed when it came past! Managed to find a different stop by following the tracks to a different point. Made it back to Union Square. We looked around for somewhere to eat, but places seemed quite expensive. Decided to go to the Cheesecake Factory in Macy’s - but it was absolutely rammed! Totally rammed! As our feet were tired, we made it down a level, to Macy’s ‘Burger Bar’ and settled in. We had a pitcher of Budweiser and three mini-burgers each, with fries and onion rings - about $70, including tip. A little pricey, but we walked away - stumbled, might be more accurate - very stuffed! And so, to bed!

We had a slightly later start today, only just making it down for breakfast. We decided to catch the B line train over to the Vittorio Emanuele monument, stopping at Colesseo and walking the rest of the way. The monument is very grand is home to a couple of museums and the tomb of the unknown soldier. You can climb up part of the way for free, and able to admire the views of the surrounding landscape including colesseo which can't be seen from the other viewpoints we've visited (castle St Angelo, St Peter's basilica). You can also get the elevator to the very top for 7 Euros, so we did. 

The view from the top was fantastic! You could see a lot further at the top. It was very hot in the sun but there was some shade cast at either end of the viewing platform and a welcome breeze, so we sat and cooled down for a while. One of the sights we saw was one that looked a little like the colesseum - half a circle in diameter and made up of large archways. According to the map, it was the Teatro Marcello and was surrounded by a number of ancient columns, so we decided to make that our next stop. We made our way towards it, stopping to take some pictures and for some gelato en route.

The way to the Teatro building took us along some of the backstreets of Rome, winding in amongst the houses. When we got there, we wandered round. Some of the structure appears to have been replaced which highlights how worn the older stone is. It was very impressive surrounded by some complete and some broken columns and bits of ruin.

From there, we wandered towards and across the river, passing through isola (the island) on the way. There appeared to be various events set up - open air cinema, stages and restaurants - all along that stretch of river. Could be nice if you were about in the evening. We pottered about, stopping in a bar for a drink and a sit, before visiting the nearby church, Santa Maria, which has some beautiful mosaic work behind the alter. From there, we headed back to the hotel for a rest before dinner, catching the metro B line from circo massimo. Encountered our first !ertro derlays, however, and had to wait 45 minutes before there was a train we could squeeze into. Technical problems, apparently!

Had a rest at the hotel before heading out for tea. Returned to Meid in Nepols once more, as we enjoyed it before and it's so close. Again, enjoyed it, both of us having pasta this time and we returned to the hotel feeling very full and weary!

We made a start today at Starbucks for a spot of breakfast, they had run out of the breakfast rolls we were after but ended up with an 'everything bagel' each and a cup of tea. Whilst there, we made use of the WiFi to download some local maps of the areas we're visiting as it turns out that our mobile data doesnt work here. We also picked up a paper map from the hotel and headed out for a bit of an explore. Our first destination was Ripleys Aquarium which is rated one of the top attractions in Toronto, so we went to see what all the fuss was about. We bought tickets on the way in although it turns out it can be a little cheaper if you book, you can also buy an adventure card that covers some of the other attractions in Toronto, but we gave it a miss.

The aquarium was really quite good with a particularly good moving travelator that took you around and then through the main tank in a series of glass roofed tunnels. Besides the huge range of fish, there were sharks, mantarays and turtles all swiming above and around us. It was really impressive. Heading back outside into what turned out to be a very bright sunny day we headed around to have a look at the CN tower which is next door. There was a long queue and we decided to give it a miss, at least for now anyway. Instead we had a wander around a number of old trains that you can wander around that are part of the exhibit by the train museum. We didn't go to the museum but did have a walk around the trains that were out, spotting a number of black squirrels that seemed to be residents in the area.

We had some lunch at a nearby Subway before visiting the Steam Whistle Brewery which is also located in the old train sheds close to the train museum. We went on the brewery tour which was fairly short but included a couple of beers to sample before having a sit in the beer garden. As the afternoon was getting on a bit we headed back to the hotel for a short rest before heading out once more for dinner. We ended up at a British pub for dinner, with each of us ordering the Sunday roast beef dinner off the specials board. Perfect!