NO more chocolate please

We took the courtesy bus back to the airport, fortunately it wasn't yesterday's driver who Richard had expressed some displeasure to owing to the lateness of the hour and the fact that our modest little Holiday Inn Express was the last hotel drop off. We then took the train back to town and walked. We notice that all Americans have got excellent white teeth, and this is one of their gifts to the world and is perhaps why they all smile. They are just as polite as can be and even when you knock into them they say "And how are you today" as if they know you and might give you a kiss if you leant towards them.
Liz was allowed into two shops! and there are some of you out there who may benefit in a modest way. She now has a pair of Puma shoes and looking down at them thinks they look so good that they might be a pair of feet from an advertisement. Having worn almost nothing but open shoes whilst we were in Aus and NZ, this American spring has a distinctly chilly feel. So well equipped we could have walked for miles but because the trams and buses are so good and you can travel as an OAP for 50 cents, we rode down towards Market and then went along the Embarquolade passing the old wharves which are mostly now turned into warehouses for the bustling shopping area which constitutes San Fran high life. This goes all the way along to Fisherman's Wharf via Pier 39 which is a proper pier with a mass of restaurants all with the same menu, lots of souvenir shops and a roundabout. One of the sights though is to see the sea lions who arrived here after an earthquake shook them from wherever they were before. They lie in considerable piles of family on the different platforms which float along the side of the pier, mostly they were asleep but still put on a bit of a show for the tourists watching them. There was a great sweetie shop with barrels of sweeties and Liz was also allowed in here, not for long though but long enough Sophie, Lottie and Eleanor to come out with sweeties that fizz. Back on another 50 cent bus to the actual Fisherman's Wharf famed for crab chowder served in sourdough baskets, scooped out sourdough loaves with the chowder inside. We watched the bread being made through the window of Boudins, an old Bakery. Although some of it is hand made, mostly there are great bits of machine which knead it and steam it and shape the loaves because they need so many. These are then sent along in baskets overhead to the shop end where they are tipped into more baskets and sold or else they have their heads chopped off for the chowder to be put inside. We walked along to a restaurant where we had crab and that very good bread. This was very good but almost as good was the party in the middle of the restaurant who were celebrating several birthdays of several different members and they took up a lot of room and had us guessing who was related to who and whose child was whose. This is probably what happens when you have been travelling for so long! We just kept enough room to go to Ghirandelli's chocolate shop. DO THIS any of you and yes DO GET the huge chocolate sundae and DO GET TWO spoons for one because even the most intrepid chocolate eating person won't get through one on their own. We didn't want to do any more walking after this even with those good walking shoes, we just wanted to come back to the Holiday Inn Express and lie down and never eat anything again.