Rainforest Cafe, San Francisco

Nestled at the busy road near to the Fisherman's Wharf , close to Ripley's Believe it or Not and to the Hop-On Hop-Off sightseeing tour bus stop, Rainforest Cafe is an inviting place for any kid!

What is the most impressive of the Rainforest Cafe is the ambience. You dont have to travel far to dine in a tropical rainforest setting. Its's a safari for the senses - the feel of mists, the sound of cascading waterfalls and incredible visuals of lush vegetation complete with animated wildlife and live tropical fish.

Their food menu contains an array of delicious items and tropical treats, from appetizers and exotic salads to creative entrees such as pastas, burgers, seafood, steaks and chicken. The food however is very pricey. But its a decent trade-off for the ambience that it provides with the entertaining animatronic gorillas , trumpeting elephants and many more... The one food item that we really enjoyed was the sparkling VOLCANO dessert. It was mouth watering!! Dont miss it, if you are visiting the Rainforest Cafe.

In addition to this, Rainforest Cafe also orgainizes Educational Programs where they educate on the World's Rain forests, threatened and endagered species and conservation efforts.

Next time you visit San Francisco, have a tropical lunch at Rainforest Cafe..

Hop-On Hop-Off sight seeing tour, San Francisco

For any tourist visiting San Francisco, a Hop-On Hop-Off Open top sight seeing is a must tour. From the hustle and bustle of  Fisherman's Wharf to the peaceful tranquility of Golden Gate Park, there is no better way to see San Francisco than from the top of an Open Top double decker bus. You can hop on and hop off at any of the 20 spots that the buses have throughout the entire duration of your ticket.

There are multiple operators with prices ranging from $35 per adult ( Child - $20 ) for a 24 hour ticket to $45 per adult ( Child - $25 ) for a 48 hour tickets which take us around the San Francisco City. They also have a panoramic night tour which is priced at $20 per adult ( Child - $10 ) . In some buses there is a guide who travels along with us and explains the history associated with each place. In some others they have a recorded commentary in a choice of 10 languages. I have personally enjoyed the recorded commentary because sitting on the Open top you might not hear the guide's live commentary clearly because of the noise around.

Some of the tours also provide Free bike rental for an hour and also a walking tour of China Town and North Beach. Ask your tour operator about these freebies!

I have listed down the stops that Open Top SightSeeing tour bus makes. Under each stop, the attractions near to the stop are listed. Use this to plan the places that you would like to visit in San Francisco city.

Stop1 : San Francisco Visitor Centre

           Attractions : Fisherman' wharf, shopping and restaurants

Stop 2: Activity Centre

           Attractions : Good for Fisherman's wharf, shopping, Powell-Hyde cable car, Rainforest Cafe, Ripley's Believe it or Not, Wax  Museum, Submarine, Navy ship

Stop 3: Washington Square

           Attractions : North Beach, Little Italy, historical site, restaurants, shopping, beauty spot

Stop 4: North Beach, Little Italy

           Attractions : North Beach, Little Italy, historical site

Stop 5: Embarcadero

           Attractions : Beauty spot, wild parrots, close to Ferry Building and Farmers Market

Stop 6: Union Square South

           Attractions : Shopping, restaurants, Cable Cars

Stop 7: Civic Center

           Attractions : Asian Art museum, central library

Stop 8: Fulton Street

           Attractions : Symphony Hall, Opera Theatre

Stop 9: Alamo Square

           Attractions : Painted Ladies, Alamo Square Park

Stop 10: Haight Ashbury

            Attractions : Haight and Ashbury area, restaurants, shopping

Stop 11: Golden Gate Park

            Attractions : California Academy of Sciences, Japanese Tea Garden, DeYoung museum, Botanical Gardens

Stop 12: Golden Gate Bridge South

            Attractions : Great views of the bridge and the bay. You can walk or bike on the bridge before 6 PM

Stop 13: Golden Gate Bridge North

            Attractions : Great views of the bridge and the bay. You can walk or bike on the bridge before 6 PM

Stop 14: Palace of Fine Arts

            Attractions : Exploratorium, Presidio Park, Marina, shopping

Stop 15: Lombard Street 1

             Attractions : Union street shopping, restaurants, Marina district

Stop 16: Lombard Street 2

             Attractions : Crooked street

Stop 17: Union Square North

             Attractions : Post street, Union square, shopping, restaurants, cable cars

Stop 18: China Town

             Attractions : China Town, shopping, restaurants

Stop 19: Steuart Street

             Attractions : Embarcadero, restaurants, Cupids Bow, Bay Bridge views

Stop 20: Pier 39

             Aquarium of the Bay, sea lions, restaurants, shopping

Hope this helps. Happy touring!

A visit to the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco

The other day, when I went to San Francisco to watch the Air Show, I took some time off and hopped on to the Hop-On Hop-Off San Francisco tour bus to see the history and culture of San Francisco. On the way to the Golden gate bridge, the bus stopped at the Golden Gate park. Thats when I remembered one of my friend's suggestion .. "If you are going to San Francisco, dont miss the California Academy of Sciences".. So I decided to check out the place..

As I entered the science museum after paying an entrance fee of $35, I was impressed by the architecture of the place. Its the only place on the planet where we can explore an aquarium, planetarium and natural history museum under one living roof!

First the planetarium!

I decided to check the planetarium show first. The planetarium show named "Earthquake" delved into the science behind earthquakes and plate tectonics and showed how they shape the landscape in which life evolved. You are given a walkthrough through the model of the Earth, experience simulated earthquakes and learn how to prepare for future seismic events. There are certain footages from the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 in the show. Overall a nice and enthralling experience. Also the host gave some live news of the earthquakes that were happening on that day.. And would you believe it.. there were more than 130 minor and major earthquakes happening around the globe on that day.. Yikeess!

Asteroid show:

While the upper part of the planetarium was used for the Earthquake show, the lower portion was used for the Asteroid show.. well more like an asteroid class. The host explained on what asteroids were, their orbits and how they impact our life on earth. After watching the "Earthquake" show, I was a bit letdown by this class. It suited the kids much more than adults..

Next the Steinhart Aquarium:

We are taken into a living rainforest amidst free-flying birds and butterflies. There were 2000 odd reel fish darting through a technicolor forest of coral,  watch the remarkable camouflage of the leafy seadragon and saw many other animals from around the world. My favourite was the huge anaconda!

Hey, dont miss Claude, the white albino aligator at the Swamp.. 

Living Roof!

Its a 2.5 acre expanse of native California plants that provide superior insulation, prevents storm water runoff, reduce urban heat island effect and create a new habitat for bees, butterflies and other local wildlife. Be careful... there is a very high security for the butterflies out there.. All your pockets are checked for butterflies when you come out :-) literally..

Nightlife:

I also came to know that on every Thursday between 6.00 PM to 10.00 PM the Academy is open for visitors, wherein you can do star-gazing on the living roof while enjoying music, science , cocktails and entertainment.. Well, what more do you want!!

By then, it was time for me to go. I  got a quick bite from "The Academy Cafe" and bought a couple of souvenirs from the "Academy store"  hoping to come back again.. Yes, you guessed it right.. On a Thursday evening !!

Location: Golden Bridge Park, San Francisco

Timings : 

              Monday to Saturday 9.30 AM - 5 PM

              Sunday 11 AM - 5 PM

              Thursday Nightlife : 6.00 PM - 10 PM 

Entrance : $35

Website : https://www.calacademy.org