Golden Gate Bridge Walk

Having visitors from home is a great excuse to get out and explore San Francisco. So when our friends Kylie, Joel and Sebastian visited recently we knew we had to do something we hadn't done in a long time: walk across the Golden Gate Bridge.

The Golden Gate Bridge is one of those landmark structures that amazes me every time I see it no matter how often that is (I can see it from our apartment). Every time it pops into view it's a reminder of what a fantastic part of the world we live in. It's magical in much the same way that the Eiffel Tower appearing from behind a building feels magical when you visit Paris. Or the Empire State Building in New York. Or the Harbour Bridge in Sydney (five years of seeing that one almost every day and I was still in awe!).

While we've driven across the Golden Gate Bridge many times, this was only the second time we've walked across it. The first time was a very cold, windy and grey December day back when we first arrived from Australia. We made the mistake of getting off the bus on the San Francisco side and walking towards the Marin Headlands. While the view was lovely, it wasn't the view we really wanted to see - that being the city. When we arrived at the other side we found ourselves a little stranded. We couldn't find the bus stop to head back and Ava was terrified of stepping foot on the bridge again. Eventually a very nice tour bus driver offered to take us back across free of charge. We made sure to give him a nice fat tip!

This time around we knew to catch the bus across the bridge and get off on the Marin side. What we did not know, however, was that we needed to swipe our Clipper cards out when we got off the bus (it's not usually required) and we were all charged the full price for the bus that continues all the way to Santa Rosa! Oops. I guess we learned something new for the next time we cross the bridge!

After spending a little time at the lookout we made our way across the mighty span. We were lucky to have absolutely perfect weather. Sunny without being too sunny, a slight breeze to keep us cool, and a bright blue sky filled with puffy white clouds. Perfect.

Here's a look at our walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. Prepare for a lot of "International Orange"!

This time around Ava was not scared of being on the bridge. Last time she was quite freaked out by the cars zooming past so close. The cold, windy weather didn't do much to put her at ease either. She was a little nervous in the lead up to the walk this time but once we started she realised it wasn't so scary after all. In the end both Ava and Lola really enjoyed walking across the bridge and taking in all of the views. Mathilde slept in her wrap for most of the walk. Lazy baby!

 

I love having such a monumental landmark in such close proximity to where we live. We'll have to make sure it's not another three years before we talk a walk across it again!