The drive into San Francisco is beautiful. Once you get into the city there's lots to see and do, but the crowds and noise have confirmed that we'd rather live further south on the 'Peninsula' and come into the city for bursts of fun.

Yesterday we covered the financial district, Union Square and its surrounding shops! (There is a huge Macy's and on the top floor there is the "Cheesecake Factory". Never before have I seen such a cake. You'd have to diet for a month after even one slice! We didn't indulge, but we did take advantage of the photo opportunity.)

We walked through Chinatown. And then took a 'cable car' to the tourist trap which is Fisherman's Warf and took a stroll down Pier 39 where we ate soup IN a roll (delicious!) and had superb views of the random sealion colony that has taken up residence just off the pier. There are also great views from there of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance.

One thing that is driving us mad is the Americans' habit of putting sugar in absolutely every product in the supermarket. So far we have had sweet salad dressing, and this morning our breakfast was ruined by SWEET wholegrain muffins... not even our marmite could overcome the saccarine taste of them. Yuk! We might just have to make our own....