It's amazing how one little prawn can create havoc for an entire day, thus was my experience for our first trip around San Francisco. We decided to buy an all-day pass for the trams and cable cars - we figured that we only needed to ride these three times to get our value from the pass. So it was off to the city centre - Union Square via the tram.

It was very exciting sitting on the outside of the tram to ride up and down the streets of San Francisco. The girls had a great time watching the streets and the scenery and enjoyed the stopping and starting of the trams. We jumped off at Union Square, did a mad dash to the restrooms in Macy's and started walking the streets.

From eighteen years ago, I remember standing at the bottom of the Golden Gate Bridge, the hilly streets, Alcatraz and the Trams. It's interesting to come back to stay at Fisherman's Wharf to experience the hustle and bustle of this tourist area and to get ourselves onto a tram into the city centre. Like all major cities, the centre is very busy, particularly on a Saturday when many shops were having an end of holiday season sale.

We certainly managed to get value for the passes as we hopped on a cable car and made it around to Pier 13; jumped back onto another tram to get back into the centre, then caught another to visit China town; then another back into the centre again. We caught up with friends of Peter's visiting San Francisco and enjoyed a new dining experience at an authentic American Diner called "Mels" (after a short bus ride). Here, Peter and Miranda ordered and enjoyed the Chicken Pot Pie which was the size of a family pie, with a side of lumpy mashed potato. Still suffering from the awful prawn, I ate a bowl of chicken noodle soup while Hayley enjoyed crumbed calamari and chips.

Another bus ride then a night time tram ride (inside this time, as it was a tad cold), with a short walk home. What a great day exploring the city and enjoying the unique public transport.