Recently, I had the opportunity to visit San Francisco for the first time, but with only a brief window available to see as much of the city as possible. I’ve never been a fan of the bus tour, and after a fantastic Segway experience in Austin Texas earlier this year, I decided to repeat that option. Once I arrived and saw the reality of just how hilly San Francisco, was I was even happier with the decision!
California has been experiencing severe drought conditions for an extended period of time, but as luck would have it, that changed on the morning of my Segway tour. As advertised though, the tours go ahead rain or shine, so I donned a very attractive blue plastic poncho and we hit the streets ready to view the sights through the mist and rain.
While I didn’t have time to go out to Alcatraz, the gloomy conditions seemed appropriate for my distant view of one of the worlds notorious prisons.
The inclement weather meant the streets were pretty quiet as we zoomed up and down and as a result, we’re able to cover much more ground than the guide said is usual.
The lack of other sightseers even meant we got to zoom right through the beautiful Palace of Fine Arts, the only structure remaining from the 1915 World Fair. This photo doesn’t do it justice, the beautiful colours and intricate carvings of the stonework combined with the gorgeous garden setting make for a truly stunning attraction.
I successfully conquered the Lombard St descent in the rain.
And the sun finally broke through briefly just as we got to Golden Gate Bridge, with a rainbow added in for good measure!
While the rain stayed away we raced back to Lombard St because my guide had loved the idea of filming the descent through Glass, but the pouring rain on our first descent meant that Glass had to stay tucked up and dry in the case on the front of the Segway. Success the second time round though, and it meant I had the fun of descending Lombard St on a Segway twice!
It was coming towards the end of our available time, so we raced through Chinatown in search of some of San Francisco’s great street art.
Mission accomplished!
Rain or no rain, touring San Francisco on a Segway was a great way to see as much of this beautiful city as possible in a short period of time, plus being a really fun way to spend a morning. I booked my tour through Private Segway Tours San Francisco and would highly recommend them.
