The first day we arrived at the zoo and took the skylift ride up to the top of the zoo near the polar bears. You don't realize just how hilly the zoo is and some of those hills are pretty steep. I had read that this was the best way--ride to the top and work your way down. We passed by some different kinds of gazelles on our way to the polar bears. We weren't expecting much as polar bears are usually sleeping, but we were pleasantly surprised when two of them walked out in to the enclosure and started playing. We thought they were mother and cub but a guide later told us that all the bears were full grown, so one was puny. They were quite entertaining and apparently love romaine lettuce, something I don't think they get a lot of in the Arctic.
We then walked downhill and saw zebras, birds (including a couple of interesting varieties of hawks Marcia had never heard of), monkeys, pandas (sleeping), and lots more. We later took the bus tour of the zoo where we got to see about 80% of the zoo while sitting down and got to see some animals that we would not get to see again for one reason or another.
When we came back from the ride we stopped by to see the koalas. Usually they look like this:
That is, they are cute, but they are sleeping. One, however, was in a different location and he was awake and eating and therefore just as cute as he could be:
It was time to hit the souvenier shop for a few things and catch a cab back to the hotel for a quick nap before dinner at this wonderful little Italian restaurant right across the street.
The next morning it was back to the zoo and back to almost the same starting point, but we went down the other side. First stop was by the lions. They were awake and active.
Right after them was the elephants. No little ones, all of these elephants are older.
We had a "serendipity" moment leaving the elephants---the keepers were moving an elephant in the enclosures and were separating two. A small crowd was gathering so we stayed and watched. Turned out that the older elephant (57 years) was going to get a foot soak for her arthritis and we got to watch. It's funny--the elephant takes the same medications for her arthritis as Marcia does!
Then it was through the condors and a few other things until the highlight of the visit. As a surprise I had purchased a "behind the scene" pass for us. For 1 1/2 hours we had special access to some of the animals. Feeding the rhino is Marcia's favorite story, but here are some of our favorite pics:
Flamingos
Artic Wolf
Bear Cat
Rhino
Rhino
Serval
Cheetah, with her companion dog and handler
So, as you can see, the zoo did not disappoint. We spent the next day at Balboa Park, which is right next to the zoo, and visited the Museum of Science and the Museum of Natural History. I didn't take my camera, which is a shame as the park is very beautiful and is full of museums and gardens.
The final morning we headed a few blocks from the hotel to "Little Italy" for a street market that a lady in the restaurant a few nights before had told us about. That was quite a fun experience as well. Lots of booths full of all kinds of things, with people milling all about. We headed back to the hotel a little before 11am to take the shuttle down to the pier to board the ship for our trip to Hawaii.
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