San Francisco

San Francisco, aka San Fran, aka Frisco - the city where it's compulsory to wear a flower in your hair.  Well anyway, we paid a trip there for a long weekend to see what all the fuss was about.  We flew from SD to SF, all Virgin style (RyanAir could learn a thing or two from them I can tell you) and then took the BART towards the center and our hotel, to tuck ourselves in for the night.

The next day we were up and at them for the Alcatraz tour - a definite must see for any SF newbie. 

The view on the ferry to the Rock.

Coit tower; visible from almost anywhere in SF (including the ferry).  Apparently it has some great 360 degree views of the city but we decided to give it a miss as it was pretty hazy anyway.

When we arrived on the island, there was one tour speech that was compulsory where they told a little history / folklore about the island (including the one about the shark with only one fin such that it continuously circled the island to prevent anyone from escaping alive) as well as brief explanation about the different tours; what was open today etc.  After that you were on your own to explore as you so chose !

Looking back towards civilization from Alcatraz.  So close and yet so far.  The prisoners could actually hear the city's New Year celebrations.

Heading up the hill towards the prison.

A view from inside.  Just rows and rows of cells.

We decided to follow the audio tour which was really interesting as it turned out.  This old prison guard guides you through various parts of the prison; stopping you every so often for a story about a infamous prisoner, or an escape attempt, or just to get you to stop and realize how tough life must have been (for the prisoners).

 



A typical prison cell.  Pretty small if you have to live there 24x7 and even then it was larger than solitary !

Alma, all delighted to be leaving solitary on good behaviour.

During the tour, one of the past prisoners explained how he would rip a button off his shirt; drop it, search for it, find it and then repeat the whole process over and over again - just to pass the time in the dark solitude of solitary.  You had to escape somehow in your imagination or go crazy!

The Alcatraz lighthouse.  I waited and waited, but there was just no sign of Nicolas Cage.  Ah - probably just as well.

So once we had our feet back on terra firma, we headed as far as Pier 39 to check out the seals.

See I wasn't joking - there's Coit tower in the background.

A couple of them even had the good manners to wave !

After that it was back to the hotel and then off out for a bite to eat before checking out China town.

If the humour took you, you could purchase a sword, shuriken or other deadly weapon, but we decided we'd pass (the truth be known, I was dragged kicking and screaming from the shop).

On the way back to the hotel for the evening we headed down to the bay for a look at the lights on the San Francisco Oakland bridge (never to be confused with the Golden Gate !).

The next day was tram, Lombard St., Golden Gate and Painted Ladies day.  Wow !! how we're just packing it all in !  The tram was cool and a bit quirky.  You definitely have to be a certain type of character to work on them.  Safety is clearly for wimps, because you're allowed to hang off the side (and take photos should you so desire).

On the way to Lombard St.

Lombard St. - advertised as the crookedest (no I did not make that word up) street in the world - even though apparently it's not.  We both thought that it was a little disappointing because it looks more like someone's drive way than a street but hey - it keeps the tourists coming.

Then it was back to Fisherman's Wharf to rent a bike for the big trip to the Golden Gate bridge.  This was probably the part that we enjoyed the most.  The weather was great and the freedom the bike gave us was fantastic.  In total, it took us 2 hours to cycle there and back.

 

Alma at the Golden Gate.

We felt we had to cycle part of the way on to the bridge just to say we'd done it !

After that it was on to the 'Painted Ladies', a group of old style houses with a view of the much more modern SF in the background.  There were loads of people just sitting there on the green opposite the houses staring - pretending to have fun, despite the fact that the wind would cut you in half !  We simply took the picture and got the hell out of there !

 

And after a spot of shopping and a bit to eat in Union Square, that was it !  ... the end of a very relaxing and most enjoyable weekend !

 

Our carbon footprints.