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Published: February 23rd 2008
San Francisco, home to the Golden Gate Bridge, famous for its cable cars and built on no less than 43 hills, was the Becs's final stop in America and their final stop on their world adventures. Home was approaching fast and the Becs's refused to let the bag theft ruin their final days of travel before going back to reality. This seemed a daunting prospect as worries about not receiving Becs S passport in time flittered in and out of conversation.
We arrived in San Francisco in the pouring rain and freezing cold but spirits were high as we were meeting Bec C's brother, Karl. Karl was the first familar face from home that either of us have seen for 6 months so it was really exciting to meet up with him and do some major catching up. Starbucks was our first port of call to warm up and dry ourselves off and when the rain stopped we ventured out into the streets of San Francisco and found ourselves walking around Pier 39 and Fishermans Wharf. Although these normally booming areas seemed relatively quiet due to the rain, they still showed major character.
We enjoyed ourselves so much on
our nightime stroll that we re-visited the Pier and Wharf the very next day. The area was extremely busy with tourists dining and souvenier shopping, it had quite a Universal/Disney feel to it, in regards to how clean and tidy it was. The sea lions were fun to watch for a while as they positioned themselves around Pier 39 which is suppose to be one of the safest areas in San Francisco if an earthquake was to hit. A whizz around Union Square and Chinatown saw us looking around shops and visiting the largest chinatown outside of Asia.
We chose an extremely rainy and cold day to visit Alcatraz A.K.A. 'The Rock'. It was a fascinating tour that saw us take a 1 3/4 mile boat ride into San Francisco Bay giving us spectacular views of downtown San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. Alcatraz was once a military base before becoming a maximum security prison. A two hour audio guide took us around the prison as we listened to commentary from both the prisoners and prison guards of Alcatraz. Alcatraz was said to be escape proof, what with shark infested waters at a freezing temperature combined with an
extremely fast currrent and dangerous rips. Although this did deter many from attempting an escape, there were those who still dared to try. Most were recaptured but there were a few who were never seen again!
As luck would have it just before boarding for Azkaban Bec C's camera ran out of battery and the muppets left the other battery charging in the room. A mad dash ensured some desposable cameras were bought and the Becs were thrown into the ancient world of cameras and picture taking. Hours of fits and giggles followed as we had to put the camera up to our eyes to see what we were pointing at, the most memorable eye squint to get it in focus and then the 'click' just before winding the camera on. We felt like we were 12 again!!
Our final full day as globe trotters was spent in true tourist style, on a tour bus giving us a whistle stop tour of the city. As well as capturing some fantastic viewpoints and learning a little about the city, we also got up close and personel with the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a very nice bridge. Due to
the 1906 earthquake and subsequent fire which wiped out two thirds of San Francisco, it is now regulation that all houses been built with a one inch gap seperating each building, in addition each area has its own reservoir incase water pipes burst. We visited the painted ladies which are picture perfect victorian houses. Today there are only 14,000 victorian houses left after the 1906 earthquake making them a very sought after property. To end the day we took a famous tram ride from the Wharf to Market Street.
Six months travelling around the world has taken its toll on the Becs' but also on Becs C's camera, it apparently has had enough of picture taking every single day and has decided not to work but thankfully the last of the sightseeing has now been done.
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Bex and Dom
non-member comment
Thank you!
Hey guys..from both of us we'd like to say a huge thank you for sharing your journey with us..its been amazing to watch and for alot of it..felt like we were right there with you!!! hope you adjust to life back in England and will always cherish the wonderful experiences you've had together cant wait to see you both soon love Dom and Bex xxxxxxxxxxx