Advertisement
Published: July 21st 2010
Edit Blog Post
Okay its way overdue and Ive been harassed by a few of you so I plan on doing 3 blogs in quick succession to let you know that Im still alive and doing the same things...working hard and playing very hard. In the first week of May I had a conference to attend in San Diego and therefore decided to line it up correctly and head to San Francisco which is a city that I have been wanting to visit for a while now. I headed off from Jacksonville eager and ready to tick of one of my last remaining 'must do's' in the US of A. After a flight connection in Atlanta then another in San Diego I found myself in the land of sunshine and also the state with the highest level of debt run by the terminator governor.....yep CALIFORNIA.
Having not been to San Fran before I boarded the plane with a bunch of middle aged women who were intent on getting in 3 alcoholic beverages on the flight of 1hr 10mins. Not one to say no to a free drink I took my free Bloody Mary courtesy of these very funny ladies and before I knew
it I was in San Francisco sans the floweres in my hair as encouraged by a song many years back. The shuttle to the hotel was cheap....yep 10 bucks well spent and on the journey to Fisherman's wharf I was surprised how hilly the region was and also by the cool weather. It wasn't exactly cold but nevertheless it wasn't what I would classify as warm. Very glad I had packed a jumper or 2.
After a quick tour with shuttle man I was soon dropped off to my hotel at Fisherman's wharf which proved to be exceptionally well located and an outright bargain. I dropped my stuff had a quick shower and headed out in the early evening to check out the local area. Fisherman's wharf is considerably touristy however plenty of restaurants and shops to weave about in kept me sane and away from large crowds that tend to congregate around nothing and piss me off. I tried my best to settle into holiday mode and grabbed a beer and a chilli bowl to relax and watched the tourists purchase jumpers who were clearly surprised by the 20 degree Californian weather. A picturesque sunset over a
beautiful bay made me realise why people rave about this town. I bustled about the downtown area and grabbed a map for my adventure the next day which would be a hop on hop off bus around the city.
Next morning I grabbed some coffee and after some bullshit directions off the coffee lady about where to find the bus....a dime and a drunk guy later I was on the bus ready to commence my adventure. Now just sitting on the bus I managed to go from hot to cold about 7 times and really struggled to find a pleasant medium and his would be a constant on my trip here. I did luck in however and had sunshine the whole time so no real complaint. I headed through the downtown city area checked out the shops then off to the Haight Ashbury district which was very Surry Hill Esq. and reminded me of home. A great lunch and some shopping saw me meet my bus and head through the areas that make San Fran so known. There was the Woodstock movement the 6 houses famous houses on the steep street which were on the beginning of the
TV show Full House and then through botanical gardens (yawn) but then the very beautiful bridge and bay area.
San Francisco is very picturesque and I see why so many people rave about it. The people are very California in style, i.e. relaxed and friendly however San Fran manages to pull off East Coast maturity with a full functioning city which reminded me quite a lot of Sydney. After being on the bus most of the day I headed back and managed to find a brewery with 80 beers on tap which had me very excited. Sitting and chatting with a bunch of tourists saw my evening slide away and a short stagger back to the hotel after some delicious beers.
The next day was Alcatraz and being ridiculously early I lined up with the blue haired nanas but was very pleased about the lack of crowds considering it was a Saturday morning. Alcatraz Island is located in the San Francisco Bay, 1.5 miles offshore and referred to as The Rock. Over the years it has been used as a lighthouse, a military fortification, a military prison, and a federal prison in 1933. During the 29 years it
was in use, the jail held such notable criminals as Al Capone and George "Machine Gun" Kelly. What I didn't realise was that it also provided housing for the Prison staff and their families. I meandered about doing the audio tour and looking through this very unique place and admiring the view it has of the whole San Fran area....definitely a must see for those who get to this area.Once back on the mainland it was time to jump on a tram car and go about exploring the town. After finding an Australian owned winery tasting place I left there significantly buzzed and headed to the pier to navigate through shops and play a tourist.
The next day I was back on the bus but this time walked around most of the city traipsing through Chin Town, Little Italy and a good chunk of suburbia and then back to the brewery for a meal and some beer. My last day I had made the decision to run the Golden Gate Bridge and it was extremely satisfying. About a 10 mile round trip from Fisherman's wharf it was well worth the effort. Shortly into my run I was curious as
to why there were tents and orange cones everywhere and soon enough it was apparent that I was running in the Escape From Alcatraz national triathlon. I decided to keep going and whilst being passed continuously I received cheers, free water and a power bar which I declined during my personal event. It was a great thing to do and I really enjoyed the experience. After a well needed shower and cool down it was time for some last minute wine bars and tapas and a farewell with an amazing sunset over the San Fran Bay. I was very impressed with San Fran overall and had a blast....could I live here I would say yes but the temperature all year round whilst never freezing, its never actually hot. It reminded me of Sydney in many ways and I would recommend a visit to anyone.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.072s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 7; qc: 45; dbt: 0.038s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb