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Although we did not get to bed until after midnight, we are up and in reception for the start of the San Francisco city tour, the mutiny of the night before has gone away after a good nights sleep!
We set off with a guide who is a real comedian. We visit all the various districts of San Francisco and all the places of interest are pointed out. We stop at a typical San Francisco street that is built on a hill. Lombard Street is open to traffic, but the cars must slalom down the hill. The guide tells us that at one time an out-of-town bus driver tried to take his coach down the road and they had to cut it into three pieces in order to get it out!!
We then make a short photo-stop at The Palace of Fine Art, this is a fine piece of architecture. We then move on to the Golden Gate Bridge. The early morning has been a mixture of fog and sunshine. We are very lucky as we get to the other side of the bridge that the fog rolls away and we get a clear view of the bridge. After
a comfort stop and photo opportunity we are off again. We have a brief stop at the Golden Gate Bridge Park. Di and I take the opportunity to grab a sandwich and coffee, as we did not make breakfast instead deciding to have an extra hour in bed. We then go for a walk around China Town. We are amazed at the amount of gambling that appears to be going on at every corner. We stop at a shop where fortune cookies are made and sample the wares. The place is really highly populated with laundry hanging from every window. The coach finally takes us to the jetty where we will take the boat to Alcatraz Island.We have some time before the boat trip so some people grab a bite, Di and I go for a drink at a nearby bar, as we do not feel too hungry after the massive Turkey sandwich that we had at the park.
The boat journey across to Alcatraz takes about 15 mins. We go straight up to the main cell block to take the audio tour, we are given an audio unit with headset, and set off. The narration is given by
four former prison officers and four former inmates. The tour takes us all around the prison and describes the day-to-day life in the prison and some of the escape attempts.It is an excellent tour that has been well-organised and is extremely interesting.We then visit the Alcatraz Gardens, where as well as the gadens we also see some birds that inlude Snowy Egrets and Brandt Cormorants
After the tour we are left to find our own way back to the hotel, some of us visit a local bar at the wharf for cocktails. There is a number of people from the Great Railway Tour. Eight of us decide to go for dinner together and walk along the front to Fisherman's Wharf. We go to one of the many Crab Houses to eat Seafood, it is excellent.
Now we have to find our way back to the hotel. We walk for some time looking for a cable car that will take us near to the hotel. After some time walking we find the cable car but it is full, there is only room standing on the outside boards, we all do this. I wish that I could have taken a
photograph of Di holding on the the bar with white knuckles as we sped up the hills, but I was clinging on to the bar too!! As we go up the hill there is a great view of the San Francisco Bay, but again no chance of a photograph as the cablecar trundles uphill.We eventually get off the cablecar and have a short walk to the hote;.
We go to the hotel bar for a nightcap, and turn-in.
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