Advertisement
Published: December 9th 2014
Edit Blog Post
From Prisons to Bridges, incline and descent streets, San Francisco certainly has a lot to offer. After arriving from a delayed flight. Me and my friend headed to Fisherman's Wharf where are hotel was based, The Holiday Inn.
The hotel was clean, simple and had free wifi, everything you needed for your stay. It was a street away from the main area of Fisherman's Wharf. Fisherman's Wharf is the main tourist area and it doesn't disappoint. From street entertainers to delicious sea food and the gateway to Alcatraz. Where many tourist flock to, is Pier 39. Here there are many gift shops, restaurants and cheesy entertainment. The pier has many lazy, loud Sea Lions which provides the attraction for many families. On that night we headed home early due to a crazy last night in Vegas. But before we hit the hay, we ordered calamari. You can't go to San Francisco and not order seafood?
The Next day we headed to pier 33 to board to Alcatraz. Let me warn you these tickets are precious. If you don't book early in advance, there is no chance of getting to the prison. I would recommend that you book your Alcatraz
tickets way in advance (a month before) at www.alcatrazcruises.com. Queuing up to board didn't take as long as I thought. The ferry ride took around fifteen minutes. When you arrive to the island , you will be kindly introduced by a Ranger that will inform you whats happening on the day. After you can watch a short documentary (ten minutes long) but that is optional. You then head upwards and when you arrive at the prison you will be handed an audio set. The set is very detailed and you won't find yourself getting lost. The audio will take you around the prison and with have interviews and stories from the officers and prisoners. It's a brilliant tour. The stories of the escape and deaths of the prison guards is pretty brutal but incredibly interesting. Everyone's favourite mobster Al Capone was a prisoner at Alcatraz and there are points of interest about him that makes the tour more special. The views outside of the prison shows breathtaking views of San Francisco, showing the Golden Gate Bridge and the incline streets heading to downtown. If are intending to head to San Francisco, make sure this is at least number two on the list. Book way in advance.
After Alcatraz. We headed to back to Fisherman's Wharf, to find a bike rental. There are loads of bike deals to hire around the area and usually people are giving leaflets about their services. It cost $25 dollars to rent a bike for half the day which isn't too bad. Our first stop was the crooked street famously known as Lombard Street. Bad idea try to cycle up to see it. Please if you are going up by bike, walk, as you may hurt yourself. The roads can be very steep. The street is awesome, seeing car maneuver their way down the crooked road is very cool. But only stay there for five minutes as there is so much to see.
After a quick photograph, it was time for the main attraction. The Golden Gate Bridge. The ride took around thirty minutes. It's seven kilometers from the Wharf. The views to the bridge are simply stunning and ride along the way is incredibly fun. Through the golden gate park, past the beach and the De Young Museum we arrived on the bridge. If you are scared of heights I would recommend not to ride on a bike through. Even on a sunny day the bridge can be very windy. Surprisingly the barrier is not that high. The ride on the bridge was an emotional feeling that makes feel justified travelling thousands of miles to go and experience it, simply breathtaking. My only concern was of the other cyclists. There were a few locals that were going incredibly fast that could make many tourist uneasy. I even saw a collision, which was nasty. It potentially could ruin a bucket list favourite.
Me and my friend cycled back the same way, handing in our bikes. We wanted to ride on a Cable Car. Annoyingly for us the ques were long and the estimated wait time was two hours. Limo services were offering us five dollars each for a ride into downtown. So we headed in with style. Our aim was to still ride on a cable car. We looked at the shops for a while and went up the street were it was less busy. Managed to get on ten minutes later. What better way to end our trip in San Fran than take the cable Car back to Fisherman's Wharf in the sunset. Tiring but two unforgettable days in San Francisco. Out of all the cities I've been to in the US. It is ranked at the highest!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.069s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 6; qc: 44; dbt: 0.0352s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb