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Published: January 18th 2012
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Eager to explore San Francisco, our first full day there was bathed in brilliant sunshine yet again. Unseasonably warm we were told but we weren't complaining!
We headed off on foot up and down the legendary hills, imagining scenes from Bullitt, French Connection and (in Anna's case) Foul Play (there is no accounting for her tastes!).....It is a beautiful city with the perfect backdrops of the bay and the bridges on one side and the beautiful architecture of downtown - even the skyscrapers seem to fit in. Chinatown in SF was as colourful as LA's but seemed more structured and we even saw a funeral parade taking place complete with police escort but thought it was a wedding at first, (oops!) was a bit snap happy before the realisation sank in!
After downtown we strolled up the length of the Embarcadero amongst all the piers back to Fisherman's Wharf for lunch in a 50s themed diner call Lori's - great shakes & food was consumed and after a well deserved rest we topped off the day with a posh fish tapas at an Italian harbour restaurant - absolutely gorgeous.
The following day started off late & lazy with
a home made brunch down by the bay with Alacatraz lurking behind us, downtown SF twinkling before us and the Golden Gate burning brightly to the right....we had seen people fishing for crabs and then headed on the bus to the Castro area for drinks, people watching and a real down to earth italian restaurant which was awesome. All of this was a prelude to the amazing sights ahead of us....
Having snapped the Golden Gate from various distances it was finally time to see it up close and bike over it. We hired our transportation from Blazing Saddles (things were a bit sore by the end of the day!!) and headed westwards towards the iconic structure. It was a supremely gorgeous day but not too hot particularly as our cycling skills were a bit rusty...but we were soon flying along and drinking in all the beautiful sights around including an honest to goodness pelican who was so tame we could almost touch him. He was more interested in nicking the crabs that people were capturing, why do all the hard work if others do it for you!
Cycling the bridge itself was a "pinch us quick" experience
as it was completely amazing to think we were on one of the most famous landmarks in the world and heading for Sausalito which is a beautiful seaside town about three miles from the other side of the bridge, which was the perfect place to have humungous burgers for lunch (kinda undid all the benefits of the 8 mile cycle before it!). After returning on the ferry and completely awed & satisfied by our adventure, we rewarded ourselves with a celebratory beer at Tiernan's irish pub and watched the end of the NFL game that we'd seen the first quarter of 4 hours earlier! (It's an hour long game for god's sake!!). We had dinner at home and contemplated on another brilliant day.....
The dawning of our last full day in San Francisco meant that we were finally going to Alcatraz. Inspired by the biking (and no achy legs!) we went for our first jog in months and managed 30 minutes and yet more specatcular snaps of the Golden Gate, the bay and of course Anna paddling!! Pier 33 was our next destination to catch the ferry to one of the most notorious places in history...
Along the
way we discovered the sea lion population of SF chilling out and sun bathing....After a quick boat trip we arrived at "The Rock".....
Although it has been a tourist attraction for many decades, it is still a forboding collection of edifices though you do get a feel for the other historical aspects of the island e.g. when the native americans settled on it in the early 70s as a protest against the loss of their lands. It was then on to the main prison for a brilliant audio tour as well as seeing breathtaking views of the bay and San Francisco itself - hard to believe normal life was so nearby.
It was chilling to see the cells and conditions there but these were criminals and were definitely treated as such. By contrast we walked back to our "escape vehicle" via the family side of the island where there is beautiful vegetation and fantastic views which leaves you with no idea that there is a prison just behind you. After our successful escape we had a final walk up to Little Italy for a beer and a perfect end to another brilliant day.....up next the road trip to
Vegas via Yosemite......
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Emski Bodicoat
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California Gals
Hey Gurls Thanks v much for the postcard - glad you loved SF, makes me feel nostalgic for our wandering days!! Hope you are enjoying/have enjoyed the rest of your doobying in the US and then lovely Aussie Trailer awaits (sigh)... See you soon chickies Love Em, Jim & Sambo xxx