Got up and after a breakfast where Kishan had 3 pastries! We headed to union square to get the bus to Fisherman’s Wharf so we could get the ferry over to Alcatraz....the bus set off later than we expected, so with some quick marching, we made it to the terminal.
One arriving on the island, the group split....Jamie and Beverley decided to go to the cells first at the top of the hill and the others opted for working from top to bottom.
J&B, got the audio tour from the shower room in Alcatraz and worked their way around. It was definitely a worthwhile experience...the prison was so run down and unpleasant. The thing that was most unpleasant and eerie though for Beverley was stepping inside the solitary confinement cells....it was extremely creepy, even for the brief few seconds, and definitely not something she’d want to have to experience on a longer basis. After doing the tour, they made it to the next ferry and then ran to catch the 1:30 Golden Gate Bridge tour. It was packed! They managed to find seats on top and had the windswept journey across the bridge...and windswept it was. After a brief stop on the other side, the bus journeyed back into San Francisco.
J&B got off at stop number 10 which was by Lombard Street, the ‘crookedest’ street in the world. Basically, instead of being a straight line down the hill, it weaves back and forward. After the steep inclined up the back of it, and the walk down it and picture taking, J&B headed for food. They found a pizza place near the Cannery (where Canning of food took place) and then they headed to Ghiradelli Square for pudding. Ghiradelli (a chocolate brand) had its first shop here; J&B had a look around the shop and then ate a rather scrummy but very sweet ‘Gold Rush’ – Vanilla Ice Cream with hot fudge and peanut butter sauce. After this, they headed back to the hotel via the cable car, because a trip to San Francisco would not be complete without one.
Luke, Kishan, Charis and Rowena meanwhile.... started off watching a video documentary on Alcatraz before heading to the audio tour shower room beginning. Ro commented that the shower room reminded her of a milking parlour. They walked around and then attended a talk on Al Capone with a ranger called Al. After this they took the ferry back and then did some tourist shopping before getting the Golden Gate Bridge tour, which was windy. They then did Lombard street which was very steep and then to cable car to market street. Hopping on the Muni train, they went to check out Castro, the gay district of San Francisco. They saw the Harvey Milk Memorial at the former Castro Cameras, the store that Harvey Milk operated in San Francisco, and now sells jewellery. They stopped off at the Human Rights Campaign store where Luke bought a Kenneth Cole t-shirt. Afterwards, they had a drink at Harvey’s Bar on Castro Street. Rowena and Charis had beer, Kishan had lemonade and Luke had a Harvey’s Mai Tai. Took a tram to Union Square and then walked to China Town for dinner. They then took a taxi back to the hotel. In all they took 7 modes of transport that day...no wonder Kishan was so shattered he tried to let himself into the wrong room when they got back to the hotel.
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