Solo in San Francisco!

San Francisco was our next stop and time for me to go solo for awhile! CK was there for the first couple of days and the last day but in between she jetted off to New York for David & Ruth's wedding (David being her brother for those of you who don't know!) Details of her New York trip in the next blog! Had a great little room in San Francisco. It was only a budget hotel and one of those where you had to share the toilets and showers (not really a problem but better once you'd worked out the best time to have a shower when nobody else was having one - at least then you could get in when they were quite clean!) In the room we had 2 beds, a TV, fridge, microwave, sink and free WiFi! We also had a nice view of the street outside. Here's the view from the window of our room with the tall, green triangular apartment building opposite. Bit noisy in the mornings, especially as the San Francisco Fire Brigade seemed to surge past, horns blaring at least 3 times every day! One of the first things we did when we arrived was walk along the waterfront and get our first view of Alcatraz! At least it was my first view as Connie has been before with her mum! It was quite a misty day that first day which added to the excitement of seeing it really - great to see it looming up out of the fog! We visited Ghirardelli Square, home of the famous chocolate shop! Great if you're feeling peckish as when you walk through the shop they are usually handing out free samples! When CK was in New York I decided to spend a day zooming around on the cable cars (or trams as we know them!) You could get a day pass and go all over, in particular up and down the most steepest of the streets! When the trams approached everyone surged out onto the road and jumped on, grabbing a seat where they could or hanging onto the sideboards. I loved doing that as it was great to hang out from the side and see the view ahead - especially when descending one of the steep hills! I visited Postcard Lane another day where there is a particularly attractive row of Victorian houses that have been preserved. Another highlight was Lombard Street, the famous crooked street, where the cars have to zigzag down the hill from top to bottom. Amazing to see - there were constantly cars pouring down the hill but I suspect they were mainly tourists doing it for the fun of it rather than people who actually needed to drive down it! One thing I was especially hoping to see was Golden Gate Bridge which is iconic San Francisco! But every day it was shrouded in the mist that San Francisco is famous for! Despite clear blue skies and sunshine everywhere else there was a strip of low mist that hung annoyingly through the middle of the bridge so you could only see the bottom and occasionally the top tips of it! I went for a walk to see it anyway but didn't manage to see it in its full glory. Never mind, maybe next time! Just before CK returned from New York I took a trip over to Alcatraz. You get a great view of the San Francisco skyline once over there and it was amazing how close to the mainland it looked! The boat trip was only about 12-15 minutes and you could quite understand how the inmates must have thought they had a good chance of escaping to the mainland. Apparently it's not the distance that's the problem but the currents which are very swift and deadly. Also the water is freezing cold! I did read something in a guide book which said that Alcatraz was the only prison who allowed the prisoners hot showers - to make sure that they never got accustomed to cold water! You could do an Audio Tour once there which was good as it led you round the prison telling you stores about what it was like and what happened in different parts etc. We got to see a typical cell (that is a photo of the cell below, not our room!!) and the isolation block with the "hole" as it was known where no prisoner ever wanted to be placed! My only disappointment was that we didn't get to see Al Capone's cell, seemingly because nobody knew the exact location of it. There was a quote on one of the walls that I particularly liked which said, "If you break the rules you go to prison ... if you break the prison rules you go to Alcatraz!" I think that says it all! All in all it was a fascinating trip! When CK returned from New York she filled me in on the wedding details at a cafe we discovered on our first day there - The Boudin Bakery which makes the famous San Francisco Sourdough bread that we have come to know and love! It's delicious and you can get bread bowls full of soup or chilli. I went for the Clam Chowder Soup and CK ordered the chilli. Great too because you get to eat the bowl as well (if you can manage it!) That means no washing up either - you can't get better than that!