Friday 13/11/09 - First full day in San Fran

Today we decided to explore the city a little more so got equipped with a 3 day muni pass, so we could hop on and off the buses / trams / trains of San Fran.

First stop Financial District the buildings here are amazing.  We wandered up the Italian district of North Beach passing the Transamerica Pyramid along the way.

Our plan was to get breakfast in Mama's on Washington Square.  The travel books raved about the place and said it was a must do whilst in the city.  When we got there 4,000 other people had got there before us and they were literally queueing down the street.

Thank Goodness for Cafe Divine, 2 bagels and a coffee later and we were set to walk some more.

Next stop Coit Tower and some fantastic views of the city and our first view of the Golden Gate Bridge.  Here are some pics from Coit Tower:

And this one is just for you Alexis and Andy:

From the Tower we could see Pier 39 and the sea lions so down we headed taking in the green parrots which were rustling in the trees on the way.

Pier 39 was great if a little like Blackpool with it's shops and amusements.  As we wandered down the Pier we could hear the sea lions closely followed by an unearthly smell.  Cute and amusing as they were it took a few mins to get used to the smell.

So many people had told us that Fishermans Wharf was a waste of time, but we felt the need to explore anyway. 

Agreed it is just like Blackpool, but it was alright and we found a lovely square - The Cannery.  It's some converted mills with bars and restaurants and live music.  We stopped for a beer and a chill :)

Then onwards to Fort Mason, we wandered up the costal path it was a bit of a climb, but worth it for the views and the glimpses of pleicans dive bombing into the water for fish.  I tried to film it, but it didn't come out, but it was very impressive for such a big clumsy looking bird.

We wandered through Fort Mason's wooded paths before checking the map and realising we were only a few blocks away from Lombard Street.

Only a few block, but those blocks were all uphill!!  But it was worth it when we got there.

From Lombard Street we walked to Pier 33 to catch our Night Cruise to Alcatraz!

The night time tour certainly made it atmospheric and had the added bonus of being able to visit the hospital which isn't open during the day.

The other bonus extras are talks on the different aspects of the prison or prisoners.  The talks started at 6pm and by this point we were ready for some food and heading back, but the boat didn't leave until 7.15pm - we were imprisoned!!

The talks were interesting, but it did have a feel of a Primary School field trip about it.  I wasn't sure if I should make notes incase I was asked to write an essay of my experience on the boat back!

The talk that I was most interested in was the Xcapes of Alcatraz, I hadn't known that the Castleford Ski centre had a location on Alcatraz and I wanted to know more, imagine my disappointment when it was infact a talk on the Escapes of Alcatraz dam those San Franciscians and their pronunciation!

Once back on the mainland we had a nice meal in an Italian back at Washington Square and then headed home.

I think we must have walked about 20 miles around the city and our feet are feeling it!!

Apologies for spelling errors, but being tight I've typed this as fast as possible to ensure that we only have to pay $5 for the first 20 mins in the internet cafe!!