In the interests of keeping the blog filled with as much information as possible and as a point of reflection, I thought it important to run down the things we got up to while they're still relatively fresh in my mind.
The second day in San Francisco began with a cruise out into San Francisco Bay towards Alcatraz Island. If Saturday could be summised as a day of William Shatner quotes, then Sunday was the turn of Sean Connery. We were indeed visiting The Rock.
This was both fascinating and eerie in equal measure. Neither of us had really appreciated the history of the place from it's beginnings as an Army fortification during the Civil War through to the Native American Indian invasion in the 20th Century as a protest to being forced off their land. It was, of course, the island's history as a state penetentiary that brings it the most fame however - home to the some of the worst of the worst criminals in US history including The Birdman and Al Capone. Perhaps the strange thing about wandering about the prison as part of the audio tour was the feeling that this history really wasn't that long ago, a point made more prevelant by the placing of photographs in areas where the criminals stood, almost side by side by your position as a visitor to the island.
Later that day, we made a trip to the famous shopping district of Union Square via our first of two tram rides. Incidentally, the Americans call these "trolleys" which caused much confusion later in the holiday when I spoke to somebody who said she'd enjoyed riding trolleys round San Francisco. My instinctive thought was "bloody chavs get everywhere".
Union Square and the areas around it were incredibly impressive, home to one of the best shopping areas I've ever seen. Roll over Oxford Street, you're not a patch on San Francisco. Perhaps what made me laugh the most was that, despite the size of the buildings, the class of shops and the friendliness of the people, I couldn't help but feel like the whole of this area reminded me of Birmingham City Centre. Strange, I know, but oddly true.
On the way back to Fisherman's Wharf, we decided to dip out on having a look round Chinatown as we were both knackered, instead choosing the fine dining tastes of the local Hooters. After this, we descended upon a local bar, got really quite drunk, had a moment of scary realisation that we'd spent hours in a gay bar, only to realise that it wasn't a gay bar, it was just a bar in San Francisco. We then finished the night with a fantastic karaoke rendition of Wonderwall by Oasis to an indifferent Californian crowd. Brilliant.
Suffice to say, the next day my head was stinging and I really wasn't in the best of moods to be making the planned cycle trip across the Golden Gate Bridge. So we got the bus to the San Francisco end of the bridge instead and decided to walk it. Word of warning: It's bigger and longer than it looks. Much bigger. It doesn't help when you spend the latter part of the walk aiming for the coffee shop on the other side, only to realise that it's just a toilet block when you get there and have the realisation that you've got to walk all the way back before you can get a drink. Serious missed opportunity here in the ice cream department too.
Anyway, despite almost crippling ourselves walking across and up the hill on the other side to get the fantastic vantage point offered at the top, we headed back to town. It's also worth pointing out that we had some great food during our time in San Francisco, oh and we both got refused service for alcohol by a bar on the pier! Ridiculous!
So a brief summary of San Francisco, from me at least as I know Leigh's opinions are slightly different. Incredible city, really distinct, generally really friendly people, lots to do, awesome shopping district, excellent coastal/bay location and a place to really get your creative juices flowing. It's no wonder that it draws so many visitors each year. After New York, I didn't expect to be impressed by a city again, but San Francisco proved me wrong!
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