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San Francisco - Day 3

Posted on March 4th, 2007 by bryan.
Categories: Holidays.

Today started with another cruise on the Bay - this time out to the former maximum security Federal Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island. This was a really fun trip - it’s not every day that you get to see the cells etc that were once home to Al Capone, Robert Stroud, etc. The island was much bigger than I was expecting, although I doubt this made it any more comfortable for the former inmates!

The tour starts with a video about the island, starting with its formation, its time as a fort and army prison, its 30 years or so as a Federal prison, the 18 months it was ‘colonised’ by Native Americans and its present incarnation as a National Park and home to lots of rare flora and fauna. We then did the audio tour, which took us through the cell block, into the guard rooms, the library and the kitchen. Finally, we ended up in the exercise yard, immortalised in Clint Eastwood’s film Escape from Alcatraz. The yard was a cruel place - surrounded by barbed wire and guard towers, but with the walls just low enough to see over the Bay to the city.

After the tour, we had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe - very touristy, but the chips alone were worth it! We then took a bus to Lombard Street, where we watched an endless stream of cars winding their way down the five hair-pin bends of ‘the crookedest street’ in the world. If we return to San Francisco, we’ll definitely be trying this out!

We then took a walk around North Beach, traditionally the Italian quarter, but now home to many more Chinese. However, there are still lots of Italian restaurants and cafes, and not a Starbucks to be seen! By now, my feet were killing me, so we had a couple of glasses of wine while watching the world go by. Then we headed back to the hotel - supposedly for a lie down - and I woke up about 12-hours later! San Francisco is a great city, but it really takes it out of you …

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