Felt more alive today after eleven hours sleep :)
This morning we went on a Gray Line "Deluxe City Tour" of San Francisco.
We drove around a lot of places and got lots of information about the city. Saw (or heard about) quite a few things that I didn't get photos of, for example Dolores Street which has a building dating back to the 1700s; redwood houses built in the 1800s on 17th Street; a purple house that glows in the dark. Apparently the average house is $503k, and a 1 bedroom place is $1800 to rent! 864k people live in the city, but many more commute from further away. Apparently there are 2986 restaurants in San Francisco!
City Hall from the tour bus
Quite surprised this one worked at all - was taken from the opposite side of a tour bus through the window
They took us up to Twin Peaks where we got a great view of the city. We got on the wrong bus when we were done - oops! But were able to get on the other one of the pair of buses that was touring.
Downtown San Francisco from "Twin Peaks" lookout
Golden Gate Bridge from Twin Peaks lookout
City Panorama
City Panorama
Alcatraz Island from Twin Peaks lookout
Downtown San Francisco from Twin Peaks lookout
Had a stop at Golden Gate Park which was quite pretty.
Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park
Flowers in Golden Gate Park
Japanese Gardens in Golden Gate Park
Bonsai tree outside Japanese Gardens
Buffalo in Golden Gate Park
Really!
Buffalo in Golden Gate Park
Dutch windmill in Golden Gate Park
Then out to Fort Miley to get a view of the Golden Gate Bridge and Seal Rock.
Ocean Beach on Western Side of San Francisco
View of Golden Gate Bridge from Sutro Heights Park
View of Golden Gate Bridge from Sutro Heights Park
A bit closer
Seal Rocks, off coast from Sutro Heights Park
Then went to the north side of the bridge to get a different view but the lighting wasn't very good.
Golden Gate Bridge from the tour bus
The coach was moving so surprised this picture turned out so well
Golden Gate Bridge from the tour bus
Alcatraz Island from Golden Gate Bridge
Golden Gate Bridge from north side lookout
Not very good lighting from the north side unfortunately
Golden Gate Bridge from north side lookout
San Francisco from north of Golden Gate Bridge
Looking through Golden Gate Bridge
Golden Gate Bridge from the tour bus
When the tour was done we were dropped off at Fisherman's Wharf. We had a bit of a wander through Pier 39 of Fisherman's Wharf. Very touristy.
Pier 39 shops at Fisherman's Wharf
By chance we met up with a guy that Pete used to work with, so we went and had lunch at "Bubba Gumps", based on the movie "Forrest Gump". It was "only" $11 for lunch, but with the Australian dollar being only 50c US, it doubled the price, making it over $20 - a lot more than I wanted to spend.
Two guys having happy birthday sung for them
We were just having lunch in this restaurant on Pier 39 when they got these guys to stand up with ice cream on their heads and everyone sung happy birthday to them.. weird stuff!
Western Gull at Pier 41
These gulls are at least twice the size of normal sea gulls
After lunch we were running late and missed our scheduled ferry to Alcatraz. Oops. Fortunately we were still able to get out there. Did the audio guided tour which was quite interesting. They give you these walkmans which give you a self guided tour round the prison block, pointing out where things happened, who inhabited various cells, details of various escape attempts etc. Then wandered around and caught the last ferry back.
Alcatraz Island from ferry
San Francisco from ferry
Bay Bridge from ferry
Warden's House and Lighthouse from the dock
The Warden's House was destroyed by fire in 1970
A typical cell in Alcatraz
Contents of a typical cell in Alcatraz
Looking between cell blocks in Alcatraz
Prisoner's dining hall in Alcatraz
Where the prisoners had their meals
Solitary confinement cells in Alcatraz
Prisoners were often kept in the dark in these cells
Explosion marks on the floor
Caused by the military dropping explosives into the cell block to try and end an escape attempt
City Panorama
City Panorama
City Panorama
Sunset over San Francisco Bay
Alcatraz Lighthouse
Warden's House on Alcatraz
Administration Building on Alcatraz
Water Tower on Alcatraz
Side of Cell Block on Alcatraz
Western Gulls
Western Gulls with Pete for size comparison
Side of Cell Block on Alcatraz
Sign to say don't help the prisoners escape!
Barracks/Apartments on Alcatraz
Built when the island was a military base, this was also the guard's quarters
Buildings on Alcatraz
Alcatraz Island from the Ferry
Seals at Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf
Then we walked back from Fisherman's Wharf to the hotel. We had a *huge* pizza for dinner - whoops. Still have two pieces of it left. Might eat it tomorrow, although no way to heat it up. We're supposed to be hiring a mustang tomorrow. Hrmm.
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