San Fran rundown

It’s bloody hilly. Let’s get that out of the way first. We arrived last night to the Donnatello having driven up Highway 1 from LA. Two things high on our list when talking about San Francisco were a Segway Tour and a trip to see Alcatraz. We got to do both today and man were they sweet. First up was the Segwaying. Myself and Paddy has done a Segway tour in Budapest last year and really enjoyed it. These were newer models though so you lean sideways to turn, even better. The tour itself took in the Fisherman’s Wharf area, little Italy, past Lombard Street (twistiest street in SF), the church where Marilyn Monroe and Joe di Maggio married, Coit Tower and a WWII submarine and warship. We also saw Bush Man, a homeless guy who hides behind a bush and scares people for money (pic of him here). I would have tipped the guy had we not been tooling past at a rate of knots.

From there it was a quick pint in Tiernan’s and off to Pier 33 to catch the ferry out to Alcatraz. The place is jam packed full of history. It was used for a long time by the military as a base of operations before becoming home to some of the US’s most dangerous criminals. The audio tour was all it promised to be and featured former inmates and guards telling their stories of “The Rock”. After almost completing the tour (we missed a room), we were ushered back to the last ferry of the evening. We didn’t get to ride the tram, that’s a regret for me but a small one in the context of what we did.

UPDATE: Well that was different. We woke up to a strobe light and a screaming alarm. The hotel’s fire alarm was wailing so we got dressed quickly and made our way downstairs. The fire department arrived a couple of minutes later and a false alarm declared. Back to bed so.